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The Welfare State and Human Well-Being Around the World: A Cross-National Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Emma Schmidt

    (University of Notre Dame)

  • Alexander C. Pacek

    (Texas A&M University)

  • Benjamin Radcliff

    (University of Notre Dame)

Abstract

Does the welfare state affect human well-being outside the developed OECD world? For decades scholars have assessed the impact of the welfare state on a variety of outcomes, largely economic and social (for reviews see Kenworthy, Social Forces. 77:1119–1039, 1999; Kenworthy & Pontusson, Perspectives in Politics. 3:449–471, 2005; O’Connor, Review of Behavioral Economics. 4:397–420, 2017). While more recent focus has shifted to the impact of welfare programs on human well-being, this literature has suffered from several shortcomings. First, there has been an overriding focus on developed core OECD countries. Second, the primary outcome of interest has been on subjective well-being (life satisfaction, happiness). In this paper, we try to address these shortcomings to some extent. First, we extend the analysis to a wider and more diverse sample of countries. Second, we focus on a range of aspects of human well-being beyond life satisfaction. Third, we rely on a new measure of welfare impact that goes beyond mere overall spending—expert survey based coding of social security protections from the global Quality of Government 2021 data set. We find that in our sample of countries, this welfare measure exerts a positive and significant effect on a range of well-being outcomes. Implications for the study of the welfare state and well-being are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Emma Schmidt & Alexander C. Pacek & Benjamin Radcliff, 2024. "The Welfare State and Human Well-Being Around the World: A Cross-National Analysis," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 19(1), pages 365-380, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ariqol:v:19:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s11482-023-10247-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11482-023-10247-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rati Ram, 2009. "Government spending and happiness of the population: additional evidence from large cross-country samples," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 483-490, March.
    2. Robert C. Feenstra & Robert Inklaar & Marcel P. Timmer, 2015. "The Next Generation of the Penn World Table," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(10), pages 3150-3182, October.
    3. Ruut Veenhoven, 1996. "Developments in satisfaction-research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 1-46, January.
    4. Lane Kenworthy & Jonas Pontusson, 2005. "Rising Inequality and the Politics of Redistribution in Affluent Countries," LIS Working papers 400, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    5. Robert Davidson & Alexander Pacek & Benjamin Radcliff, 2021. "Public Sector Employment, Quality of Government, and Well-Being: A Global Analysis," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 24(3), pages 193-204, September.
    6. J. Ott, 2011. "Government and Happiness in 130 Nations: Good Governance Fosters Higher Level and More Equality of Happiness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 3-22, May.
    7. A. B. Atkinson, 1999. "The Economic Consequences of Rolling Back the Welfare State," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262011719, December.
    8. David Dorn & Justina Fischer & Gebhard Kirchgässner & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2007. "Is It Culture or Democracy? The Impact of Democracy and Culture on Happiness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 82(3), pages 505-526, July.
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    Keywords

    Welfare; well; being; non; core; OECD;
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