Human needs and the welfare state: by way of conclusion

This final chapter sums up and concludes on whether there will be better ways to measure and understand needs in welfare states, including as a method to prioritize scarce resources, and thus also to reduce the risk that access to a number of social services to a large extent is affected by the ability to influence national and/or local decisions, as well as those who manage different types of resources. It further discusses whether, and if so how, it is possible to find a way to examine which needs must be covered by the welfare state and which are an individual’s responsibility to cover, which can then be delivered either via the market or civil society. How to balance expectations, including informing voters on what it is possible to deliver, is a key element here, e.g. trying to balance demand and supply, including reducing the expectation that the state can deliver all goods and services. Finally, elements of differences across welfare states in Europe are presented and discussed.