IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_2641.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

An Empirical Analysis of the Dynamics of the Welfare State: the Case of Benefit Morale

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Halla
  • Mario Lackner
  • Friedrich Schneider

Abstract

Does the supply of a welfare state create its own demand? Many economic scholars studying welfare arrangements refer to Say’s law and insinuate a self-destructive welfare state. However, little is known about the empirical validity of these assumptions and hypotheses. We study the dynamic effect of different welfare arrangements on benefit fraud. In particular, we analyze the impact of the welfare state on the respective social norm, i. e. benefit morale. It turns out that a high level of public social expenditures and a high unemployment rate are associated with a small positive (or no) immediate impact on benefit morale, which however is crowded out by adverse medium and long run effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Halla & Mario Lackner & Friedrich Schneider, 2009. "An Empirical Analysis of the Dynamics of the Welfare State: the Case of Benefit Morale," CESifo Working Paper Series 2641, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_2641
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp2641.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Assar Lindbeck & Sten Nyberg & Jörgen W. Weibull, 1999. "Social Norms and Economic Incentives in the Welfare State," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(1), pages 1-35.
    2. Martin Halla & Mario Lackner & Friedrich G. Schneider, 2010. "An Empirical Analysis of the Dynamics of the Welfare State: The Case of Benefit Morale," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 55-74, February.
    3. Alberto Alesina & Dani Rodrik, 1994. "Distributive Politics and Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(2), pages 465-490.
    4. Peter Skogman Thoursie, 2004. "Reporting sick: are sporting events contagious?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(6), pages 809-823.
    5. Assar Lindbeck & Sten Nyberg, 2006. "Raising Children to Work Hard: Altruism, Work Norms, and Social Insurance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(4), pages 1473-1503.
    6. Friedrich Heinemann, 2008. "Is the Welfare State Self‐Destructive? A Study of Government Benefit Morale," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 237-257, May.
    7. Magnus Henrekson & Mats Persson, 2004. "The Effects on Sick Leave of Changes in the Sickness Insurance System," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(1), pages 87-114, January.
    8. Assar Lindbeck & Sten Nyberg & Jörgen W. Weibull, 2003. "Social Norms and Welfare State Dynamics," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(2-3), pages 533-542, 04/05.
    9. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach," NBER Chapters, in: Essays in the Economics of Crime and Punishment, pages 1-54, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Lindbeck, Assar, 2008. "Prospects for the Welfare State," Working Paper Series 731, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    11. W. Hicks, 1976. "Reply," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 13(1), pages 153-155, February.
    12. repec:bla:kyklos:v:52:y:1999:i:4:p:537-53 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Assar Lindbeck, 2003. "An Essay on Welfare State Dynamics," CESifo Working Paper Series 976, CESifo.
    14. repec:bla:scandj:v:97:y:1995:i:4:p:477-94 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. repec:bla:kyklos:v:54:y:2001:i:1:p:115-23 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Boskin, Michael J, 1974. "The Effects of Government Expenditures and Taxes on Female Labor," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(2), pages 251-256, May.
    17. Pierre Cahuc & Yann Algan, 2009. "Civic Virtue and Labor Market Institutions," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 111-145, January.
    18. Lindbeck, A., 1994. "Welfare State Disincentives with Endogenous Habits and Norms," Papers 589, Stockholm - International Economic Studies.
    19. Persson, Torsten & Tabellini, Guido, 1994. "Is Inequality Harmful for Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 600-621, June.
    20. Lindbeck, Assar, 1995. "Hazardous Welfare-State Dynamics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(2), pages 9-15, May.
    21. Ai, Chunrong & Norton, Edward C., 2003. "Interaction terms in logit and probit models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 123-129, July.
    22. Greenberg, David & Moffitt, Robert & Friedmann, John, 1981. "Underreporting and Experimental Effects on Work Effort: Evidence from the Gary Income Maintenance Experiment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 63(4), pages 581-589, November.
    23. Elster, Jon, 1989. "Social Norms and Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 99-117, Fall.
    24. Jerry L. Kingston & Paul L. Burgess & Robert D. St. Louis, 1986. "Unemployment Insurance Overpayments: Evidence and Implications," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 39(3), pages 323-336, April.
    25. Kolm, Serge-Christophe, 1973. "A note on optimum tax evasion," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 265-270, July.
    26. Edward C. Norton & Hua Wang & Chunrong Ai, 2004. "Computing interaction effects and standard errors in logit and probit models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(2), pages 154-167, June.
    27. Scott Beaulier & Bryan Caplan, 2007. "Behavioral Economics and Perverse Effects of the Welfare State," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 485-507, November.
    28. Karen Mason & Lisa Cope, 1987. "Sources of age and date-of-birth misreporting in the 1900 U.S. census," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 24(4), pages 563-573, November.
    29. GOUYETTE, Claudine & PESTIEAU, Pierre, 1999. "Efficiency of the welfare state," LIDAM Reprints CORE 1427, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    30. Martin Halla & Friedrich G. Schneider, 2005. "Taxes and Benefits: Two Distinct Options to Cheat on the State?," Economics working papers 2005-05, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    31. Moulton, Brent R, 1990. "An Illustration of a Pitfall in Estimating the Effects of Aggregate Variables on Micro Unit," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 334-338, May.
    32. Douglas Wolf & David Greenberg, 1986. "The Dynamics of Welfare Fraud: An Econometric Duration Model in Discrete Time," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 21(4), pages 437-455.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Giacomo Corneo, 2012. "Work Norms and the Welfare State," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 58(4), pages 599-625, December.
    2. Heinemann Friedrich, 2010. "Ansatzpunkte einer Gewissensökonomik / Approaches to the economics of consciense," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 61(1), pages 151-168, January.
    3. Cullis, John & Jones, Philip & Lewis, Alan & Castiglioni, Cinzia & Lozza, Edoardo, 2015. "Do poachers make harsh gamekeepers? Attitudes to tax evasion and to benefit fraud," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 124-131.
    4. Adrian Chadi, 2012. "Employed But Still Unhappy? On the Relevance of the Social Work Norm," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 132(1), pages 1-26.
    5. Barile, Lory & Cullis, John & Philip Jones, 2022. "Aint that a Shame : False Tax Declarations and Fraudulent Benefit Claims," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1435, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    6. Martin Halla, 2011. "The Link between the Intrinsic Motivation to Comply and Compliance Behaviour: A Critical Appraisal of Existing Evidence," Chapters, in: Friedrich Schneider (ed.), Handbook on the Shadow Economy, chapter 11, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Schnellenbach, Jan & Schubert, Christian, 2015. "Behavioral political economy: A survey," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 395-417.
    8. Giacomo Corneo & Frank Neher, 2014. "Income inequality and self-reported values," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 12(1), pages 49-71, March.
    9. Philipp Doerrenberg & Denvil Duncan & Clemens Fuest & Andreas Peichl, 2014. "Nice Guys Finish Last: Do Honest Taxpayers Face Higher Tax Rates?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 29-53, February.
    10. Michael Funke & Marc Gronwald, 2009. "A Convex Hull Approach to Counterfactual Analysis of Trade Openness and Growth," CESifo Working Paper Series 2692, CESifo.
    11. repec:aia:ginidp:dp17 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Andrea Celico & Martin Rode, 2024. "Can we all be Denmark? The role of civic attitudes in welfare state reforms," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 51(1), pages 87-125, February.
    13. Schnellenbach, Jan & Schubert, Christian, 2014. "Behavioral public choice: A survey," Freiburg Discussion Papers on Constitutional Economics 14/03, Walter Eucken Institut e.V..
    14. Gubello, Michele, 2024. "Social trust and the support for universal basic income," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    15. Moro-Egido, Ana I. & Solano-García, Ángel, 2020. "Does the perception of benefit fraud shape tax attitudes in Europe?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 1085-1105.
    16. Giacomo Corneo, 2011. "GINI DP 17: Income Inequality, Value Systems and Macroeconomic Performance," GINI Discussion Papers 17, AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
    17. Sjöberg, Ola, 2017. "Positive welfare state dynamics? Sickness benefits and sickness absence in Europe 1997–2011," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 158-168.
    18. Daniel Arnold, 2013. "Benefit Morale and Cross-Country Diversity in Sick Pay Entitlements," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(1), pages 27-45, February.
    19. Friedrich Heinemann, 2011. "Economic crisis and morale," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 35-49, August.
    20. Martin Halla & Mario Lackner & Friedrich G. Schneider, 2010. "An Empirical Analysis of the Dynamics of the Welfare State: The Case of Benefit Morale," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 55-74, February.
    21. Hansen, Kerstin F. & Stutzer, Alois, 2021. "Experiencing Booms and Busts in the Welfare State and Support for Redistribution," IZA Discussion Papers 14327, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martin Halla & Friedrich G. Schneider, 2005. "Taxes and Benefits: Two Distinct Options to Cheat on the State?," Economics working papers 2005-05, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    2. Adrian Chadi, 2012. "Employed But Still Unhappy? On the Relevance of the Social Work Norm," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 132(1), pages 1-26.
    3. Schnellenbach, Jan & Schubert, Christian, 2015. "Behavioral political economy: A survey," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 395-417.
    4. Schnellenbach, Jan & Schubert, Christian, 2014. "Behavioral public choice: A survey," Freiburg Discussion Papers on Constitutional Economics 14/03, Walter Eucken Institut e.V..
    5. Friedrich Heinemann, 2011. "Economic crisis and morale," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 35-49, August.
    6. Giacomo Corneo, 2012. "Work Norms and the Welfare State," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 58(4), pages 599-625, December.
    7. Heinemann Friedrich, 2010. "Ansatzpunkte einer Gewissensökonomik / Approaches to the economics of consciense," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 61(1), pages 151-168, January.
    8. Giacomo Corneo & Frank Neher, 2014. "Income inequality and self-reported values," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 12(1), pages 49-71, March.
    9. Martin Ljunge, 2012. "The Spirit of the Welfare State? Adaptation in the Demand for Social Insurance," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(3), pages 187-223.
    10. Thomas Eichner & Daniel Weinreich, 2015. "Welfare stigma and risk taking in the welfare state," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 44(2), pages 319-348, February.
    11. Assar Lindbeck, 2003. "An Essay on Welfare State Dynamics," CESifo Working Paper Series 976, CESifo.
    12. Daniel Arnold, 2013. "Benefit Morale and Cross-Country Diversity in Sick Pay Entitlements," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(1), pages 27-45, February.
    13. Adrian Chadi, 2014. "Regional unemployment and norm-induced effects on life satisfaction," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 1111-1141, May.
    14. repec:aia:ginidp:dp17 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Kangoh Lee, 2017. "Norms and monetary fines as deterrents, and distributive effects," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 121(1), pages 1-27, May.
    16. Giacomo Corneo, 2011. "GINI DP 17: Income Inequality, Value Systems and Macroeconomic Performance," GINI Discussion Papers 17, AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
    17. Martin Halla, 2011. "The Link between the Intrinsic Motivation to Comply and Compliance Behaviour: A Critical Appraisal of Existing Evidence," Chapters, in: Friedrich Schneider (ed.), Handbook on the Shadow Economy, chapter 11, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Thomas Aronsson & James R. Walker, 2010. "Labor Supply, Tax Base and Public Policy in Sweden," NBER Chapters, in: Reforming the Welfare State: Recovery and Beyond in Sweden, pages 127-158, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Guido Mehlkop & Peter Graeff, 2010. "Modelling a rational choice theory of criminal action: Subjective expected utilities, norms, and interactions," Rationality and Society, , vol. 22(2), pages 189-222, May.
    20. Lindbeck, Assar, 2003. "Improving the Performance of the European Social Model - The Welfare State over the Life Cycle," Seminar Papers 717, Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies.
    21. John Hassler & José V. Rodríguez Mora & Kjetil Storesletten & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2003. "The Survival of the Welfare State," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 87-112, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    welfare state; social norms; benefit fraud; benefit morale;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J65 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_2641. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.