Understanding the Cost of Welfare

"This new edition could not be more timely or policy-relevant as policymakers around the world confront the challenges of adequately funding the welfare state." Jane Waldfogel, Professor of Social Work and Public Affairs, Columbia University

“This book provides an expert, wide ranging review of the key evidence and arguments from economics as they relate to Social Policy. Because economic claims are so fundamental to, and ubiquitous in, the current debates on welfare, it is essential reading for anyone seeking to articulate an informed position on this subject.” Jeremy Kendall, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent

“Understanding the costs and financing of welfare has rarely been so lively, engaging and real. Howard Glennerster has produced a text of outstanding scholarship, essential for undergraduate and postgraduate courses right across the social sciences.” Chris Deeming, Reviews Editor for the Journal of Social Policy and Chancellor's Fellow and Senior Lecturer, University of Strathclyde, UK

"If we are concerned about the role of welfare in society, we need to understand how it is paid for, and how we might pay for it in the future. Glennerster is the acknowledged expert on these questions and he addresses both in this new edition of his established text, providing critical guidance on current practices and their problems, and outlining the challenges that we will face and how best to respond." Pete Alcock, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy & Administration, University of Birmingham

Howard Glennerster is Professor Emeritus of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has been an advisor to Her Majesty's Treasury and to the Secretary of State for Health. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Academician of the Social Sciences section of the Learned Societies.

Part One: Principles;

The cost of welfare;

Market failure and government failure;

What to tax. Who to tax. How much to tax;

Rationing – who gets what?;

Part Two: Service funding;

Cash benefits: Pensions;

Cash benefits: During working age;

Paying for Health Services;

Paying for Care;

Paying for Education: Schools;

Paying for Education: Post school;

Shelter;

Part Three: The Future;

The future.