On the spread of social protection systems

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Typescript prepared by Lesley Ellen. Terms of use: Documents inThe United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research provides economic analysis and policy advice with the aim of promoting sustainable and equitable development. The Institute began operations in 1985 in Helsinki, Finland, as the first research and training centre of the United Nations University. Today it is a unique blend of think tank, research institute, and UN agency-providing a range of services from policy advice to governments as well as freely available original research.The Institute is funded through income from an endowment fund with additional contributions to its work programme from Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.Katajanokanlaituri 6 B, 00160 Helsinki, FinlandThe views expressed in this paper are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute or the United Nations University, nor the programme/project donors.Abstract: This paper undertakes an empirical analysis of the adoption of various components of social security systems as well as contribution rates. Apart from economic determinants of the adoption, the empirical analysis features determinants relating to countries' political systems and contagion. We analyse to which extent a country's integration into the international network of economic and political cooperation, the similarity of political systems, and economic interdependence facilitate the adoption of social security system components between economies. We study the heterogeneous responses of high and middle to low income economies to country-specific as well as foreign countries' fundamentals.

Fiscal capacity and social protection expenditure in developing nations

“…Programmes under autocracies, however, are likely to be less conditional and attract larger budgets. Egger et al (2016) demonstrate that, besides political factors, there may also be geographical spread from one country to another of social protection type expenditures via a demonstration effect throughout history; this mechanism may account for its recent emergence or surge in developing countries, particularly in Latin America. Arguably, the fragility of social protection spending in the advanced economies that are also democracies in our recent age of globalization is due to the strengthening of the political clout of the wealthy, as well as the breakdown of earlier redistributive social contracts and median voter power.…”

The Global Diffusion of Work-Injury Insurance: The Role of Spatial Networks and Nation Building

“…Namely, we are also investigating the development of social policy as a process of global diffusion, so we test our hypotheses while simultaneously attempting to account for diffusion and historical trajectories. Diffusion processes related to colonialism, trade, migration and culture are often theorized and tested in the development of social spending or the introduction of welfare state laws (Collier and Messick 1975;Schmitt 2015;Egger et al 2017); but we are aware of no study that simultaneously accounts for both density of adoption among network ties, and event history trajectories to estimate the likelihood of adopting work-injury insurance.…”

Communism, Slavery and Social Policy: Investigating the Role of Worker Agency in the Development of Work-Injury Laws Globally

“…I log the measure of GDP. In investigating the role of the worker in the global introduction of the welfare state these factors will be taken into consideration, as done in essentially all previous statistical research on this topic (e.g., Abbott & DeViney, 1992;Collier & Messick, 1975;Egger et al, 2017;Kangas, 2012;Kim, 2001;Schmitt, 2015). Support for either H1 or H2 is conditional upon the known impacts of GDP and Democracy on work-injury laws.…”