Social Expenditure in the European Union: Does Inequality Matter?

Molina-Morales, Agustín; Amate-Fortes, Ignacio; Guarnido-Rueda, Almudena

doi:10.2753/jei0021-3624470308

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…In fact, the estimated regressor for the variable that collects the public expenditure on health per inhabitant shows a positive and significant sign, so that the municipalities of the Autonomous Communities that spend more on health are not the ones that suffer a lower incidence and mortality rate. This shows that it is not a question of spending more but rather of spending better, as shown by [32]. As for the "Unemployment" variable, the results obtained emphasize the conclusions reached from the analysis of inequality as a determining factor in the incidence and mortality rates of COVID-19.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 62%

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Inequality, public health, and COVID-19: an analysis of the Spanish case by municipalities

Amate-Fortes

Guarnido-Rueda

2022

Eur J Health Econ

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The main objective of this work is to analyze whether inequality in income distribution has an effect on COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates during the first wave of the pandemic, and how the public health system mitigates these effects. To this end, the case of 819 Spanish municipalities is used, and a linear cross-sectional model is estimated. The results obtained allow us to conclude that a higher level of income inequality generates a higher rate of infections but not deaths, highlighting the importance of the Spanish National Health Service, which does not distinguish by income level. Likewise, early detection of infection measured by the number of primary care centers per 100,000 inhabitants, access to health care for the treatment of the most severe cases, unemployment as a proxy for job insecurity, climatic conditions, and population density are also important factors that determine how COVID-19 affects the population.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 62%

Inequality, public health, and COVID-19: an analysis of the Spanish case by municipalities

Amate-Fortes

Guarnido-Rueda

2022

Eur J Health Econ

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“…Industrialization theory provided the earliest attempt to explain welfare development by describing how the transition to an industrialised society introduced social risks associated with the disconnection of labor, such as unemployment, retirement, disease, as well as economic wealth, which led to the development of the welfare state (Wilensky, 1975). Although this functional emphasis on demand factors has been criticised by many, recent studies show that social risks and demand factors are major contributors to welfare expenditure (Kittel & Obinger, 2003; Molina‐Morales et al, 2013; Tashevska & Trenovski, 2019). Specifically, these studies have found that rising unemployment rates and aging populations had a significant impact on changes in social spending, stressing that increased welfare spending results more from the expansion of the state's role to cope with various social issues than from political factors.…”

Section: Theoretical Consideration and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who spends more to combat COVID‐19 social risks and why?

2022

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COVID‐19 has gone beyond a public health crisis and poses a serious threat to people's livelihoods. In response to the growing employment and income crisis, most OECD countries have introduced various policies and programs to alleviate rapidly rising social risks and stabilise people's livelihoods. However, these measures vary, with some governments spending only 1% of GDP in 2020, while others spent more than 10%. We conducted a multiple regression analysis to examine factors associated with the level of additional social spending in 31 OECD countries. The results indicate that lower generosity of unemployment benefits was associated with additional social policy spending. However, contrary to the hypothesis, higher additional spending was found among countries with higher levels of government debt. We ended with policy recommendations.

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“…Social expenditure in relation to selected socio-economic indicators were dealt with by, for instance, Molina-Morales et al (2013); Rozensky (2014); Visser et al (2014); Kim and Kim (2017). The analysis the economic and institutional factors influencing, to a greater or lesser degree, social spending in the 27 European Union countries was performed by Molina-Morales et al (2013). The level of social expenditure in 30 European countries, (EU 27 states, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) was analyzed by Rozensky (2014), who explains the development of social expenditure levels in the period 1990-2010 a tries to estimate its sensitivity to basic economic, social, political and institutional determinants.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure of General Government Expenditure on Social Protection in the EU Member States

Halásková¹

2018

Montenegrin Journal of Economics

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The subject of research are the main areas of social policy in relation to general government expenditure on social protection. The article aim to evaluate the volume and structure of general government expenditure on social protection, accentuating similarities and differences in EU member states. Research byl proveden for the period 2007-2016 using the method of cluster analysis and boxplot. In connection to the goal have been verified three research questions. RQ1: Are the largest differences in the volume of general government expenditure on social protection present between Nordic countries compared to Eastern European countries and Baltic states? RQ2: Does expenditure on old age account for the most significant share and on sickness and disability the second most significant share in the structure of general government expenditure on social protection? RQ3: Do the differences in the volume and structure of general government expenditure on social protection in EU member states depend on the character of welfare states and the type of social protection? The results confirmed the largest differences in the volume of general government expenditure on social protection between Nordic countries compared to Eastern European and Baltic states (RQ1). The most significant share in the structure of general government expenditure on social protection is represented by expenditure on old age and sickness and disability in the majority of EU countries (RQ2). Research question (RQ3) confirmed the largest differences in government expenditure on old age and survivors (two countries of the second cluster, compared to the countries of the fourth cluster) and in government expenditure on sickness and disability (countries of the third cluster, compared to the countries of the fourth cluster). Nevertheless, these differences between groups of expenditure on social protection failed to confirm for all EU member states representing the respective welfare state and social model. Differences between countries expenditure levels partly reflect diverse levels of wealth, but also diversity in social protection systems, welfare policy, demographic trends, unemployment rates and other social, institutional and economic factors.

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Social Expenditure in the European Union: Does Inequality Matter?

Cited by 5 publications

References 35 publications

Inequality, public health, and COVID-19: an analysis of the Spanish case by municipalities

Inequality, public health, and COVID-19: an analysis of the Spanish case by municipalities

Who spends more to combat COVID‐19 social risks and why?

Structure of General Government Expenditure on Social Protection in the EU Member States

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