Welfare Policies in the UNECE Region: Why so Different?

This paper provides the text of the Gunnar Myrdal Lecture presented at the U.N. Palais des Nations in 2006. It provides an analysis of why different countries in the western world have chosen different models of the welfare state. It discusses why the American welfare system is less generous than the typical European system, emphasizing the causes and implications of these differences. The variations in welfare systems within western Europe -- the Nordic system, the Anglo-Saxon system, and the Continental and Mediterranean systems -- are compared in terms of their effectiveness, successes and failures.