This paper reviews the features of social assistance programs in Central and Eastern Europe in the mid 2000s along five dimensions, i.e. expenditure, entitlement rules, benefit levels, centralization of administration, and the provision of additional services. It finds that generally expenditure...

The poverty reduction potential of national social assistance programs in eight Central and Eastern European countries is examined using data from the EU-SILC. Results indicate that social assistance programs are a marginal component of the social protection system throughout the region. They...

Introduction : welfare states and postcommunist transitions -- Old welfare state structures and reform strategies -- Non-negotiated liberalization : decentralizing Russia's welfare state and moving it off-budget -- Contested liberalization : Russia's politics of polarization and informalization...