The outcome from Australia's transfer system are examined to determine if its image as a welfare 'laggard' is justified. This paper also compares the general level of economic well-being of families in ten OECD countries from the perspectives of poverty and income inequality.

The author discusses the goals of income-transfer policies in ten OECD countries, and how they influence the effectiveness and efficiency of transfer policies in reducing income inequality.

This paper is developed in response to Gosta Esping-Andersen's study, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (1990), in which he categorizes welfare capitalism as Liberal, Conservative, and Social Democratic. The authors argue that there also exists radical welfare capitalism which describes...