This paper examines the contribution of economics to the analysis of social policy. How can economic analysis help us understand and design the welfare state? I seek to answer this question with reference to social transfers in OECD countries. I focus in particular on the relation between social...

Secondary data-sets have come to play an increasing role in empirical economic research. This paper examines the major new secondary data-set assembled by Klaus Deininger and Lyn Squire (DS) at the World Bank. We concentrate on its coverage of the OECD countries. We have particularly in mind the...

This volume brings together some of the most influential scholars in development economics to explore how to improve the well-being of the poor, how to design effective structures and institutions for poverty reduction and what the role of economic, political and social dimensions are (and...

Chapter I investigates how the fertility, marriage and labor supply decisions of American women changed between 1870 and 1930. The proposed explanation for the historical trends in marriage and labor market behavior is based on the premise that gradual improvements in technology drew single...