Child poverty is firmly on the policy agenda in many OECD countries. One of the main issues in the debate is the appropriate balance between the so-called “benefits strategy” (increasing the adequacy of benefits for low-income families with children) and the so-called “work strategy”...

This paper first presents information on trends and composition of social expenditure across the OECD. Gross public social expenditure on average across OECD increased from 16% of GDP in 1980 to 21% in 2005, of which public pensions (7% of GDP) and public health expenditure (6% of GDP) are the...

This paper follows the framework developed in past OECD studies for analysis of social assistance programmes that aim to provide low-income clients with adequate financial support while simultaneously promoting their reintegration into labour market and, where necessary, mainstream society....

This document is the 2nd edition of the Net Social Expenditure paper published in 1999 (Adema, 1999). It contains an overview of <I>net</I> (after tax) public and private social expenditure indicators. These indicators have been developed to supplement available historical information on <I>gross</I> social...</i></i>

The OECD Social Expenditure data base (SOCX) allows the monitoring of trends in aggregate social expenditure and changes in its composition. But aggregate social expenditure may sometimes fail to reflect the true ‘effort’ of a country in providing social support. Account needs to be taken of...

This paper contains an overview of <I>net</I> total (public and private) social expenditure indicators. These indicators have been developed to supplement available historical information on <I>gross</I> social expenditure trends by accounting for the varying impact of the tax system across countries. Tax...</i></i>

This paper contains a first analysis of trends in private social benefits within a comparative framework. There is growing interest in the role of the private sector in the provision of social support in the light of concerns about the high level of public social spending. However, up to now,...

Family policies are central to the well-being of individuals in Europe, but they differ substantially across countries. Drawing on the OECD Social Expenditure database (SOCX), Olivier Thévenon, Willem Adema and Nabil Ali describe the different policies in European countries to support families...

Les politiques familiales ont connu des évolutions importantes au cours des 15 dernières années dans une majorité de pays européens. Mais les disparités de structures des aides aux familles demeurent importantes, liées à des différences d'approche politique. Face à ces disparités, la...