European Welfare State (Adema et ali)

Is the European welfare state really more expensive? indicators on social spending, 1980-2012, and a manual to the OECD social expenditure database (SOCX) by Willem Adema, Pauline Fron, Maxime Ladaique published by OECD. “The OECD Social Expenditure database (SOCX) was developed to analyse trends in social spending and its composition at the detained social expenditure programme level. Part I of this paper first presents information on trends and composition of social expenditure as in the OECD Social Expenditure database for the years 1980-2007. Part I also presents social expenditure indicators that account for the effects of the tax system as well as indicators on private social expenditure. Part II of this paper presents the OECD SOCX Manual. It starts with a discussion of methodological, classification and data issues regarding the gross spending items as in SOCX.”