| Popis: |
In welfare state research, it is customary to speak of generations of research. We focus on three of them: social expenditure; social rights; and the public-private mix in pension schemes. The aim of the article is to study to what extent the generations are linked to cross-national differences in old-age poverty. The expenditure approach displayed the strongest association with the outcome. The two later research generations performed less well. In that sense the old trick is better than the new ones. Expenditure data also makes it possible to evaluate the poverty reducing effect of social services. The analysis of legislated social rights shows who is entitled to what. However, calculated rights for typical cases may not be realized: human life seldom is typical. Variability between genders, sectors of employment and social class tends to be higher than in legislated rights, and therefore, the association between the third generation measures and poverty outcomes remains low. All the approaches share the same problem: not only pensions but many other factors have impacts upon the economic situation of the retired population. Furthermore, the dependent variable, old age poverty is an elusive concept that opens need for a new generation of comparative welfare studies. |
