Social Insurance in Transition: An Economic Analysis

This treatment of the economics of social security examines the aims and operations of state social security systems, concentrating on the social insurance systems–pensions, unemployment, and sickness insurance. The authors analyze the rationale for a social insurance system, the appropriate level of state intervention, and the criteria used to judge a system’s performance. The recent literature on the economic theory of insurance and on the labor supply, alternative methods of finance, and income reditribution is thoroughly discussed.