ABSTRACT
Due to such factors as the social effects of globalization, the impact of innovations, and unexpected demographic changes, many older definitions of welfare are confining or obsolete. erefore, we take a broad-brush approach to welfare in our comparisons. We see a veritable explosion of calls and claims for more entitlements, larger allocations of public funds for medical care, and excessively expensive welfare bureaucracy. We also note the growing opposition to these trends. We are on the eve of major public and private social policy changes and other welfare reforms worldwide. It is our hope that our broader approach will be useful to the Baltic policy planners in making major reforms.
