ABSTRACT
The Bismarckian legislation in the 1880s can be considered as the point of departure for the initiation of the modern welfare state. Comparative studies of the development of social insurance legislation show, however, that the last decades of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century witnessed for the most part the introduction and extension only of occupational injuries insurance schemes in Europe. Limited old-age insurance and sickness insurance were introduced in some countries. During the inter-war years social insurance was extended in terms of new risks covered (unemployment), in terms of population coverage, and in terms of countries that introduced all four major schemes of social security. In the aftermath of the Second World War many countries made extensive social reforms. As a result, almost all West European countries had rather comprehensive social insurance programmes for occupational injuries, old age, sickness and unemployment by the year 1950. The following three decades can be characterised as the major growth period of the European welfare state. Differences between European countries began to diminish and major schemes were close to covering the total adult population in many countries (Flora and Alber 1981:3780). However, by the early 1980s important variations between European countries persisted, and aggregate data on social expenditure and government employment bear out underlying institutional differences (see Tables 1.1 and 1.2).
