ABSTRACT
Comparative social security research is still in its infancy. Considering the proportion of national revenues of the industrialised countries devoted to social security, the importance of social security to the living standards of their populations, and the acknowledged problems of administering social security expenditures in efficient and effective ways, it is extraordinary how little comparative research in the field is mounted. One of the consequences of this is that it is well nigh impossible to analyse how social security policy and its effects in the UK compare with other countries in Europe. Nevertheless this chapter contains a review of the comparative evidence that exists concerning the outcomes of social security policy.
