Introduction

The unprecedented growth of social welfare expenditure in industrialized nations between 1960 and the early 1980s marks what some might call the Golden Era of welfare state expansion. With social welfare spending poised for an historic takeoff in 1960, Daniel Bell announced from the United States that capitalist societies had reached the "end of ideology," due in part to political acceptance of the welfare state. Increasing efforts to target social benefits have been initiated in most of the industrialized welfare states. Although the rise in social welfare expenditure was checked from 1985 through 1995, immense pressures for future spending are projected. These pressures are fueled by sociodemographic trends, foremost among which is the aging of populations in the industrialized countries. And the growing demands on public expenditure associated with the aging of the population are compounded by other sociodemographic trends. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.