ABSTRACT
The changes in targeting of benefits have had a number of wider implications. This chapter discusses the implication of these changes in a number of areas: the dependence trap; overlapping of targeting regimes; effectiveness of targeted systems for delivering assistance to the most needy; take-up; intrusiveness of targeting regimes; stigma; and effects on social solidarity. A range of means have been used to target provision to the most needy groups in society, within the enduring framework of a categorical, income-tested system of noncontributory benefits and pensions funded from general taxation. The chapter also discusses the origins of social security in New Zealand, showing how a targeted system emerged naturally as a consequence of the stage of social and economic development of the country. It provides a brief summary of the main developments in the evolution of the social security system up to the Second World War.
