ABSTRACT
In the 1980s, both the United States and the Netherlands were confronted with problems that had sizeable consequences for welfare states and the quality of life of vulnerable people. The people most affected were the unemployed, single-parent families, the disabled and other groups who depended on state benefits. Three developments should be cited in this connection. In the eighteenth century the economy declined and with it the economic and political power of the country. The three factors such as geographic location, good connections, and late modernization, were conducive to foreign influences on many political, economic and cultural institutions of the Dutch. Esping-Andersen's typology is related to, but does not coincide with, earlier typologies, such as that of the market, state, or church/associational model or the distinction between means- and needs-tested welfare, state compulsory social insurance for workers, and flat-rate state benefits for all citizens. The compromise-character has enhanced the complexity, generosity, and costs of the Dutch welfare system.
