ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some general trends in social expenditure until the early 1990s, and the 'ideological status' of the welfare state at the beginning of the 1990s. Analyses of welfare state change in Europe, North America and Japan for 1975-85 showed that welfare expenditures continued to grow faster than the economic product and public revenues despite curtailments of welfare programmes. The high legitimacy that European welfare states enjoy militates against any reduction in their responsibilities, which many governments and experts consider necessary. The chapter outlines recent developments in four selected countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Poland. Each of these represents one of the four types of welfare states which can be distinguished in post-war Europe. Governments across Europe are concerned about the current and future development of their national welfare states. Globalization of economic competition and money markets, ageing of the population and rising entitlements, persistent high levels of unemployment, and financial constraints all represent common challenges.
