| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
Global pressures, national responses
— the Australian welfare state in context | | Author(s) | Peter Saunders |
| Corporate Author | Social Policy Research Centre - SPRC, University of New South Wales |
| Journal title | SPRC Discussion Paper, no 90, 1998 |
| Pages | 35 pp |
| Keywords | Social welfare ; Public expenditure ; Social policy ; Australia. |
| Annotation | The welfare state remains the subject of intense debate over its effects and effectiveness. Australian data confirm that spending by government on welfare programmes has continued to rise in the 1990s, as has employment in those industries that provide welfare services. This trend is repeated in most other OECD countries, although Australia continues to spend one of the lowest levels of GDP (gross domestic product) on welfare programmes. Whether welfare expenditure continues to rise will depend on how the welfare state responds to some of its current challenges. Three of the specific `crises' alleged to be confronting the welfare state are discussed: the demographic crisis;the crisis of affordability; and the crisis of legitimacy. Those who describe the underlying forces as constituting a `crisis' are generally trying to generate community support for the need for change. While it is clear that contextual changes often require a change in policy, the crucial issue facing the Australian welfare state is whether it can embrace internal change without undermining its role as a buffer against external change for those who are experiencing it. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990112225 P |
| Classmark | TY: WN8: TM2: 7YA |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|