The A to Z of the Welfare State by Bent Greve

Author:Bent Greve
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Published: 2006-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

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NATURAL RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT. This is the rate of unemployment that a society eventually would move toward given the structure of the economy, the labor market, and related regulations. It is questionable what the level of the natural rate of unemployment actually is. One definition has been the rate of unemployment when the inflation rate is stable—sometimes referred to as the nonaccelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). By relating unemployment to a stable inflation rate, it can vary greatly in different countries and will also change over time.

NEED. This is something an individual is lacking. It can be physical or psychological. It can be food and housing in order to survive but can also be social contacts with other people. Basic needs should normally be fulfilled before the individual expresses the need for loving and caring. Needs are individually bound, and the size is normative, which makes it difficult to decide which needs should be covered and which should not, because needs are seen as unlimited.

The welfare state primarily supplies basic needs such as food (or income to buy food) and housing; to a lesser degree it supplies loving and caring. In some welfare states, homes for the elderly, self-help groups, and support services for voluntary groups are established to reduce loneliness among specific vulnerable groups.

NEGATIVE INCOME TAX. This is a tax paid to those having an income below a certain defined level. It has been used to define a minimum income level that all members of society should have, and in this way it resembles a means-tested general benefit given to those with the lowest income in a society. It can be said to reduce the number of people living in poverty if the minimum is defined as the poverty line.

NETHERLANDS, THE. This is one of the mature European welfare states, which basically can be characterized as a mixture of the continental and Scandinavian welfare state models, as it has certain elements of and similarities to the Bismarckian model due to its combination of the universal system with insurance-based systems.

The Netherlands experienced slow and late industrial development. It was only in 1901 that a law on industrial injury was established, and in 1912, a change in the poor law was passed. During World War I, an unemployment system was developed, and only after the war (although The Netherlands was neutral during the war), new elements in the social security system were developed, that is, coverage in case of old age and disability in 1919 and sickness and maternity in 1931.

After World War II, although it was inspired by the Bismarckian model, The Netherlands turned to the Beveridgian model and gradually a more universal welfare state type emerged, which among other things included general pensions. During the 1960s, The Netherlands, like many other welfare states in Europe, experienced very rapid development and expansion of its welfare system.

With respect to old age, it is a universal system in which an individual may pay into a supplementary pension system above the state-supported level.

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