Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP8096
Authors: Tim Coelli; Mathieu Lefebvre; Sergio Perelman; Pierre Pestieau
Abstract: In this paper we use data on five social inclusion indicators (poverty, inequality, unemployment, education and health) to assess and compare the performance of 27 European welfare states (EU27) in 2008. Aggregate measures of performance are obtained using index number methods similar to those employed in the construction of the widely used Human Development Index (HDI). These are compared with alternative measures derived from data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods. We are particularly interested by the comparison between EU15 and the 12 newcomers. As it will appear among the newcomers some countries are ranking among the top performers and others are relegated in the bottom of the ranking.
Keywords: performance measure; best practice frontier; social protection
JEL Codes: H50; C14; D24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| welfare state performance (I38) | poverty reduction (I32) |
| welfare state performance (I38) | inequality reduction (D63) |
| welfare state performance (I38) | protection against lifecycle risks (G52) |
| poverty (pov) (I32) | welfare state performance (I38) |
| inequality (ine) (D63) | welfare state performance (I38) |
| unemployment (une) (J64) | welfare state performance (I38) |
| education (edu) (I20) | welfare state performance (I38) |
| life expectancy (exp) (J17) | welfare state performance (I38) |
| aggregate index of indicators (C43) | welfare state performance (I38) |