2018 Chapters (Layout Features)

Preface

Ocampo, Jose A.; Stiglitz, Joseph E.

Preface to "The Welfare State Revisited". The central thesis of the papers in this volume is that Draghi and those who argue similarly are wrong. Now, more than ever, there is a need for a welfare state. A stronger welfare state is part of the answer to Europe's problems, not the cause of them. Those countries in Europe with the strongest welfare states weathered the crisis better and have higher living standards. The development of welfare states is also essential for equitable development in middle- and low-income countries. Furthermore, it is critical to reverse the adverse domestic inequality trends that have been in place throughout the world since the last decades of the twentieth century.