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Globalization, welfare regimes and social protection expenditures in Western and Eastern European countries

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the effects of globalization on social protection expenditures in European countries. The particular focus is on (a) the Eastern European countries and (b) on differences in globalization effects between welfare regimes. We find evidence in favor of the compensation hypothesis in Western Europe which is driven by the conservative welfare regime, outweighing the efficiency effect of globalization in the social-democratic welfare regime. In Eastern European countries the efficiency effect is predominant. No globalization effect is found for the liberal and the southern welfare regimes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics and Research Institute International Tax Coordination, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Augasse 2-6, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Markus Leibrecht

  2. Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Augasse 2-6, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Michael Klien

  3. Department of Economics and Statistics, Middlesex University, The Burroughs, London, NW4 4BT, UK

    Oezlem Onaran

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  1. Markus Leibrecht
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Correspondence to Markus Leibrecht.

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Leibrecht, M., Klien, M. & Onaran, O. Globalization, welfare regimes and social protection expenditures in Western and Eastern European countries. Public Choice 148, 569–594 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-010-9685-7

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