Reforming the Welfare State (Springer Tracts in Modern Physics)

The welfare state has come under increasing pressure. This raises numerous questions with regard to how to reform it. At an international conference held in Prague, the Czech Republic, a group of experts discussed some important reform issues. Their analyses and proposals are presented in this volume which deals with the following questions: What types of welfare states are there? To what extent does moral hazard limit the provision of social insurance? What are the pros and cons of a negative income tax? What are the characteristics of the "Swedish Model" of a welfare state? Is this model dead? What are the objectives of the welfare state in Germany? Why and how should a pay-as-you-go old-age pension system be transformed in to a capital reserve system? What trends in reforming health care systems can be observed?