Rethinking antipoverty policy

Policymakers have adopted two main antipoverty approaches in the United States. First, they have emphasized developing human capital, enabling workers to earn higher wages. Second, transfer programmes have provided a safety net for low-income citizens. This chapter advocates an alternative approach: using social insurance programmes to reduce poverty without creating negative incentives. It then looks at programmes focusing on three different age groups: (1) child allowances and paid parental leave, (2) unemployment and disability insurance and (3) old-age pensions. It finds these programmes effective in reducing poverty throughout the developed world, especially in Nordic countries with generous social insurance benefits.