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Social Protection for the Poor in the Developed World: The Evidence from LIS

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  • Katherin Ross Phillips
  • Timothy Smeeding

Abstract

This paper presents data and analysis on the antipoverty effectiveness of safety nets in eight rich nations using data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). We find that national safety nets are quite varied and that the most expensive ones (in terms of budgetary cost) are also the most effective. The paper concludes with some suggestions for the construction of effective safety nets in developing nations.

Suggested Citation

  • Katherin Ross Phillips & Timothy Smeeding, 1999. "Social Protection for the Poor in the Developed World: The Evidence from LIS," LIS Working papers 204, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:204
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    11. Michael F rster, 1993. "Comparing Poverty in 13 OECD Countries Traditional and Synthetic Approaches," LIS Working papers 100, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    12. Timothy Smeeding, 1997. "Financial Poverty in Developed Countries: The Evidence from LIS: Final Report to the UNDP," LIS Working papers 155, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    13. Olivia S. Mitchell, "undated". "Building an Environment for Pension Reform in Developing Countries," Pension Research Council Working Papers 97-7, Wharton School Pension Research Council, University of Pennsylvania.
    14. Richard V. Burkhauser & Timothy M. Smeeding & Joachim Merz, 1996. "Relative Inequality And Poverty In Germany And The United States Using Alternative Equivalence Scales," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 42(4), pages 381-400, December.
    15. Suzanne Duryea & Miguel Székely, 1998. "Labor Markets in Latin America: A Supply-Side Story," Research Department Publications 4120, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
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    17. Lee Rainwater, 1990. "Poverty and Equivalence as Social Constructions," LIS Working papers 55, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
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    19. repec:bla:revinw:v:37:y:1991:i:4:p:345-61 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Lane Kenworthy, 1998. "Do Social-Welfare Policies Reduce Poverty? A Cross-National Assessment," LIS Working papers 188, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas A. DiPrete, 2001. "Life Course Risks, Mobility Regimes, and Mobility Consequences: A Comparison of Sweden, Germany and the U.S," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 255, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    2. Siddiqi, Arjumand & Hertzman, Clyde, 2007. "Towards an epidemiological understanding of the effects of long-term institutional changes on population health: A case study of Canada versus the USA," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 589-603, February.
    3. Christina Behrendt, 2000. "Holes in the Safety Net? Social Security and the Alleviation of Poverty in a Comparative Perspective," LIS Working papers 259, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    4. Timothy M. Smeeding & Katherin Ross Phillips, 2002. "Cross-National Differences in Employment and Economic Sufficiency," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 580(1), pages 103-133, March.
    5. John Scott, 2002. "High Inequality, Low Revenue: Redistributive Efficiency on Latin American Fiscal Policy in Comparative Perspective," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8907, Inter-American Development Bank.
    6. Daniyal Zuberi, 2001. "Transfers Matter Most," LIS Working papers 271, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.

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