Decline of the Welfare State: Demography and Globalization
Author: Assaf Razin
In The Decline of the Welfare State, Assaf Razin and Efraim Sadka use a political economy framework to analyze the effects of aging populations, migration, and globalization on the deteriorating system of financing welfare state benefits as we know them. Their timely analysis, supported by a unified theoretical framework and empirical findings, demonstrates how the combined forces of demographic change and globalization will make it impossible for the welfare state to maintain itself on its present scale.
In much of the developed world, the proportion of the population aged 60 and over is expected to rise dramatically over the coming years -- from 35 percent in 2000 to a projected 66 percent in 2050 in the European Union and from 27 percent to 47 percent in the United States -- which may necessitate higher tax burdens and greater public debt to maintain national pension systems at current levels. Low-skill migration produces additional strains on welfare-state financing because such migrants typically receive benefits that exceed what they pay in taxes. Higher capital taxation, which could potentially be used to finance welfare benefits, is made unlikely by international tax competition brought about by globalization of the capital market. Applying a political economy model and drawing on empirical data from the EU and the United States, the authors draw an unconventional and provocative conclusion from these developments. They argue that the political pressure from both aging and migrant populations indirectly generates political processes that favor trimming rather than expanding the welfare state. The combined pressures of aging, migration, and globalization willshift the balance of political power and generate public support from the majority of the voting population for cutting back traditional welfare state benefits.
Table of Contents:
| 1 | Overview | 1 |
| 2 | Aging, migration, and the widening wage gap | 9 |
| 3 | Migration and the welfare state | 39 |
| 4 | Balanced-budget rules and the downscaling of the welfare state | 47 |
| 5 | The capital-tax-financed welfare state | 61 |
| 6 | Aging and the welfare state : empirical evidence | 75 |
| 7 | Capital taxation : the shadow of international tax competition | 89 |
| 8 | The downward convergence of capital taxation across countries : evidence from the European Union | 107 |
Interesting textbook: The Art of Public Speaking PowerWeb and Topic Finder or Merchandizing Prisoners
The Management of Telecommunications: Business Solutions to Business Problems
Author: Houston H Carr
Intended for a telecommunications course taught in MIS departments in business schools at the undergraduate or MBA level. Students taking the business telecommunications course should have already taken an introductory MIS course and have a basic knowledge of computing and computer terminology. Rather than solely concentrating on the technology of telecommunications,Carr and Snyder's new textbook caters more to the needs of today's business students. MANAGEMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS is the ideal textbook for exposing students to all facets of being a telecommunications end-user; It stresses the importance of the managerial decision-making side of telecommunications by applying the use of an integrated continuing case to illustrate key concepts and show the decision process. This book will provide business students with the technical vocabulary,technical understanding,and decision-making ability necessary to be an effective business telecommunications manager. Students using Carr and Snyder's book will lead the decision-making process by having an understanding of technology tradeoffs in relation to costs,marketing,customer service,and competition. Students will learn how telecommunications and telecommunications-intensive information systems,in particular,are part of the strategic,tactical,and operational decision processes of an organization.
