Sandro Segre

This essay sets out to establish whether there is a crisis of the contemporary welfare states. A preliminary definition of this term, and classification of distinct models of welfare states, has been offered. It has then been contended that different units of analysis and observation may lead to incompatible conclusions, as they are conducive to choosing different indicators of crisis. Some indicators are relevant to all models of welfare states, such as the GNP proportion of welfare expenditures, while other indicators refer only to particular models. Considering all such indicators, it may be concluded that is neither a general crisis of the welfare state, nor a crisis of the Swedish or universalistic model, while considering the US or residual model in crisis depends on the choice of the indicators.