UNDERSTANDING THE WELFARE-STATE - CRISIS, CRITICS, AND COUNTERCRITICS

We are now seeing a new wave of literature about the ''crisis'' of the welfare state. In the earlier wave, some critics charged that social spending significantly detracted from macro- or microeconomic performa nce, while others challenged the legitimacy or efficacy of welfare pro grams; a third group worried about the effect of macroeconomic problem s on the viability of the welfare state. None of these criticisms can be said to have been satisfactory, and continued reiterations of them betray a lack of cross-national perspective and a priori reasoning abo ut empirical matters. Works with greater historical depth and more rec ent studies constitute a much-needed reaction against the ''crisis'' l iterature.