The Efficiency of Social Expenditures in the Fight against Extreme Poverty in Europe [Die Effizienz Der Sozialausgaben Im Kampf Gegen Extreme Armut in Europa]

Abstract

In this qualitative sociological and quantitative economic policy paper, we show the trade-off between social expenditures and absolute poverty, and construct a non-parametric efficiency indicator, combining the residuals from the trade-off between social expenditures per capita and absolute poverty from recent EU-Commission and UNDP data (% of the population below 10 Euros, 5 Euros, and 13 Dollars a day, as well as % of the population dying before age 60). Among the older EU-15 members, Germany is among the least efficient systems, while the Czech Republic again leads the field, thus replicating recent results reported by Heshmati et al.

Note: Downloadable document is in German.

Keywords: Social Spending, European Commission, Index Numbers and Aggregation, Cross-Sectional Models, Spatial Models, Economic Integration, Regional Economic Activity, International Factor Movements, International Political Economy

JEL Classification: C43, C21, F15, R11, F2l, F5