Constitutional Commitment to Social Security and Welfare Policy
31 Pages Posted: 28 Feb 2006
Date Written: February 2006
Abstract
In this paper we explore whether the constitutional text has any practical meaning for welfare policy. To examine the empirical importance of the constitution, we first constructed for 68 countries an index of constitutional commitment to social security in five areas: Old Age, disability and survivors (OASDI), Unemployment, Sickness, Work Injury and Income Support. We find that the extent and coverage of social security laws is not sensitive to the degree of constitutional commitment to social security.
Keywords: Welfare Policy, Social Security, Constitution, Legal Origins
JEL Classification: H53, H55
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