Practice question · Select all that apply
Which are among the explanations for why states built welfare systems?
Hints
- Three are standard explanations; one describes a programme nobody pursued.
- The market-failure argument is an economic case for provision, not against markets.
Show the answer
- A. Some risks are uninsurable privately because of adverse selection
- B. Industrialisation created risks families and guilds could not absorb
- C. Total war required mass mobilisation, which had to be paid for in postwar commitments
Why
The fourth misstates even the most expansive systems: the Nordic welfare states coexist with open, competitive economies. The first option is worth dwelling on, since it makes state provision a response to a market failure rather than a departure from markets, an argument liberals and social democrats can both accept.
Practise The Welfare State: Rise, Crisis, Typologies
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More questions on The Welfare State: Rise, Crisis, Typologies
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