When I first conceived the plans for this book in the mid-1960s, social security programs were experiencing expansion and liberalization throughout the industrial world. Now, two decades later, in an environment of retarded economic growth and severe unemployment, the need for social security expenditures to mitigate the impacts of unemployment and economic deprivation has increased enormously, but the capacity of governments to meet this need is being severely limited because of the necessity of budgetary restraint. The result is a constant conflict, and, in conservative and right-wing circles, a growing tendency to place the blame for persistent unemployment on the generosity of the “welfare state.”

My aim in this volume is to provide a comparative analysis of social security policies in industrial countries, not simply in their general outlines, but in their major features, including the scope and adequacy of benefits and the structure of financing provisions in each of the main types of social security programs – pension programs, health benefit programs, unemployment and manpower programs, children's allowances and family policies, and public assistance.

Included are 28 industrial countries. I have omitted a few of the smaller industrial countries, such as Iceland, Luxemburg, and Portugal, as well as industrial countries in Latin America. It goes without saying, of course, that I cannot possibly cover all the details of the programs of 28 countries. And yet, for certain statistical purposes, such as social security expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), it is extremely useful to analyze the data for as many as 28 countries.