Peter Lindert: How Government Social Spending Works

The Dissenter | 12 December 2024 | 0h 53m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify

Interview with Peter Lindert about his book Making Social Spending Work. Discusses what social spending is, and addresses the main arguments for and against government social spending; the conditions that allow for government social spending to take off; why Northwest Europe led the way; the importance of universal education, the shift in spending toward the powerful and the elderly since 1910; the “free lunch puzzle”; the benefits of universal healthcare and welfare programs' social spending in developing countries, autocracies, and democracies, and trends since 1980; the impact of immigration on the economy, the pension system and the sustainability of social security; examples of wrong social spending, and the biggest threats to social programs until 2050.

See also the Economic History Podcast interview.