Racism is the main reason why the US has a weak safety net
In this 2001 paper, Alesina and Glaeser are examining why the U.S. doesn’t have the generous welfare benefits of advanced countries in Europe. They conclude that there are two factors explaining the difference:
- U.S. institutions were designed much earlier than their modern European equivalents, and are thus more oriented toward protecting private property above all else;
- “Within the US, race is the single most important predictor of support for welfare. America’s troubled race relations are clearly a major reason for the absence of an American welfare state.”
Why doesn’t the US have a European-style welfare state?
Authors: Alberto Alesina, Edward Glaeser, Bruce Sacerdote
From: Harvard University, Dartmouth College
Easy access to credit has replaced the welfare system?
In this 2020 paper, Wiedemann and Wise make an interesting connection between the concept of “personal responsibility” and the growing reliance on credit among American families. This means that in the case of a financial emergency, people are likely to turn to high-interest credit under the belief that doing so is the “responsible option.” The authors use state-level observational data to show that when Americans believe that everyone can pay their own way, using credit if necessary, they are less inclined to support public spending.
They argue that the turn to credit for social welfare occurred in a period where structural changes in labor markets, rising inequality, and welfare reform coincided with a type of politics that portray those who rely on the welfare state as racial minorities lacking in personal responsibility.
The Politics of Personal Responsibility, Credit, and the American Welfare State
Authors: Andreas Wiedemann, Tess Wise
From: Princeton University, Amherst College
