European Welfare Systems in Official Statistics: National and Local Levels

Abstract

In the last decades, European welfare systems have undergone continuous reforms in the light of financial pressures. Monitoring changes requires to consider several dimensions of welfare systems, such as the composition of risks and needs covered, the rules for accessing benefits or the type of social benefits delivered. Finally, it is relevant to take into account the geographical area where beneficiaries live, since in some countries local governments are assigned managing and, sometimes, legislative competencies on social protection areas. This paper aims at exploring official statistics on European welfare systems, by focusing on social benefits. The objective is assessing if available statistics allow one to compare the level and the kind of social benefits delivered across European countries both at national and sub-national levels. We focus on the Italian case to provide some examples.