International Social Security Association (ISSA)
JUST PUBLISHED: NEW ISSA BOOK ON DISABILITY BENEFIT TRENDS
Sick societies? Trends in disability benefits in post-industrial welfare states
We are pleased to announce the newly launched Sick societies? Trends in disability benefits in post-industrial welfare states, edited by Peter A. Kemp, Annika Sundén and Bernhard Bakker Tauritz. Building on a comparative ISSA research project, the book explores the trends in disability benefit recipiency in six post-industrial societies (Denmark, Great Britain, Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States), unravels the forces behind rising numbers, recapitulates policy interventions to reduce caseloads and draws general lessons about how to design such interventions.
Despite significant improvements in population health, many welfare states have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of people receiving long-term sickness and disability benefits over the past two decades. This paradox has become one of the most pressing problems facing the welfare state * due to the mounting cost of disability programs and the negative economic impact of low employment levels. At the same time, it has also proven a particularly intractable problem as attempts to stem the rising tide of disability benefit recipients have had only limited or temporary success in most industrialized countries.
In addressing this paradox, the book relies on systematic, detailed description and in-depth analysis of disability programs, trends and policies in each of the countries studied as well as insightful cross-country comparisons. Based on the analysis of the latest data available and a comprehensive review of earlier studies, Sick societies offers a profound understanding of the forces that are behind the upsurge in benefit caseloads, thus facilitating the design of effective strategies to reduce inflow into disability benefits and to increase outflow from them in future.
To purchase copies of the book, please use the order form attached.
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