cal dimension: the UK, the EU and the US. The profound recent changes in the industrial relations framework in the UK are described by John Addison and Stanley Siebert. They describe anti-union legislation enacted during the period 19801993 and relate it to the recent decline of unionism. The authors further examine the accession of ‘New Labour’ and its related reform agenda. They also discuss the prospect of new legislation seeking to regulate the employment relation from the level of the European Union and its impact on relevant British legislation.

Growing public - social spending and economic growth since the eighteenth century

The international almanac of electoral history

Religion, Class Coalitions, and Welfare States

Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution. By Robert C. Allen. The Princeton Economic History of the Western World. Edited by, Joel Mokyr. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003. Pp. xv+302. $45.00.

This paper presents historical indices for the main dimensions of economic freedom and an aggregate index for nowadays developed countries -(pre-1994) OECD, for short-. Economic liberty expanded over the last one-and-a-half centuries, reaching two thirds of its maximum possible. Its evolution has been, however, far from linear. After a substantial improvement since mid-nineteenth century, World War I brought a major setback. The post-war recovery up to 1929 was followed by a dramatic decline in the 1930s and significant progress took place during the Golden Age but fell short from the pre-World War I peak. A steady expansion since the early 1980s has resulted in the highest levels of economic liberty of the last two centuries. Each main dimension of economic freedom exhibited a distinctive trend and its contribution to the aggregate index varied over time. Nonetheless, improved property rights provided the main contribution to the long-run advancement of economic liberty.

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Economic freedom in the long run: evidence from OECD countries (1850–2007)

Using new data on Spain and Portugal 1950-1980, this paper shows that non-democratic governments were less generous in providing social protection and also financed their meager social policy in a less redistributive way. This contradicts recent studies that hold that dictatorships have no significant effect on social policy. The analysis also reveals that, rather than provoking a 'race to the bottom' or an increase in social spending, globalization favored the adoption of tax-funded systems instead of systems based on compulsory social security contributions. Copyright , Oxford University Press.

/pdf/are-dictatorships-less-redistributive-a-comparative-analysis-2eccwiqb9p.pdf

Are dictatorships less redistributive? A comparative analysis of social spending in Europe, 1950–1980

It is often assumed that the fight against inequality played an important role in the rise of the welfare state. However, using social transfers as an indicator of redistribution and three alternative proxies for inequality—the top income shares, the ratio of the GDP per capita to the unskilled wage, and the share of non-family farms—this article shows that inequality did not favour the development of social policy between 1880 and 1930. On the contrary, social policy developed more easily in countries that were previously more egalitarian, suggesting that unequal societies were in a sort of inequality trap, where inequality itself was an obstacle to redistribution.

/pdf/the-inequality-trap-a-comparative-analysis-of-social-35rl605v2f.pdf

The inequality trap. A comparative analysis of social spending between 1880 and 1930

Using two alternative indicators of redistribution -social transfers and social spending- over the time-period 1880-1933 and using two alternative proxies for inequality -the percentage of non-family farms and the top income shares-, this paper shows that, contrary to what many studies on the origins of the welfare state appear to implicitly suggest, inequality did not favour the development of social policy even in its early stages. Since social policy developed more easily in countries that were previously more egalitarian, it seems that unequal societies were in a sort of inequality trap, where inequality itself was an obstacle to redistribution.

The inequality trap A comparative analysis of social spending between 1880 and 1933

La evolución del gasto social público en España, 1850-2005

In 1833-1874, Spain suffered 0.7 coups per year. By contrast, the Restoration (1874-1923) saw the eradication of successful coups. This can be partially attributed to the turno pacifico, which allowed the main political parties to alternate in office without dragging the military into politics. We suggest, however, that the reduction in coup risk was also associated with a conscious budget policy. This, though, did not rely on increases in total military expenditure (which actually stagnated during most of the Restoration), but on the steady improvement of officers' remunerations and promotions. This strategy was probably detrimental to Spanish military capacity abroad, but was consistent with the objective of keeping the military out of politics. (Less)

Military Wages and Coup d’État in Spain (1850-1915): the Use of Public Spending as a Coup-Proofing Strategty : The USE of PUBLIC SPENDING AS A COUP-PROOFING STRATEGY

Sergio Espuelas

Papers

Are dictatorships less redistributive? A comparative analysis of social spending in Europe, 1950–1980

The inequality trap. A comparative analysis of social spending between 1880 and 1930

The inequality trap A comparative analysis of social spending between 1880 and 1933

La evolución del gasto social público en España, 1850-2005

Military Wages and Coup d’État in Spain (1850-1915): the Use of Public Spending as a Coup-Proofing Strategty : The USE of PUBLIC SPENDING AS A COUP-PROOFING STRATEGY