Thus social insurance, in sharp contrast with actuarial insurance, can cover not only risk but also uncertainty. - Nicholas Barr

It is the welfare state that has made capitalism, with all its attendant benefits of economic growth, politically feasible...

Markets can be efficient or inefficient; so can governments. thus market failure is a counterpoint to government failure.

Unless the countries of East Asia are very different, rising incomes and the weakening of extended family ties will lead to demands for rising social expenditure.