2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. Chapter 2: The historical background Barr: Economics of the Welfare State: 4e

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. Organization of the chapter 1. Early days 2. The Liberal reforms 3. The First World War and the inter-war period in the UK 4. Inter-war poverty relief in the USA 5. The Second World War and its aftermath 6. Post-war developments in the UK and USA 7. Concluding issues: From the past to the present

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 1 Early days The Poor Law Act 1601 The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Early factory legislation Early education activities Public health activities

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 2 The Liberal reforms

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 2.1 The origins of the reforms Pressure from below Changing attitudes Institutional influences

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 2.2 The new measures Children Pensions Unemployment and minimum wages Health How radical were the reforms?

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 3 The First World War and the inter-war period in the UK Action on housing after the First World War The collapse of unemployment insurance in the early 1930s

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 4 Inter-war poverty relief in the USA The roots of the New Deal: until 1933 the federal government paid no grants and organized no programmes for relief or insurance The Social Security Act 1935 How radical was the Act?

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 5 The Second World War and its aftermath The Beveridge Report, 1942 The Education Act 1944 The National Health Service Act 1946 The National Insurance Act 1946 The National Assistance Act 1948

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 6 Post-war developments in the UK and USA

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 6.1 The UK The postwar period: consolidation and extension The 1980s and early 1990s: attempted retrenchment (‘Thatcherism’) After 1997: New Labour

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 6.2 The USA The postwar period: expansion: OAI (1935); OASI (1939); OASDI (1956); OASDHI (1965) The 1960s and the ‘welfare explosion’ The growth slowdown: policy since the early 1970s

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n © Oxford University Press, All rights reserved. 7 Concluding issues: From the past to the present Interpreting the forces creating the welfare state: ideology or industrialization? What was created: a component of the good society, or a prop to capitalism?