"The welfare state is the outcome of diverse forces over nearly four centuries of developing social policy."

Nicholas Barr Economics See all quotes by Nicholas Barr →

React to this quote

More by Nicholas Barr

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

“Money income is a flawed measure of individual welfare.”

“Thus social insurance, in sharp contrast with actuarial insurance, can cover not only risk but also uncertainty.”

“Perfect competition must hold in product and factor markets, and also in capital markets. The assumption has two essential features: economic agents must be price takers; and they must have equal power.”

“It is argued that regulators are frequently captured by those whom they are supposed to regulate.”

“The European Commission uses an explicit relative poverty line of 60 per cent of national average income.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Thomas Friedman dismissed the protesters in Quebec City as members of the "Coalition to Keep Poor People Poor." …The Coalition to Keep Poor People Poor might as well disband; its apparent goal is bein…"

— Linda McQuaig

Journalism1951

#philosophy

"The mitigating feature in the gloom of those far-off days was the shaft of light sunk by Christian missions, a shaft of light to which we owe our initial enlightenment. With successive governments of …"

— Albert Lutuli

Politics1898–1967

#justice

"The most immediate question today is how to prevent as many imprisoned women and men as possible back into what prisoners call "the free world." How can we move to decriminalize drug use and the trade…"

— Angela Davis

Education1944

#family

"Now, when the notion had once gained ground, whether from causes before suggested or not, that the earth had been destroyed by several general catastrophes, it would next be inferred that the human ra…"

— Charles Lyell

Philosophy1767–1849

#justice