ABSTRACT
The scope of a country’s welfare state is often measured in one of two ways. One way is to calculate the amount of money a country commits to social welfare. Another is to examine the scope of social rights the country’s welfare state guarantees to its citizens. By either measure, the welfare states of North America are less generous than most European welfare states. In terms of social spending, the United States spent 19.0 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on social welfare in 2015. Canada spent less: 17.2 percent (OECD 2017). All of the wealthier countries of Western Europe during that year spent more than 20 percent of their GDPs on social welfare. This pattern has been consistent over time, and marks these two countries as among the least generous welfare states. This status as laggard also applies when North American welfare states are compared in terms of social rights. Canada and the United States are often classified among the “liberal” welfare states, those that outline a limited scope for state responsibility in providing for the welfare of their citizens (see also Chapter 16). This classification stands in sharp contrast to the wealthier European countries, most of which are classified as “social democratic” or “continental” welfare states.
