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Journal of Economic Literature Vol. 47 No. 1 2009

Globalization and the Welfare State: A Review of Hans-Werner Sinn'sCan Germany Be Saved?

Dennis J. Snower; Alessio J. G. Brown; Christian Merkl

Kiel Institute for the World Economy and Christian-Albrechts University.

Abstract

What are the challenges that globalization makes on welfare states and how should welfare states respond? How should welfare states be designed to enable countries to reap the benefits of globalization? These are the main themes of Hans-Werner Sinn's book, Can Germany Be Saved? We view Germany as a case study of how a welfare state can go wrong in reacting to the pressures of globalization. We present two views of globalization—the “specialization view” (of Sinn) and the “Great Reorganization view” (ours)—and examine the policy implications of each for the welfare state design.

DOI
10.1257/jel.47.1.136
Volume
47
Issue
1
Pages
136-158
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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