 | Benefits and Wages 2004 The 2004 edition of Benefits and Wages provides results for 2001 and 2002. Unemployment and related welfare benefits help prevent those without work from falling into poverty but can at the same time reduce the incentive to work; this is one of the main dilemmas of social policy. Launched in 1998, this series (formerly entitled Benefit Systems and Work Incentives) addresses the complicated interactions of tax and benefit systems for different family types and labour market situations and their impact on household incomes and financial work incentives. This new edition provides detailed descriptions of all cash benefits available to those in and out of work as well as the taxes they were liable to pay across OECD countries during both 2001 and 2002. Total household incomes and their components are calculated for a range of family types and employment situations. The results are used to examine financial incentives to work, either part-time or full-time, as well as the extent to which social benefits prevent income poverty for those without a job. The analyses draw on detailed country-by-country information which is available on the Internet at www.oecd.org/els/social/workincentives. |
