Bshs 355 - Welfare and Human Service Professionals

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Michel Camdessus, Managing Director of International Monetary Fund, said in 1998, “…as we approach the end of the century, we find that both the welfare state and globalization face crises of sorts. The more immediate and visible relates to globalization, whose benefits to countries around the world have been undermined by widespread loss of confidence in financial markets, and consequently crisis threatens a number of economics. However, I am confident that this crisis is a temporary setback.” Camdessus further goes on to point out the benefits from welfare states. She said, “The term “welfare state” has typically been applied to countries in which public spending has risen to very high levels in order to finance social programs. There is no hard and fast rule, but the countries that are considered as being welfare states normally have governments whose expenditure is about half of their GDP: indeed in some countries, it has risen as high as 60 percent of GDP.” The extraordinary growth in public spending that accompanied the creation of the welfare state can be appreciated by the change in the share of public spending in national income which took place between the beginning and the end of this century (Camdessus, 1998).

In conclusion, Camdessus’ states, that if “it” is to survive, this system of welfare, here and abroad, the welfare stated in the industrial economics will need important reforms. These reforms will be necessary for it to co-exist with a domestic market economy and an increasingly globalized world open to prevalent tax competition. Camdessus goes on to say, that by making appropriate choices they will improve the running of their economies by reducing unproductive spending and improving the quality of tax systems. However, as for the lower income emerging economies, which are the main beneficiaries of globalization, they face different pressures. The demands on them are to make their social support systems more comprehensive, mimicking perhaps the system of the industrial world. As living standards rise, and social programs become more adequate, I anticipate that we will see a trend toward convergence in the standards of social protection that are seen in countries throughout the world (Camdessus, 1998).

References

BURGER, W. R. (2013). HUMAN SERVICES IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICA COURSEMATE WITH EBOOK PRINTED ACCESS CARD. S.l.: BROOKS COLE.

National Organization for Human Services. (2017). What is human services? Retrieved from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-services

Camdessus, Michel. (1998). Worldwide crisis in the welfare state: what next in the context of globalization? Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp101598

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