H53 - National Government Expenditures and Welfare ProgramsReturn

This paper aims to use cluster analysis to monitor changes in the social regimes of EU countries in the context of their economic situation. In the first step, the paper provides an overview of theoretical studies and categorizes countries into individual social regimes based on available studies. Subsequently, hierarchical cluster analyses are performed for 2007 and 2019, one for a group of redistributive variables and one for socio-economic variables. The cluster analysis confirmed that differences among individual social regimes are blurred over time, and belonging to a social regime does not automatically lead to occurrence in the same cluster. The new and old member states are mixed in terms of redistributive variables, while economic differences among these countries are still present.

This paper describes and evaluates the development of social expenditures in the Czech Republic and Austria during the nineties. The authors compare social systems of both countries with the aim to show the main differences as well as some identical and concurring features, and to take lecture from them for future reforms. In the first part, a short comparison of the main macroeconomic indicators and their development as the bases of social systems is presented. Factors influencing the level and structure of social expenditures in both countries are mentioned: different economic level, demographic, systemic, and governmental factors. In the second part, the structure of social expenditures and its development is analysed in detail. Current reforms of pension systems in both countries are mentioned. The growing role of personal expenditures in the Czech Republic in covering different kinds of social needs is demonstrated on the health care expenditures.