Unemployment and related welfare benefits help prevent those without work from falling into poverty but at the same time, reduce the incentive to work; this is one of the main dilemmas of social policy, Launched in 1998, this series addresses the complicated interactions of tax and benefit systems for different family types and labour market situations. This new edition includes a description of all the benefits available to those without work, and of the taxes they pay, and presents a set of tables facilitating cross-country comparisons of tax-benefit systems. It compares the incomes of a range of families in and out of work in 1999 and describes the incentives to work, either part-time or full-time, across the OECD countries.
