Social protection in mitigating economic insecurity

Economic insecurity is generally conceived as a feeling of concern about the material conditions that may prevail in the future in case of adverse events, like job loss or sickness. The welfare state turns a set of individual risks (including sickness, job loss and other risks undermining economic security) into social risks by way of social protection. As a consequence, lower economic insecurity is expected where the welfare state is stronger. This paper explores this connection empirically, using official statistics. The analysis is run on a selection of European countries, whose social protection systems differ in terms of social spending levels, kinds of risks covered and rules for accessing social protection.