Spain: Poverty, Social Exclusion and 'Safety Nets'

Abstract

The Spanish welfare state incorporates elements of both Bismarckian and Beveridgean traditions, and can be labelled as a via media with respect to other regimes of social protection. It combines universal and targeted access to services and benefits. The most relevant factor conditioning welfare development in Spain is the importance of decentralisation both at the level of planning and policy implementation. Decentralisation of social assistance and services has had much greater impact than privatisation in the last decades.