Efficiency of the Welfare State: A Comparative Approach Using Data Envelopment Analysis

As governments continue to evolve over the past century or so in their perceived role of providing economic security for their populations, a ubiquitous yet ill-defined concept of the welfare state is increasingly taking center stage in political and economic debates. With fiscal crises looming over the horizon in many parts of the world, the fingers of blame point with greater frequency to the welfare state as the entity which is contributing more to fiscal problems than to economic solutions. Reformation of the welfare state is rapidly becoming more likely and more urgent and this study proposes one mechanism for evaluating welfare state performance and setting benchmarks for optimizing such performance. The study uses Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate comparative efficiencies of various welfare state models in 137 countries, and to propose potential pathways to efficiency savings in the laggard efficiency states. The study contextualizes the welfare state efficiency differences by referring to the well-established welfare state typologies of 18 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The results are consistent with previous findings in identifying the lower spending states as generally more efficient and finding the social-democratic welfare state model less efficient. The results are qualified by the recognition that definitional and data availability issues remain to be solved by future studies, as many of the ideal variables for welfare state performance measurement do not exist at this time

Can A True Faith-Based Education Be Delivered Online?

Can a faith-based education be as effective when delivered online as when it is delivered face-to-face? An in-depth look at the early adopters of the online technology reveals that it can be if the Christian university commits itself to developing an online learning community and to interweaving faith principles into crucial areas of its online program. The three key areas of faith integration upon which hinges the success of such programs are the integration of faith into course material, faith integration in the relationships among students, and faith integration in the faculty student relationships. Consistent attention to these three areas validates the online Christian education model, complements the missions of Christian institutions, supports the integration of faith and learning, and enables institutions to reach audiences that may not be currently accessible