"Baltic welfare state" or "welfare states"?: a comparative analysis of social security systems in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

• Slavic-Eurasian Research Center: knygos dalies tekstas

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: welfare state; Baltic States; Pension insurance; Family policy; Unemployment; Social assistance.

ENThe paper is organized as follows: First, the debate on the emerging post-communist welfare state model/s is briefly discussed. This will help to better understand the changes in the CEE countries after the fall of the various communist regimes. Second, the “Baltic welfare state” and its progress over a period of more than two decades is briefly discussed. Third, the socioeconomic situation in the three Baltic states is analysed. Then, various social security schemes (social assistance, sickness, family/child benefits, pension and unemployment insurance) are reviewed in more detail. Finally, in the concluding section, a summary of the major results of the analysis is presented. The major argument of this paper is that although the three Baltic states started from the identical social policy arrangements inherited from the Soviet regime, in the period of more than 25 years of independence they have developed differences in their social security systems. These differences are especially pronounced in the protection of families and children. The low protection of families with children in Lithuania makes it more like the ideal type of liberal welfare state, while Estonia, with its generous policies for children and families, comes closer to the social democratic model. Latvia resembles a conservative-corporatist regime with modest benefits to children and heavy reliance on social insurance programs. [Extract, p. 4]