On the Convergence of Social Protection Performance in the European Union

In this article, we use data on five social inclusion indicators (poverty, inequality, unemployment,
<br />education and health) to assess and compare the performance of 15 European
<br />welfare states (EU15) over a 12-year period from 1995 to 2006. Aggregate measures of
<br />performance are obtained using index number methods similar to those employed in the
<br />construction of the widely used Human Development Index. These are compared with
<br />alternative measures derived from data envelopment analysis methods. The influence of
<br />methodology choice and the assumptions made in scaling indicators upon the results
<br />obtained is illustrated and discussed. We then analyse the evolution of performance
<br />over time, finding evidence of some convergence in performance and no sign of social
<br />dumping.