POLITICS POCKET DICTIONARY W

W

Welfare state :

A state whose government devotes a very large proportion of its activities and expenditures to the direct provision ofpersonal benefits to be consumed by qualifying individuals or families. Welfare benefits to individuals may be in the form either of bureaucratically supplied professional services of government employees or in the form of government-issued stipends or allowances or subsidies (transfer payments) to help qualifying households pay for general subsistence or for specific categories of state-favored expenses (merit goods)

al-Fihrist