Social Security After Fifty: Successes and Failures

(Hardback)

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The papers making up this book were given at a 1986 conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Social Security system. Chapters on the earlier history are followed by an evaluation of how economists have viewed social security, and by an analysis of the influence of administrative problems. W. Andrew Achenbaum makes some bold proposals for fundamental changes in social policy. Wilbur J. Cohen, a founding father, ' gives his vision of social security ten years from now; and Robert J. Myers, another insider, ' counters by predicting no essential change. These contributions should be of interest to those concerned with American social policy. Recommended for research collections.-Library Journal
This collection of eight papers presented at a 1986 George Washington University conference celebrates the 50th anniversary of social security in the US. All contributors are well-known authorities with varied background in program analysis, development, and administration. The focus is on the current state of social security, seen in a historical perspective, from the viewpoints of historians, economists, political scientists, and program administrators. The quality throughout is very high, but the chapter on economics by Henry J. Aaron and Lawrence H. Thompson deserves to be singled out for succinctness and clarity. The book is a must acquisition for all college libraries.-Choice
"This collection of eight papers presented at a 1986 George Washington University conference celebrates the 50th anniversary of social security in the US. All contributors are well-known authorities with varied background in program analysis, development, and administration. The focus is on the current state of social security, seen in a historical perspective, from the viewpoints of historians, economists, political scientists, and program administrators. The quality throughout is very high, but the chapter on economics by Henry J. Aaron and Lawrence H. Thompson deserves to be singled out for succinctness and clarity. The book is a must acquisition for all college libraries."-Choice
"The papers making up this book were given at a 1986 conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Social Security system. Chapters on the earlier history are followed by an evaluation of how economists have viewed social security, and by an analysis of the influence of administrative problems. W. Andrew Achenbaum makes some bold proposals for fundamental changes in social policy. Wilbur J. Cohen, a founding father, ' gives his vision of social security ten years from now; and Robert J. Myers, another insider, ' counters by predicting no essential change. These contributions should be of interest to those concerned with American social policy. Recommended for research collections."-Library Journal

Author Bio

EDWARD D. BERKOWITZ is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Program in History and Public Policy at George Washington University.