Welfare
Welfare, economically speaking, refers to money paid to persons, from a government, who are in need of financial assistance, but who are unable to work, or whose circumstances mean the income they require for basic needs is in excess of their salary (e.g. tax credits for working mothers). The sum paid usually gives an income well below the poverty line, it is also usually has conditions attached, such as the need to prove one is searching for work or are that there is some condition, such as a disability or obligation to care for children, that prevents them from working. In some cases recipients are even forced to do work, this is often known as workfare. A major problem with most welfare systems is the welfare trap. A universal welfare system is a standard component of socialism or systems heavily influenced by socialism.
Welfare has quite a different meaning in formal or technical economics (see welfare economics), as in the term social welfare function. In this context it refers to utility or well-offness, either for an individual, or aggregated for a group.
The field of welfare should also involve program evaluation to determine if the welfare programs are working, how well they may be working, how they could be improved.
See also
