abstract: 'Social investment (SI) policies have been implemented by governments of

  affluent countries in hopes of safeguarding against new social risks and

  mitigating social exclusion by encouraging employment and making it

  easier for parents to balance work and family. Governments hope that

  human capital investment (education and job training) will better

  prepare workers for jobs, promote their employment and social inclusion,

  and reduce poverty. This article investigates whether SI policies

  contribute to lower poverty and inequality by analyzing data from 18

  Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries between

  1980 and 2013. The analysis finds, first, that SI policies (education

  and active labor market policy (ALMP)) alone may be less effective in

  generating lower poverty and inequality without redistribution, but when

  accompanied and supported by redistribution, SI policies are more

  effective in creating lower poverty and inequality. I propose the

  explanation that SI policies create lower-income poverty and inequality

  by creating individuals and households that can be salvaged and lifted

  out of poverty with redistribution, because SI policies help improve

  their skills and knowledge and employability, although they may be not

  quite able to escape poverty or low income without redistribution. As

  partial evidence, I present the result that education is associated with

  a lower poverty gap in market income. The analysis also finds that

  education and ALMP produce lower poverty and/or inequality in

  interaction with social market economies that redistribute more, and

  that augments the equalizing effects of education and ALMP. The results,

  thus, suggest the complementary roles of SI policies and redistribution.'
affiliation: 'Sakamoto, T (Corresponding Author), Meiji Gakuin Univ, Fac Int Studies,
  Yokohama 2440816, Japan.

  Sakamoto, Takayuki, Meiji Gakuin Univ, Yokohama, Japan.

  Sakamoto, Takayuki, Meiji Gakuin Univ, Fac Int Studies, Yokohama 2440816, Japan.'
author: Sakamoto, Takayuki
author-email: tks@k.meijigakuin.ac.jp
author_list:
- family: Sakamoto
  given: Takayuki
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1177/00207152231185282
earlyaccessdate: JUL 2023
eissn: 1745-2554
files: []
issn: 0020-7152
journal: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY
keywords: 'Active labor market policy; education; family support; poverty and

  inequality; redistribution; social investment policy'
keywords-plus: '18 OECD COUNTRIES; INCOME INEQUALITY; ECONOMIC-GROWTH; FAMILY POLICIES;

  WELFARE; STATE; INSTITUTIONS; EMPLOYMENT; TIME'
language: English
month: 2023 JUL 19
number-of-cited-references: '68'
orcid-numbers: Sakamoto, Takayuki/0000-0002-6810-5322
papis_id: edf0d858e9026a7bc1912f07f03234a2
ref: Sakamoto2023povertyinequality
researcherid-numbers: Sakamoto, Takayuki/A-9159-2009
times-cited: '0'
title: 'Poverty, inequality, and redistribution: An analysis of the equalizing effects
  of social investment policy'
type: Article; Early Access
unique-id: WOS:001031602500001
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '1'
web-of-science-categories: Sociology
year: '2023'