| Abstract [eng] |
85 pages, 28 pictures, 27 charts, 67 references. The main objective of this master thesis is to analyse how social benefits, which are identified as a tool for the creation of the welfare state, contribute to and influence the creation of the welfare state and its indicators in Lithuania, Latvia and Sweden. The final Master's thesis consists of three parts: literature analysis, the research methodology and research results, conclusion and recommendations. Literature analysis reveals that the concept of the welfare state is a dynamic and evolving, reflecting political, economic and social changes, and that it ensures citizens rights, equality, freedom and security. The welfare state models analysed reflect countries political, economic and traditional influences, and provide insights into how they design and implement their welfare policies. Three indicators of the welfare state - the gender inequality index, the at-risk-of-poverty rate and the level of income inequality - have been identified, and studies examining the impact of social benefits on the selected welfare state indicators have been analysed, showing that social benefits can be an effective tool in reducing these indicators. The work was carried out in three phases: data collection, analysis of the impact of social benefits on welfare state indicators, and comparison and synthesis of results. The data collection phase involved collecting and analysing the expressions of the dependent, independent and control variables for the period 2004-2021 for Lithuania, Latvia and Sweden. Correlation and regression analyses were carried out for the impact analysis. An elasticity coefficient was calculated to compare and summarise the results. The performed research revealed that social benefits have a negative effect on the poverty risk level in Lithuania, a negative effect on the poverty risk level and on the gender inequality index in Latvia, and a positive effect on all the indicators in Sweden. |
