ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL WELFARE POLICIES AND FAMILY FINANCIAL STABILITY ACROSS POLITICAL SYSTEMS

Abstract

This study looks at the reasons why social welfare and economic policies usually fall short of providing families in a variety of political systems with long-term financial security.  The study examines liberal, social-democratic, conservative, and authoritarian welfare regimes during the previous 20 years using a comparative cross-national perspective.  It investigates how policy aim differs from actual results by drawing on theories of welfare state design, institutional path dependency, and labor market segmentation.  The results demonstrate that, even in the presence of official welfare systems, household resilience is frequently weakened by factors such as income disparity, unstable employment, inflationary pressures, and inadequate policy implementation mechanisms.  The redistributive effect of welfare transfers is undermined by structural economic developments, including financialization, dwindling union power, and rising living expenses, as illustrated by case studies from Europe, North America, Asia, and Latin America.Institutional bias, restricted access, and cultural stigma disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, such as immigrants, low-income families, and single parents.  The study comes to the conclusion that welfare systems cannot successfully convert into actual financial security in the absence of adaptive welfare governance, fair labor practices, and macroeconomic stability measures.  Targeted subsidies, inclusive labor market changes, and integrated income protection are the main focuses of policy recommendations.