Total war and the emergence of unemployment insurance in western countries

Abstract

Beginning with Richard Titmuss, several scholars argued that modern warfare left a major imprint on welfare state development. This article analyses the impact of both world wars on the introduction of unemployment insurance. From the outset, the provision of income support to the unemployed was politically controversial. This paper argues that total war, for various reasons, was a catalyst for the adoption of unemployment insurance. Using regression analysis and relying on a sample of 18 western countries, we show that a nation’s high exposure to the horrors of war facilitated the breakthrough of unemployment insurance, notably immediately after the end of military conflict.