Income smoothing over the life course in the Baltic countries
ENThe aim of the paper is to assess welfare provisions in terms of a reduction of income volatility across an individual’s life course. The research strategy is based on a novel method, which helps analyse policy responses from a set of perspectives: money flows through a tax-benefit system aimed at groups facing social risks; tax liabilities and benefit rights; income smoothing during different life-course phases, within different socio-economic contexts and social protection systems. The paper has an international dimension by taking a comparative view on the three Baltic countries. Institutional structures of state intervention into income redistribution are similar in the Baltic countries. Major share of resources for distributional institutions come via contributory social insurance systems. The analysis of households’ income data revealed, that the income smoothing pattern in all three Baltic countries is rather similar as well and it is at the lowest scale among the main groups of EU countries. Differences between Baltic countries are smaller, than differences between these countries and other groups of coutries in the EU. Keywords: tax-benefits system, income smoothing, life course income distribution.
