Governments stress their commitment to combat poverty, but benefits cannot be raised too high because this would harm work incentives. No country has yet found a policy package which prevents exclusion, but innovative policies in each of these four countries are proving successful in limiting its extent. The Battle against Exclusion Volume 1 - Social Assistance in Australia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom Institutions whose goal is to help those at the margins have been a feature of social life for centuries. Today, social assistance institutions have integration and encouragement as their goal. They seek to avoid exclusion and stigmatisation.
Poverty can tear at the fabric of society.
However, preventing hardship among those with no resources while reducing exclusion and marginalisation is no easy task. The often complex interactions involved are analysed and lessons are drawn from the countries' varied experiences. Within the next decade, the numbers of retired people in OECD countries will start to grow much faster than those of working age. In the absence of major changes to pension systems and to the way people allocate their time between education, work and leisure, it is likely that fiscal and social strains will start to emerge. Some groups may be unfairly burdened through high taxation and others would face unexpected reductions in their material living standards.