The economics of social protection This book focuses on arrangements for redistributing consumption opportunities over the life cycle and for providing compensation for income losses or large expenditures due to reasons such as illness and unemployment. After extensive coverage of the nature of inequalities in income and wealth in a market economy and various notions of social justice the author discusses public and private transfers in cash or in kind related to old age childhood illness and the like. Importantly the book takes into account both equity and efficiency aspects ch. 1. Introduction ch. 2. Inequality ch. 3. Social justice ch. 4. Pensions : basic model ch. 5. Pensions : extended model ch. 6. Liquidity constraints ch. 7. Income security ch. 8. Benefits in kind