Spain: welfare expansion and decentralization

The case of Spain displays interesting features of a rather ambivalent --and even syncretic-- nature. Spain belongs to the Mediterranean welfare regime in which the distinctive feature is the crucial role played by the family and its interpenetration in all areas of welfare production and distribution. A strong micro-solidarity within the family (e.g. ‘resource pooling’) helps to limit the pathological impact of poverty in citizens’ living conditions.Peer reviewe