THE SPANISH POST-PANDEMIC PUBLIC FINANCES AND WELFARE STATE

In this text I intend to answer the question addressed to me by the editor of this Monographic. For this, I review the effects of the pandemic crisis in its reflection on public finances and I dare to propose as fields
of interest for the analysis of what the evolution of the welfare state may be in response to three different areas: (i) the connection of well-being with the labor market and the economy in general. This comes out from the perception that inequality and the income levels will depend on the occupation and the employment, of more or less quality, that is generated; so that Workfare now more than ever has to accompany Welfare policies; (ii) how the new social needs are moving with longevity, regarding the implicit factor of loneliness and isolation and its translation on health and welfare, and (iii) the effects of the two previous questions (life expectancy and new occupations), in the generational balance of well-being, with regard to taxation, public expenditures and social redistribution.