In 2015, the community financed a quarter of household consumption

Households consume many goods and services, but do not pay for all of them directly. In fact, part of this consumption is funded by general government or non-profit institutions serving households: this is called socialised expenditure. Over the last 55 years, the proportion of socialised expenditure in household consumption and in gross domestic product has increased, especially in years of economic slowdown.

Socialised expenditure mainly concerns health, education, social services and housing. Regarding health, the share of this expenditure, which now accounts for nearly three quarters of all health expenditure, grew first of all due to access to healthcare becoming simplified; it has stabilised since the 1990s with the introduction of cost-cutting measures. Concerning housing, the share of socialised expenditure grew during the 1980s and 1990s: the community now finances one quarter of tenants’ rents. In the area of social services, the introduction of home helps for dependency, the care of young children and accommodation for disabled people accounts for the increase in the share of socialised expenditure. Lastly, the community financed more than 90% of consumption in education.