William Beveridge

Who was William Beveridge?

William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge KCB was a British economist, noted progressive and social reformer. He is best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services which served as the basis for the post-World War II welfare state put in place by the Labour government elected in 1945.

Lord Beveridge, considered an authority on unemployment insurance from early in his career, served under Winston Churchill on the Board of Trade as Director of the newly created labour exchanges and later as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Food. He was Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science from 1919 until 1937, when he was elected Master of University College, Oxford.

Beveridge published widely on unemployment and social security, his most notable works being: Unemployment: A Problem of Industry, Planning Under Socialism, Full Employment in a Free Society, Pillars of Security, Power and Influence, and A Defence of Free Learning.