There is a significant evidence base to support those sceptical of the end of the welfare state thesis. Cameron (1978), for example, found that exposure to foreign trade did not create negative effects on welfare state spending. more extensive recent research on countries between 1966 and 1990, Garrett and for this group of nations at least, greater exposure to international trade and foreign capital penetration exerted no downward pressur on welfare state expenditure. The emphasis here on measuring income transfers, such as pensions, rather than education or health spending was designed to focus on those forms of spending seen as less directl relevant to meeting the challenges of economic competitiveness