This unique and forward-thinking book explores how we understand needs in relation to the welfare state and to what extent we can, if at all, measure need. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, Bent Greve examines the paradoxes and contradictions present when assessing human needs and the welfare state, analysing whether it is possible to meaningfully measure the need for welfare benefits and services in modern societies. The book addresses the crucial question of how the welfare state decides to apportion support, contemplating which needs are society's responsibility and which are the individual's own. Comparing welfare states in Europe, it delivers an incisive contribution to the emerging body of literature on this topic and considers how best to balance demand and supply in a way that reduces the expectation on the state. Presenting a key argument on a prescient issue, this book will be an excellent resource for students, researchers and academics interested in sociology and social policy, political sociology, health policy, economics and finance. Exploring the metric assessments of needs and the ways in which the state can deliver, it will also be of interest to professionals working in sustainable development, health and social care and welfare state support.