This essay revisits social policy developments in Belgium in the decade 2000-2010 on the basis of stylized facts with regard to spending, employment, the social policy case load, dependency rates and poverty. With regard to spending it focuses on the long-term evolution in Belgian public social spending and the extent to which the observed spending pattern accommodated the perceived emergence of new social risks. By means of 'budgetary effort indicators', the analysis disentangles the impact ..