Welfare state typologies can be a useful means of grouping together countries with similar policy regimes. Whether the policy outcomes of these regimes are similar is an empirical question which could not be adequately addressed until the advent of the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) project. Using evidence from the LIS data on income inequality and poverty, this paper examines the extent to which regime types and outcomes coincide. The findings suggest that while there is a broad coincidence, these typological frameworks are beset by boundary problems which result in the misclassification of some countries. In addition, as individual nations change policy direction, the task of sorting ideological postures from substantive change decreases the reliability of such typologies.