scholarly journals Benevolent Policies: Bureaucratic Politics and the International Dimensions of Social Policy Expansion

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
CARMEN JACQUELINE HO
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Political Incentives ◽  
International Pressure ◽  
Nutrition Policies ◽  
Government Bureaucracy ◽  
Micronutrient Malnutrition ◽  
The Government

Research on the welfare state has devoted considerable attention to social policy expansion. However, little is known about why governments expand social policies serving groups with limited power on issues with low visibility. I call these “benevolent policies.” This class of social policies improves population well-being but produces minimal political gains for the governments enacting them. Why do governments expand benevolent policies if political incentives for reform are weak? I investigate this question by focusing on government responses to malnutrition. Drawing on nine months of fieldwork, including 71 interviews, I argue that the origins of policy expansion can be found in the government bureaucracy. Bureaucrats with technical expertise—technocrats—can play a defining role, deploying international pressure to court executive support and orchestrate policy change. Their actions help explain the Indonesian government’s unexpected expansion of nutrition policies, which serve low-income women and children and address micronutrient malnutrition.

scholarly journals Social Policy Transformation and Business Environment Improvement: a Comparative Analysis Based on China and Russia

2020 ◽  
pp. 83-98
Author(s):  
Deyou Xu
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Business Environments ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
The Government ◽  
Policy Transformation ◽  
The Relationship

Over the past four decades, the economy and society of China and Russia have undergone transformation. Relevant social policies and business environments have constantly changed. So have the ways of interaction among governments, enterprises and citizens. In the relationship between government and citizen, China and Russia have walked different paths in choosing and adjusting social policies, but both have steadily improved people’s well-being. In the relationship between government and business, both countries have achieved significant improvements in business environment through supply-side reforms of public goods and institutions. The theoretical relationship between government and citizen and that between government and business are embodied in social policy and business environment in reality. However, the two are not parallel, but interact with each other and are nested in each other. The government plays a leading role, and its interaction with enterprise and citizen tests the governance systems and capabilities of Beijing and Moscow.

Living on a low income as a systemic impediment to socio-economic development of Ukraine

2020 ◽  
pp. 99-109
Author(s):  
NATALIIA TOLSTYKH
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Subsistence Level ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
The Government

The article sheds light on various approaches that seek to determine how widespread poverty and life on a low income are in Ukraine nowadays. As a social phenomenon, poverty has traditionally been associated with destitution and living below the subsistence level set by the government. However, the author holds the view that life on a low income not only means living near or below the poverty line. There is another part of Ukraine’s population that should also be considered needy — those whose income is less than twice as the subsistence level, and most of them are also subject to socio-economic deprivation. Drawing upon the findings of a social survey conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine in 2019, the paper analyses the standard of living among different income groups. Particular attention is given to consumption patterns and social well-being of respondents in the lower income brackets. From the data, it can be inferred that living conditions of many Ukrainians are inadequate to sustain and develop human potential; furthermore, the low-income households have literally to struggle every day to make ends meet. The author brings into focus the main macroeconomic factors contributing to this situation and its adverse effect on the nation’s social potential. Some of the most common social consequences of living on a low income have been identified, such as limited consumption, a person’s dissatisfaction with life and his/her position in society. The above-mentioned survey also provides the estimates of how much the current subsistence level (with regard to Ukraine) should be. Having been made by different socio-demographic and occupational groups of Ukraine’s population, these estimates are a useful source of information — given that subsistence level is considered the basic social standard. According to the survey, all these figures are at variance with the official subsistence level, which is noticeably lower, and this indicates that the current subsistence level needs an upward revision. Today, the overall socio-economic situation in Ukraine is unfavourable for neoliberal economic reforms initiated by the government. Since these policies are primarily designed to reduce the role of state in managing the economy and implementing social welfare programmes, following this path will inevitably result in the entrenchment of mass poverty and in a major loss of Ukraine’s human potential, as well as labour force. The author argues that tackling the country’s chronic low income problem is only possible if a new strategy for socio-economic development is adopted, where social welfare is prioritised.

Paternalism and Social Policy

1978 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Weale
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
The Government ◽  
Other Regarding

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses the notion of paternalism, and its application to the evaluation of social policies. It attempts first to define the concept, using Mill's distinction between self- and other-regarding actions. A paternalistic policy is one in which the government renders a self-regarding action less eligible for a citizen, with the intention of benefiting the citizen in question. This concept is then applied to the analysis of redistribution by means of social policy measures. Two questions are discussed: (a) whether any redistribution must be paternalist, and (b) whether redistribution in kind is more paternalist than redistribution in cash. It is argued that paternalism need not be the explanation for the policy in either case. Finally three criteria are specified in terms of which paternalistic interventions by the state might be assessed as justified or not.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and mental health: Anxiety disorders among immigrants due to COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea

2021 ◽  
pp. 009121742110426
Author(s):  
Shiva Raj Acharya ◽  
Deog Hwan Moon ◽  
Jin Ho Chun ◽  
Yong Chul Shin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Severe Anxiety

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has affected various facets of health. While mental health became a major concern during the COVID-19 outbreak, the impact on the migrants’ mental health has still been neglected. The purpose of this study was to examine the COVID-19 outbreak's impact on the mental health of immigrants in South Korea. Methods A total number of 386 immigrants in South Korea participated in this quantitative cross-sectional study. The standardized e-questionnaire, including the General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, was used to measure the anxiety level. Logistic regression analysis was performed to find out the determinants of anxiety disorders among immigrants. Results The prevalence of severe anxiety among immigrants was found to be 47.2%. Female immigrants (28.6%) had a lower anxiety disorder than males (71.4%). Immigrants who were married, living alone, had a low income, had a history of health problems were suffered from moderate to severe anxiety. Immigrants who were unemployed (OR 2.302, 95% CI = 1.353–3.917) and lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 outbreak (OR 2.197, 95% CI = 1.312–3.678) have a higher anxiety disorder. Immigrants aged over 30 years were found to suffer from a high level of anxiety (OR 2.285, 95% CI = 1.184–4.410). Relief support from the government was significantly associated with anxiety disorder among immigrants (p < 0.01, OR = 3.151, 95% CI = 1.962–5.061). Conclusion With very limited studies on immigrants’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper provides scientific research evidence of the COVID-19 outbreak's impact on the mental health of migrants. Our study has consequences for implementing integrated psychological interventions and health promotion strategies for the well-being of immigrants’ mental health.

Social policy of the regions: Reducing poverty among families with children and stimulating fertility

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 1869-1893
Author(s):  
L.P. Koroleva
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Federal Budget ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lump Sum ◽  
Federal Subsidies ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Families With Children

Subject. This article analyzes the differentiation of the subjects of the Russian Federation in terms of fertility and material well-being of average-revenue families with children, and considers maternal capital as a regions' social policy aspect. Objectives. The article intends to justify the priorities of the Russian Federation subjects' social policy in the context of the expansion of federal subsidies for multiple-child families, based on an analysis of the relationship between the well-being of families and fertility. It also aims to develop general recommendations for groups of actors to improve social policy in the face of budgetary constraints. Methods. For the study, I used general scientific, economics and statistics methods of research. Results. Combining the subjects of the Russian Federation in eight clusters, close in birth rate and material well-being of families, the article offers general recommendations on the choice of priorities of regional social policy. The article shows that maternal capital gets transformed into a lump-sum benefit to support the current revenues of low-income families. Conclusions. To secure demographic increase, maternal capital must be paid from the Federal budget at the birth (adoption) of each child in the family without additional conditions, regardless of the region of residence. The eradication of poverty among families with children and support for multi-child parenting should be key priorities of the social policy of the regions.

scholarly journals The Moral Foundations of Child Health and Social Policies: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Avram E. Denburg ◽  
Mita Giacomini ◽  
Wendy J. Ungar ◽  
Julia Abelson
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Critical Interpretive Synthesis

Background: Allusions to the uniqueness and value of childhood abound in academic, lay, and policy discourse. However, little clarity exists on the values that guide child health and social policy-making. We review extant academic literature on the normative dimensions of child health and social policy to provide foundations for the development of child-focused public policies. Methods: We conducted a critical interpretive synthesis of academic literature on the normative dimensions of child health and social policy-making. We employed a social constructivist lens to interpret emergent themes. Political theory on the social construction of target populations served as a bridge between sociologies of childhood and public policy analysis. Results: Our database searches returned 14,658 unique articles; full text review yielded 72 relevant articles. Purposive sampling of relevant literature complemented our electronic searches, adding 51 original articles, for a total of 123 articles. Our analysis of the literature reveals three central themes: potential, rights, and risk. These themes retain relevance in diverse policy domains. A core set of foundational concepts also cuts across disciplines: well-being, participation, and best interests of the child inform debate on the moral and legal dimensions of a gamut of child social policies. Finally, a meta-theme of embedding encompasses the pervasive issue of a child’s place, in the family and in society, which is at the heart of much social theory and applied analysis on children and childhood. Conclusions: Foundational understanding of the moral language and dominant policy frames applied to children can enrich analyses of social policies for children. Most societies paint children as potent, vulnerable, entitled, and embedded. It is the admixture of these elements in particular policy spheres, across distinct places and times, that often determines the form of a given policy and societal reactions to it. Subsequent work in this area will need to detail the degree and impact of variance in the values mix attached to children across sociocultural contexts and investigate tensions between what are and what ought to be the values that guide social policy development for children.

POVERTY AND INEQUALITY IN LATIN AMERICA

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 152-164
Author(s):  
A. R. KELEKHSAEVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Impact

The article examines poverty and inequality as serious long-term and widespread problems in society. Research on poverty has been mainly conducted from the perspective of economics, now the focus has shifted to psychological aspects with an emphasis on the causes and consequences of poverty. The overall economic disaster that COVID-19 will leave in Latin America and the Caribbean remains to be seen, but its impact on social well-being portends a bleak future. After seven years of slow growth, the region's GDP fell 5,3%, the largest drop in a century. According to a joint report submitted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the impact of the pandemic could plunge an additional 16 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, resulting in 83,4 million Hispanics will live in complete poverty. These organizations warn that hunger will be the biggest problem facing the region, where 53,7 million people are already surviving severely food insecure. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between poverty and inequality as economic categories in the context of their impact on the countries of Latin America. To do this, the authors examined the key factors affecting poverty and inequality, analyzed trends in poverty and inequality in Latin America and the Latin Basin. The article is based on research on poverty and inequality in macroeconomic theory. In particular, the works of Y. Amiel, F. Cowell, T. Buhard, P. Wizard, the study of socio-economic inequality and the fight against poverty – G. Babeuf, I. Bentham, J. M. Keynes, V. Paret, G. Spencer, L. Erhard, K. Arrow, D. Rocardo, A. Pigou and many others are devoted to the problem of inequality. Significant results of studies of poverty and welfare are given in the works of prominent foreign researchers: P. Townsend, A. Sen, D. Sachs, M. Orshan-sky, T. Marshall, F. Hayek, thanks to which the system of ideas about poverty was formed. The importance of poverty and its impact on government discourses, policies and programs has fueled much research on a Latin American scale. Publications on this topic have been rolled out over the past three decades and have created a veritable battlefield. Poverty reduction is a key development challenge facing Latin America and the Caribbean. Inequality is one of the historical problems in Latin America, one of the factors that most paralyzes the eco-nomic and social aspirations of most countries in the region. Poverty reduction can be understood in both a limited and a broad sense. The first involves a focus on programs and projects that target the poor – vocational training programs for low-income people, food stamps, productivity projects in the informal sector, and care for mothers and children in communities that do not have access to this service, etc. These programs are usually funded from so-called emergency funds and social investments, although they may also be specialized activities of the minis-tries or secretariats that make up the “social sector”. On the other hand, the broader definition of poverty reduction includes economic policies and traditional social policies (especially education and health). One of the main ways to solve this problem in the medium and long term obliges countries to move towards a universal basic income, giving priority to families with children and adolescents, and to maintain universal, comprehensive and sustainable social protection systems, increase their coverage as a central component of the new welfare state. A broad and lasting consensus and political commitment are required to make significant improvements in education, health and well-being. Unfortunately, some Latin American coun-tries have serious governance problems that hinder the effective functioning of democratic systems due to fragmentation and lack of policy consensus. For this reason, stability and continuity of economic and social policies are an indispensable element for the development of nations and the progress of peoples.

scholarly journals Poverty Factors in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutyia)

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-47
Author(s):  
Tuyara Gavril’yeva ◽  
Anna Naberezhnaya, ◽  
Marina Ivanova ◽  
Filipp Nikiforov
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor People ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Sustainable Rural Development ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Low Efficiency

The Object of the Study The dynamics of indicators that comprehensively characterize poverty in the Republic Yakutiya has been analysed.The Subject of the Study The dynamics of poor people number in the region. The Purpose of the Study Is th determination of the endogenous (internal) factors of poverty based on the methods of economic and mathematical modeling and further development of perspective socialThe Main Theoretical Provision. The social policy of the government of the republic over the past decade has focused on employment, birth rate, housing, sustainable rural development, but program activities did not take into account the differentiation of social groups, with their low efficiency. The current moment seems to be a possible transition point to a more effective and adequate social policy. The structured database related to measurements of social well-being and living standards of the population in Yakutiya from 1995-2017 was created on the basic on open information of the Sakha (Yakutia)stat. It was used for determining the main factors and regional characteristics of poverty in Yakutiya. The factors that have the most significant impact on the level of poverty in the region were selected based on the correlation analysis. A linear regression model was created where the number of poor people was taken as the dependent variable. It has been proved that the number of poor people has a direct positive relationship with the indicators “number of pensioners” and “expenses of the consolidated budget of Yakutiya” and inverse relationship with “housing per capita”, "the real dynamics of the GRP" and "the population monetary incomes". Based on quantitative and qualitative analysis, the endogenous factors of poverty in the region were identified: high cost of living, low correlation of poverty with employment, wage disparities, as well as high fertility. Proposals of targeted social policy have been developed. They include: revision of the legal framework in the field of social protection, improvement of targeting social assistance, reviewing the demographic priorities of social policy, a maneuver in public sector jobs , the development of poverty monitoring and social assistance delivery based on digitalization, social experiments on poverty alleviation, including Universal Basic Income model for indigenous communes

scholarly journals The Cancellation of the Community Access Program and the Digital Divide(s) in Canada: Lessons Learned and Future Prospects

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Blanton
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
Future Internet ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Government ◽  
Community Access ◽  
Access Program

The Government of Canada's recent termination of its Community Access Program eliminated a major source of funding for organizations that connect disadvantaged individuals and communities to the Internet. Nevertheless, inequalities in Internet access and usage continue to exist. In the absence of a coordinated national policy to address digital divides, responsibility for providing Internet access to low-income Canadians devolves primarily onto large civic and regional libraries. This devolution works to the particular disadvantage of remote and rural areas, which tend to have neither an affordable supplier of residential broadband nor the economic base to support library systems large enough to provide community access sites. For communities in this situation, the First Mile paradigm offers some hope. In the broader context, future Internet connectivity initiatives in Canada should look beyond simply providing "access," and link the individual's effective use of information and communication technologies to the well-being of the community in which the individual is situated. 

scholarly journals The moral foundations of child health and social policies: A critical interpretive synthesis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avram Denburg ◽  
Mita Giacomini ◽  
Wendy J. Ungar ◽  
Julia Abelson
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Critical Interpretive Synthesis ◽  
Full Text Review

Abstract Background: Allusions to the uniqueness and value of childhood abound in academic, lay, and policy discourse. However, little clarity exists on the values that should guide child health and social policymaking. We review extant academic literature on the normative dimensions of child health and social policy to provide foundations for the development of child-focused public policies. Methods: We conducted a critical interpretive synthesis of academic literature on the normative dimensions of child health and social policy-making. We employed a social constructivist lens to interpret emergent themes. Political theory on the social construction of target populations served as a bridge between sociologies of childhood and public policy analysis. Results: Our database searches returned 14,658 unique articles; full text review yielded 72 relevant articles. Purposive sampling of relevant literature complemented our electronic searches, adding 51 original articles, for a total of 123 articles. Our analysis of the literature reveals three central themes: potential, rights, and risk. These themes retain relevance in diverse policy domains. A core set of foundational concepts also cuts across disciplines: well-being, participation, and best interests of the child inform debate on the moral and legal dimensions of a gamut of child social policies. Finally, a meta-theme of embedding encompasses the pervasive issue of a child’s place, in the family and in society, at the heart of much social theory and applied analysis on children and childhood. Conclusions: Foundational understanding of the moral language and dominant policy frames applied to children can enrich analyses of social policies for children in a range of sociopolitical contexts. Our proposed schema of values, and allied exploration of their points of consonance and tension, is an important step in efforts to gauge social policy prescriptions not only by measures of outcome but also by evidence of their alignment with social values.

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