scholarly journals Social Economy and Living Standards: Consumer Cooperatives in Barcelona, 1891–1935

Author(s):  
Francisco J. Medina-Albaladejo ◽  
Josep Pujol-Andreu

Abstract The living standards of the working classes during industrialization continue to be the subject of debate in European historiography. However, other factors closely related to the institutional setting, such as the role played by social economy and the institutions for collective action, are seldom considered. This study focuses on these factors, and attempts to quantify the social impact of consumer cooperatives. We argue that these institutions substantially improved the lot of the working classes from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, helping them to increase their incomes, and access food and services, such as education and social services, which the state did not provide in sufficient measure. To demonstrate this point, we analyse thirty-five consumer cooperatives in Barcelona, an industrial centre in which these organizations were more popular than anywhere else in Spain. Our main conclusion is that consumer cooperatives increased the well-being of their members, helping them to meet their substantial calorific needs, although their diets were unbalanced and low-cost; members improved their income between five and ten per cent, by simply shopping at the institution, and gained access to basic welfare services.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (11) ◽  
pp. 75-84
Author(s):  
Anastasiia SIMAKHOVA ◽  

The development of the social economy contributes to the well-being of the population, which is one of the main tasks of any state. The existence of certain social problems in Ukraine requires an analysis of foreign practices of implementing social goals to increase living standards. In the context of European integration aspirations, such a state for Ukraine is the neighboring Poland. To address these issues, the positive experience of social economy development and employment in Poland is analyzed and the possibilities of its application in Ukraine are outlined. The practice of social economy in Poland is considered, Ukraine and Poland are compared on particular social indicators (number of social security institutions, unemployment rate, employment rate, average monthly wage, self-employment level), the directions of social development in Poland are outlined with emphasis on their possible application in Ukraine. Taxonomic methods for determining the social development of Poland and changes in the labor market of both countries are considered. The main determinants of the Polish model of social economy are highlighted: stable economic development, which contributes to raising living standards; low unemployment; developed social infrastructure; increase in average wages; developed private social security sector; labor market stability and its ability to adapt to new challenges. A number of problematic issues in the development of the social economy in Ukraine are highlighted, in particular, the low level of wages compared to neighboring European countries; high unemployment; low level of self-employment; high level of shadow economy. Based on the analysis of the positive experience of Poland, a number of possible directions of social economy development in Ukraine are outlined.


Author(s):  
Р.Е. Несипбаев ◽  
А.А. Мусатаева ◽  
Е.И. Борисова ◽  
R. Nessipbayev ◽  
A. Mussatayeva ◽  
...  

Мақалада аумақты дамыту бағдарламаларын әзірлеу қажеттілігі анықталып, «Қарағанды облысын дамытудың 2016-2020 жылдарға арналған бағдарламасын» әзірлеу мен іске асыру барысындағы артықшылықтар, кемшіліктер мен сәйкессіздіктер көрсетілген. Бұл мақалада стратегиялық басқару ұғымдары қарастырылады, әлеуметтік блок салаларын басқару мысалында стратегиялық және ағымдағы басқарудың айырмашылықтары сипатталған. Сондай-ақ, өңірдің аумақтық шаруашылығын басқарудың мәні, сондай-ақ халықтың тіршілігін қамтамасыз ету мен әлеуметтік қызмет көрсетуді іске асыру, тұтастай алғанда аумақтық шаруашылықты жетілдіру, олардың неғұрлым жоғары деңгейдегі жаңа сапалық сипаттамаларын алу мәселелері зерттелді. Мақала авторларының пікірінше, аумақтық экономиканы басқарудың негізгі нысаны басқару органы шеңберіндегі ағымдағы және стратегиялық басқарудың үйлесімі болып табылады. Ағымдағы және стратегиялық басқаруды біріктіруге бағытталған басқару құрылымдарын құрудың негізгі тәсілдерінің егжей-тегжейлі сипаттамасы ұсынылған. Басқару органының ішкі құрылымын құруға, басқарудың әртүрлі түрлерін ұйымдастырудың ерекшеліктерін ескеруге өте мұқият қарауды қажет ететін осы тәсілді жүзеге асыруға ерекше назар аударылады. Авторлар стратегиялық жоспарларды іске асырудың негізгі нәтижелерін анықтады, сонымен қатар аумақтың стратегиялық дамуының түпкі нәтижесі орындалған іс-шаралардың әлеуметтік әсеріне қол жеткізу болып табылады, бұл аймақтың осы аумағында тұратын халықтың әл-ауқатын арттырудан тұрады. Мақала қазіргі экономика мәселелеріне қызығушылық танытатын көпшілік оқырмандарға арналған. The article identifies the need to develop programs for the development of the territory, identifies advantages, shortcomings and inconsistencies in the development and implementation of the "Program for the development of Karaganda region for 2016-2020". This article discusses the concepts of Strategic Management, describes the differences between Strategic and current management on the example of managing areas of the social bloc. The essence of the management of the territorial economy of the region, as well as the implementation of life support and social services of the population, improvement of the territorial economy as a whole, their acquisition of new qualitative characteristics at a higher level were also studied. According to the authors of the article, the main form of management of the territorial economy is a combination of current and strategic management within the framework of the governing body. A detailed description of the main approaches to building management structures aimed at combining current and strategic management is presented. Special attention is paid to the implementation of this approach, which requires a very careful approach to building the internal structure of the management body, taking into account the specifics of the organization of various types of management. The authors identified the main results of the implementation of strategic plans, in addition, the final result of the strategic development of the territory is to achieve the social impact of the implemented measures, which consists in increasing the well-being of the population living in this territory of the region. The article is intended for a wide range of readers interested in the problems of the modern economy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Azeez. E.P

Social Capital is the most crucial asset which significantly influence the efficacy and resilience of any community. Social capital is a dependent variable that depends upon the competence and coherence of the individuals in the community and mode of social relationships, trust and networks they maintain. It is one of the most sustainable social resources that originate from human relations and results on the mutual support of people. Utilization of Social capital has a wide applicability in the process of social inclusion, especially in dealing with the vulnerable and disadvantaged sections in the community itself. Voluntary organizations are very keen to utilize the social capital for community/social services and community development in a sustainable manner. Community based de-institutionalized Palliative Care is one of the foremost among such organizations that made social capital in a strategic way for social inclusion and community well being. This paper analyses the extent to which different elements of social capital helps in initiating the sustainable community based palliative care movement by assessing the unique intervention strategies carried out by the palliative care. This paper explores conceptual questions of how social capital and voluntary community based services are correlated. A case study method was adopted for the study in which ten palliative care units were analyzed. The results show that a number of social capital elements are playing a vital role in the sustainability of community palliative care movement in Kerala.


Author(s):  
Xueli Wei ◽  
Lijing Li ◽  
Fan Zhang

Pumping elephantThe COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the lives of people around the world in millions of ways . Due to this severe epidemic, all countries in the world have been affected by all aspects, mainly economic. It is widely discussed that the COVID-19 outbreak has affected the world economy. When considering this dimension, this study aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world economy, socio-economics, and sustainability. In addition, the research focuses on multiple aspects of social well-being during the pandemic, such as employment, poverty, the status of women, food security, and global trade. To this end, the study used time series and cross-sectional analysis of the data. The second-hand data used in this study comes from the websites of major international organizations. From the analysis of secondary data, the conclusion of this article is that the impact of the pandemic is huge. The main finding of the thesis is that the social economy is affected by the pandemic, causing huge losses in terms of economic well-being and social capital.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110018
Author(s):  
Sarah O’Neill ◽  
Christina Pallitto

The health consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM) have been described previously; however, evidence of the social consequences is more intangible. To date, few systematic reviews have addressed the impact of the practice on psycho-social well-being, and there is limited understanding of what these consequences might consist. To complement knowledge on the known health consequences, this article systematically reviewed qualitative evidence of the psycho-social impact of FGM in countries where it is originally practiced (Africa, the Middle East, and Asia) and in countries of the diaspora. Twenty-three qualitative studies describing the psycho-social impact of FGM on women’s lives were selected after screening. This review provides a framework for understanding the less visible ways in which women and girls with FGM experience adverse effects that may affect their sense of identity, their self-esteem, and well-being as well as their participation in society.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 124
Author(s):  
Sofia Lindström Sol ◽  
Cia Gustrén ◽  
Gustaf Nelhans ◽  
Johan Eklund ◽  
Jenny Johannisson ◽  
...  

This article explores the broad and undefined research field of “the social impact of the arts”. The effects of art and culture are often used as justification for public funding, but the research on these interventions and their effects is unclear. Using a co-word analysis of over 10,000 articles published between 1990 and 2020, we examined the characteristics of the field as we have operationalised it through our searches. Since 2015, the research field of “the social impact of art” has expanded and consists of different epistemologies and methodologies, summarised in largely overlapping subfields belonging to the social sciences/humanities, arts education, and arts and health/therapy. In formal or informal learning settings, studies of theatre/drama as an intervention to enhance skills, well-being, or knowledge among children are most common. A study of the research front, operationalised as the bibliographic coupling of the most cited articles in the data set, confirmed the co-word analysis and revealed new themes that together form the ground for insight into research on the social impact of the arts. As such, this article can inform discussions on the social value of the arts and culture.


Author(s):  
Sergiy Kandiba ◽  
Natalia Safonik

The article analyses the main sources of financial provision for the social protection of persons with disabilities in Ukraine, including their own resources, budget resources at all levels and resources of enterprises of all forms of ownership; social trust funds, funds of charitable and social organizations and other sources. It is justified that socially oriented objects of expenditure are growing and account for a significant share in the structure of expenditure of the state budget. An analysis of the expenditure of local budgets on the social protection of persons with disabilities showed that expenditure in this area has been increasing since 2015, owing to the reform of decentralization. An evaluation of the activities of civil society organizations of persons with disabilities showed a decrease in the number of persons with disabilities who are employed and in the proportion of expenditures allocated to the social needs of persons with disabilities. Measures to improve the social protection and welfare of persons with disabilities in Ukraine are also financed from social welfare funds. Analysis of the provision of medical and social services by the Social Insurance Fund of Ukraine shows an increase in the number of persons with disabilities as a result of an industrial accident and an increase in the cost of medical and social services. It has been established that financial provision for the social protection of persons with disabilities from charitable organizations is provided in most cases in the form of targeted charitable assistance. The structure of the recipients of charitable assistance by category showed that the proportion of people with special needs among the recipients of charitable assistance was about 10 per cent. On the basis of the study, a number of problems affecting the well-being of persons with disabilities have been identified. Priorities have been set for the development of financial provision for the social protection of persons with disabilities. These include improving the targeting of social assistance, development of locally funded social protection programs, enhancing the social and labour integration of persons with disabilities, gender mainstreaming in the financial provision of social protection for persons with disabilities.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Silva ◽  
Margarida Rodrigues ◽  
Mário Franco ◽  
Cidália Oliveira ◽  
Nuno Sousa

Purpose Using self-determination theory and individual social responsibility’s (ISRs) association with pure social entrepreneurship, this study aims to answer the following question: How and why have the different actors responded to the crisis caused by the pandemic? Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research (multiple case studies) was adopted, resorting to interviewees with seven economic and non-economic actors in the Portugal context. Findings The results obtained, using MAXQDA software, show that those carrying out actions of social responsibility have a high degree of self-determination and intrinsic motivation, and are true social entrepreneurs, which lets them improve the well-being of those around them. In addition, these individuals feel good about themselves by performing these actions, as they measure their performance by the social impact of their actions on society in general. Practical implications This study suggest there is a high awareness amongst people to exercise that responsibility in a voluntary way, through humanitarian initiatives and campaigns brought about especially by an unprecedented pandemic. In practice, people joining these initiatives motivate many others towards the causes, creating the will to continue in the future and satisfy unmet needs provoked by social crises. Originality/value This study is innovative because it is related to filling the gaps identified, mainly by carrying out an empirical study about ISR, rather than that of firms, where studies are more common.


Family Law ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 825-915
Author(s):  
Joanna Miles ◽  
Rob George ◽  
Sonia Harris-Short

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter examines the law on state intervention into family life where a child is considered to be ‘in need’ or at risk of significant harm. It discusses the competing approaches to state intervention and the principles underpinning the Children Act (CA) 1989; the legal framework governing local authority support for children in need under Part III of the CA 1989 and the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014; the law and procedure regulating compulsory intervention into family life by means of care proceedings under Part IV; and the various emergency and interim measures available to protect a child thought to be at risk of immediate harm.


Author(s):  
Michael Willoughby ◽  
José Millet-Roig ◽  
José Pedro García-Sabater ◽  
Aida Saez-Mas

This chapter is about a successful energy co-operative in Spain. With rising poverty and energy prices among the most expensive in Europe and, the cooperative not only provides a reliable source of clean energy to consumers, but also forms a central part of the community in which it is situated. The case study points to a need for private enterprises to collaborate with local authorities and social services to provide solutions to drastic situations of poverty that are still prevalent, particularly in areas of Southern and Eastern Europe. The Spanish energy cooperative demonstrates one way in which the social economy can help to shape the future of the welfare state in the absence of state funding and in the face of national policies that are not well aligned.


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