scholarly journals Using Behavioural Insights to Argue for a Stronger Social Safety Net: Beyond Libertarian Paternalism

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATHERINE CURCHIN
Keyword(s):  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Libertarian Paternalism ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Behavioural Insights ◽  
The Social ◽  
Behavioural Research ◽  
Behavioural Sciences ◽  
Poverty Point

AbstractInsights from experimental research in the behavioural sciences offer a powerful impetus to reject the new paternalist approach to social policy. The findings from psychology, behavioural economics and behavioural finance, concerning decision-making by people experiencing poverty, point to the importance of alleviating material hardship by improving the social safety net, rather than trying to remedy the character of individuals through welfare conditionality. Thus far, the behavioural sciences’ usefulness as an intellectual weapon against punitive welfare reform has been underappreciated. This is partly due to underappreciation of the considerable contrast between the libertarian paternalism advocated by some behavioural scientists, which provides a rationale for governments to nudge citizens, and Lawrence Mead's new paternalism, which emphasises the personal responsibility of the poor for their circumstances. More importantly the disproportionate attention given to nudge has inhibited recognition that the behavioural research on poverty can be used to argue for more ambitious policy approaches which seek to transform behaviour in more ethical ways.

scholarly journals The program is perfect

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The United States ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Narcotics Anonymous ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Life Course

This article examines Narcotics Anonymous (NA) membership in two ways: how blame for failure is displaced from the ‘perfect’ organizational program and onto the individual addict working to remain sober and how this displacement is accompanied by notions of individual responsibility and work. These discourses illustrate the influence of a neoliberal outlook on the life course among ‘clean’ NA members, particularly as the social safety net in the United States has been systematically reduced and replaced by a system that focuses attention on personal responsibility. I show how NA’s ideological approach blinds group members and the larger public to the complexity of addiction, turning addicts who struggle with recovery into failures, through internalized ideological trajectories that root responsibility in the self while discounting context.

Introduction: Reforming US Welfare Again and Again

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Walker ◽  
Michael Wiseman
Keyword(s):  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
Policy Regime ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Usa

In 1996, the USA became the first major democracy to eliminate individual entitlement to the social safety net. The reforms introduced in the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act are briefly outlined in this editorial article, which, drawing on the papers assembled in this themed section, considers the consequences of the legislation, both positive and negative, and seeks to explain why the new policy regime seems likely to prove resilient.

Caught in the Net: The Impact of Changes to Canadian Employment Insurance Legislation on Part-time Workers

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norene Pupo ◽  
Ann Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Labour Force ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
Employment Insurance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Canadian Context ◽  
Insurance Programme ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Industrialised Countries ◽  
The Impact

Throughout Western highly industrialised countries, there has been a marked shift toward more conservative social policies signalling a dismantling of the welfare state as part of the process of globalisation. This paper examines the aetiology of the (un)employment insurance programme in the Canadian context. Recently, legislators have tightened eligibility rules, lowered earnings replacement rates and altered coverage requirements. While these changes signal a shredding of the social safety net, they differentially impact on certain segments of the population. Despite official pronouncements of fairness, employment insurance changes intensify the subordination women experience in the paid labour force.

scholarly journals “The Might of My Own Hand Has Gotten Me This Wealth”: Reflections on Wealth and Poverty in the Hebrew Bible and Today

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-17
Author(s):  
Joel S. Kaminsky
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Social Concern ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Social

The growing gap between the wealthiest and poorest members of society is a pressing social concern regularly invoked in discussions surrounding taxation, the minimum wage, and the social safety net. Advocates of particular positions at times reference various biblical passages. This essay examines several relevant themes and passages within the Hebrew Bible in order to explore ways the Bible might be brought into productive conversation with these contemporary issues.

scholarly journals The Social Safety Nets and Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan: An Evaluation of Livelihood Enhancement and Protection Programme

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Asif Javed ◽  
Vaqar Ahmed ◽  
Bakhrul Khair Amal
Keyword(s):  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
Safety Nets ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Social Safety Nets

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 intends to end poverty of all forms and the government of Pakistan is also targeting poverty alleviation through social safety nets. ‘Ehsaas’ is the major social safety nets proramme which include various initiatives that are benefiting millions of households. The study examines the state of poverty in Pakistan and also highlights the spending under each social safety net. Furthermore, the study also evaluates the Livelihood Enhancement and Protection (LEP) programme which is a major initiative for poverty alleviation under Ehsaas programme. Survey in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Balochistan provinces were conducted of those beneficiaries who are getting asset and skills training. It was found that asset provision and skills trainings are helpful in increasing the earnings and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to poor households.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document