Local Policy Discretion in Social Welfare: Explaining Subnational Variations in China's De Facto Urban Poverty Line

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Yu Guo ◽  
Alex Jingwei He ◽  
Fei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Urban Poverty ◽  
Poverty Line ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
The Social ◽  
Developmental Policies ◽  
Policy Arena

Abstract How do subnational agents exercise policy discretion in the social welfare sphere? To what extent do they do so as a result of various bureaucratic and fiscal incentives? The literature has documented several explanatory frameworks in the context of China that predominantly focus on the realm of developmental policies. Owing to the salient characteristics of the social policy arena, local adaptation of centrally designed policies may operate on distinctive logics. This study synthesizes the recent scholarship on subnational social policymaking and explains the significant interregional disparities in China's de facto urban poverty line – the eligibility standard of the urban minimum livelihood guarantee scheme, or dibao. Five research hypotheses are formulated for empirical examination: fiscal power effect, population effect, fiscal dependency effect, province effect and neighbour effect. Quantitative analysis of provincial-level panel data largely endorses the hypotheses. The remarkable subnational variations in dibao standards are explained by a salient constellation of fiscal and political factors that are embedded within the country's complex intergovernmental relations and fiscal arrangements. Both a race-to-the-top and a race-to-the-bottom may be fostered by distinctive mechanisms. The unique role of provincial governments as intermediary agents within China's political apparatus is illuminated in the social policy arena.

People aged 60 and over - a challenge and an opportunity for the Polish social policy

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-159
Author(s):  
Józef Młyński
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Senior Citizens ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Ageing Society ◽  
Important Place ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

In an ageing society, over-60s’ problems take an important place in the social policy. The State should be prepared for various implications, both positive and negative, of the ageing of the population, and should treat the potential problems of citizens as a challenge and an opportunity for the development of social policy, and within its framework, the policy aimed at the senior citizens. The senior citizens, by all means, constitute an important age group. This type of policy should be focused on both early and late old age people, addressing their different needs and expectations. This article attempts to show the challenges and the role of social policy addressed to the seniors, both at the early and late old age, especially at the local community level. The impact of the article is analysed in the three dimensions described, i.e. a brief outline of the ageing of the population from a demographic perspective, social policy towards seniors at the early and late old age, the challenge the 60 and over pose to the local policy versus their resources.

SOCIAL WELFARE OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE EU: COMPARATIVE MODELS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LEGAL INTEGRATION SYSTEM OF THE EAEU STATES

2021 ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
Dmitry V. Agashev ◽  
◽  
Sergey G. Trifonov ◽  
Kristine V. Trifonova ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Social ◽  
Security Relations ◽  
Legal Space ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Eu

The article assesses the EU legal system as a unique institutional unit and highlights its features. It deals with the comparative legal aspects of the regulation of the social welfare of migrant workers in the EU and the EAEU. Attention is paid to the study of legislation on social welfare for migrant workers in the EU, as well as the possibility of realizing the experi-ence accumulated within the EAEU. It is emphasized that the use of comparative models con-cerning the social welfare of migrant workers in the EU and the EAEU can be productive, taking into account the analysis of the state and dynamics of the EU's legal policy in its historical development. The authors have analyzed the historical stages reflecting the difference within the EU approaches to the regulation of social welfare relations for migrant workers. The emphasis is on the role of EU administrative institutions, which provide a balancing approach to the key principles and social policy settings, due to the desire to eliminate distortions and possible conflicts between the norms of states. At the same time, EU members have the competence within the existing common standards of financial security obligations to expand the estab-lished standards and this makes the EU's social policy geographically differentiated. It is noted that the allied states, formed on trade and economic grounds, such as the EU and the EAEU, are characterized by an objective desire for a single legal space, with the uni-fication of approaches on the social welfare of migrant workers throughout the Union. Never-theless, in complex interstate unions, it is impossible to abandon the principle of multi-level regulation of social and security relations, and in this sense, the situation in the EU and the EAEU is quite similar. The current state of EU law in terms of regulating the relations under consideration largely preserves national legal regimes, and each of them, through its special legal means, determines a different amount of social rights of migrant workers. In the context of the EAEU, a similar approach should not be considered productive, since it does not contribute to the goals of this interstate association, defined by Article 4 of the Treaty on its creation. Therefore, within the framework of the EAEU, it is advisable to fix as early as possible the uniform standards in the area of social welfare of migrant workers, estab-lishing a relatively narrow range of powers of the member states of the Union.

Social Policy and Social Justice

1974 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Pinker
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Social Division ◽  
Moral Ideals ◽  
The Social

In this review of the changing relationship between social policy and social justice I will be concerned with three main areas of debate. Firstly, I wish to attempt a clarification of the moral ideals of social welfare which find expression in those criteria of social justice by which people in similar states of need are treated differently. My second concern is to review and redefine what constitutes the social division of welfare in Britain today. Thirdly, I wish to explore the extent to which these ideals of social welfare complement or conflict with one another.

scholarly journals INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF SOCIAL PROTECTION OF FAMILIES RAISING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

2021 ◽  
pp. 239-244
Author(s):  
Tetiana Shapovalova ◽  
Daryna Shuminska
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Welfare Provision ◽  
Raising Children ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Families With Children

Introduction. At present, the priority of social policy in Ukraine is to ensure a fair standard of living for all categories of the population who find themselves in difficult life circumstances, including families raising children with disabilities. Over the past 5 years, the number of Ukrainian families raising children with disabilities has increased by 20% according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. This is due to various environmental, social, economic, and other factors that harm the general health of the population. In the research circle, scholars consider the family as a center for the upbringing and development of a child with a disability, because for this child, the family is primarily the main environment for rehabilitation. However, the family cannot be considered solely from the point of view of rehabilitation, because the family is a social group that carries out its activities based on a common economic, domestic, moral, and psychological way of life. Families with children with disabilities face many difficulties and problems, from medical to social, but the most pressing and common problems of such families are financial. Given the economic situation in Ukraine and the economic opportunities of Ukrainian families, it is safe to say that the social security system in Ukraine is not able to fully help families raising children with disabilities financially, as benefits are insignificant and the variability of such benefits is negligible. This actualizes the study of social protection of families with children with disabilities, in particular the study of international innovative methods of social welfare provision to this category of the population. The aim of the article is a theoretical analysis of global innovation mechanisms and approaches to social welfare provision to families raising children with disabilities for their further implementation in Ukraine. Methodology. The theoretical foundation of this article is based on world socio-economic theories, scientific approaches to solving problems of social welfare, and the social work theories. General scientific research methods were used, in particular, structural-functional to reveal the types of social assistance and existing technologies and methods of calculating social benefits for families raising children with disabilities in Ukraine; comparison – to study the world's innovative social welfare technologies. Results. It has been confirmed that the social welfare provision to families raising children with disabilities is one of the priority tasks of social policy both in Ukraine and in the world. An analysis of international innovative mechanisms and approaches of social welfare provision to families, who raise children with disabilities has been carried out. Improvement of the Ukrainian social welfare system has been suggested by introducing world tendencies of social protection of families raising children with disabilities.

Public Opinion and the Demand for Social Welfare in Britain

1981 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Whiteley
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
Welfare Spending ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Making Process

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the role of public opinion in the social policy making process. It argues that existing accounts of social policy formation are inadequate in their treatment of public opinion, and inconsistent in their estimation of its importance. It then goes on to examine detailed examples of the role of public opinion in policy making; and finally tests two hypotheses concerning the sources of the demand for social welfare spending on the part of the British electorate.

scholarly journals Social Policy Responses to the Covid-19 Crisis in China in 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
pp. 5896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan Lu ◽  
Zehao Cai ◽  
Bin Chen ◽  
Tao Liu
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Social Suffering ◽  
The Social ◽  
Major Player

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has catapulted China into a serious social and political crisis. This article focuses upon how Chinese social policy has responded to the Covid-19 crisis. It reveals that the Chinese welfare state has woven a comprehensive social safety net to mitigate the social suffering of Chinese society in the mid- and post-crisis periods. Different types of social policy programs have been combined and synthesized, including social insurance, social assistance, and social welfare arrangements. Facing the challenges of the new risks caused by the pandemic, the collaboration of the Chinese state and intermediary social welfare organizations has played a crucial role in providing both cash benefits and social services (benefits in kind). For the first time, social policy in China has acted as a major player for coping with the negative outcomes of a pandemic. This article concludes that the pandemic-related crisis has justified an interventionist approach and logic, driven by the state’s welfare system, which favors a model of “big government”. However, this model also requires justification and legitimation.

scholarly journals THE APPLICATION OF LAW, GOING TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT (AN ANALIZYNG OF THE RIIL SCIENTIFIC)

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Faisol Azhari
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Application Of Law ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Law

Law or law order are not made to be observed and to be logical rational study only but to be done. Of course the application of law in society gets concretization proccess where the regulation of general and abstract normative law given for special, concrete and casuistic problems. It is not enough to implement limitted law on legal norms only normatively in societ, we have to observe more on social phenomena to implement the law flexibly. The implementation of law which is able to creat efective communication between the members of society, and not release from the final objective or the main goal of the legal politic namely to reach social welfare and protection as the integral part of the social policy, that is the implementation of law into the law enforcement.

scholarly journals Social Welfare Policy in an Information Age: New Vision or More of the Same?

10.18060/79 ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. McNutt
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Current System ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Social Welfare Policy ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Social Welfare System ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Vision

As we move into the 21st Century, the social policy enterprise stands as the nexus between technological, political and social forces that will undermine the base that contemporary programs and policies depend upon. Assumptions about work and the workforce, the nature of governance and the role of technology will radically change. If our social welfare system is to remain relevant, changes will be needed. This paper explores these changing systems and examines how they will influence the current system. It will also speculate on the types of changes that will be necessary if social welfare is to remain relevant to the society of the future.

scholarly journals Transformation Issues of Social Policy as a Basis for the Social Security of a State

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (46) ◽  
pp. 357-363
Author(s):  
D. H. Mykhailenko ◽  
◽  
O. V. Hrypich ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
External Threats ◽  
The Social

One of the important tasks of social policy is to ensure the social security and development of a state. Protection of the individual, society and the state from internal and external threats is ensured by social security. Social development is reflected in the effective implementation of social programs aimed at improving social welfare and the well-being of citizens. The article is aimed at suggesting some approaches to define social policy as a basis for the formation of social security of a state. Legal documents regulating security formation in the social sphere are considered. The components of social security are identified. Approaches to define the social policy of a state in the context of social security formation are offered. The types and models for carrying out social policies in the view of forming the social security of a state are analyzed. Ukraine’s social policy needs to be transformed, as it is characterized by low economic efficiency, this being the reason for the state’s inability to ensure a high level of well-being for all its citizens. Domestic social policy is characterized by a low level of security and limited social benefits for ordinary citizens, but the elite can use a whole system of social benefits and privileges. All this threatens the social security of the state. The ideology of domestic social policy makes the citizens highly dependent on the state, instead of promoting the citizens’ initiatives. However, the social security formation is impossible without improving life quality and bringing in social welfare, and without reforming and developing the social sphere. It can only become possible if social consensus is reached between different groups of political and economic interests and the state.

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