The case for welfare state universalism, or the lasting relevance of the paradox of redistribution

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Jacques ◽  
Alain Noël
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Robin Hood ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Original Argument ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

In 1998, Walter Korpi and Joakim Palme proposed a political and institutional explanation to account for the greater redistributive success of welfare states that relied more on universal than on targeted programmes. Effective redistribution, they argued, resulted less from a Robin Hood logic – taking from the rich to give to the poor – than from a broad and egalitarian provision of services and transfers. Hence, the paradox: a country obtained more redistribution when it took from all to give to all than when it sought to take from the rich to help the poor. Recent studies, however, failed to confirm the existence of this paradox. This article suggests that the original argument was theoretically sound but inadequately operationalized. Korpi and Palme measured universalism indirectly, not by the design or character of social programmes, but rather by their outcomes, namely, by their income effects. These outcomes, however, are influenced by exogenous factors. We use two new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicators to capture universalism directly, through the institutional design of social programmes: (1) the percentage of social benefits that are means or income tested and (2) the proportion of private spending in total social expenditures. These two indicators are combined into a universalism index and tested with a time-series cross-sectional design for 20 OECD countries between 2000 and 2011. This approach, we argue, better captures institutional design, in a way that is consistent with Korpi and Palme’s original argument, and it suggests that there is still a paradox of redistribution in the 21st-century welfare state.

scholarly journals The Development of an Entrepreneurship Index for Low-Income Households

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29
Author(s):  
Mohamed Dahlan Ibrahim ◽  
Abdullah Al Mamun ◽  
Norasmah Othman ◽  
Mohd Nor Hakimin Yusoff ◽  
Naresh Kumar Samy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Entrepreneurial Orientation ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Functional Skills ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Leadership Motivation ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Low Income Households

The Entrepreneurship Index (EI) serves as a measurement tool that effectively determines if one possesses the prospect of becoming a successful entrepreneur by assessing several essential aspects, such as entrepreneurial orientation, personality, leadership, motivation and knowledge, pertaining to functional skills. Hence, the cross-sectional design was adopted in this study and quantitative data were gathered from some randomly selected 800 Asnafs (those eligible for zakat—donation for the poor) listed under the Kelantan Islamic Religious and Customs Council. The outcomes of this study that classify the aspects of EI are grouped into three categories: low, medium, and high EI. As a result, the variances between high class and both medium and low classes have been double and triple, respectively. Furthermore, participants from Bachok, on an average, obtained higher scores on EI, in comparison to those from other districts. These findings can be turned into an essential measurement tool to indicate both entrepreneurial potentials and readiness among those from rural low-income households, which can be employed by relevant bodies in their attempt to aid those with entrepreneurial prospects and higher possibilities of attaining success in the business arena.

Is social investment inimical to the poor?

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 857-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Noël
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Minimum Income ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Active Labor ◽  
Active Labor Market Programs ◽  
Active Labor Market

Abstract In the last two decades, the social investment strategy has been the main approach to welfare state reform. Concretely, two spending programs have dominated the agenda: the expansion of active labor market programs and the development of childcare services. Many authors have suspected, however, that these social investments were realized at the expense of income protection for the poor. This article assesses this potential trade-off with time-series cross-sectional models of the determinants of active labor market policies expenditures, childcare spending and the adequacy of minimum income protection (MIP), for 18 OECD countries between 1990 and 2009. It turns out that social investments are rather akin to traditional welfare state programs, and are explained by similar institutional, political and economic factors. More importantly, they do not develop at the expense of income protection. Social investment initiatives are consistent with the usual politics of the welfare state and, overall, they are not inimical to the poor.

scholarly journals ORAL HYGIENE BURUK PASIEN RAWAT INAP TIDAK BERKAITAN DENGAN PERTUMBUHAN ORAL CANDIDIASIS

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Addina Aimana Sabila ◽  
Ade Ismail A.K ◽  
Rochman Mujayanto
Keyword(s):  
Oral Cavity ◽  
Oral Hygiene ◽  
Oral Candidiasis ◽  
Tooth Surface ◽  
P Value ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Poor Oral Hygiene ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Background: Nosocomial infections can develop in the oral cavity due to poor oral hygiene. Oral Candidiasis is one of the most frequent nosocomial infection in oral cavity. The objective of this study is to describe the oral hygiene and oral candidiasis in hospitalized patients. Method: This analitical observational study used cross sectional design. Subject of the study were 74 adult patients aged 20-65 who are hospitalized at the Sultan Agung Islamic Hospital Semarang. Oral hygiene assessed from the presence of debris and calculus on the tooth surface using Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHIS) that were grouped in three categories (good, moderate, bad). Oral candidiasis diagnosed through clinical examination and swab procedure of suspicious lesions, and identified the presence of its spores and hyphae under a microscope observation. Kendal Tau test is used to analyze the correlation between oral hygiene with oral candidiasis. Results: Results showed patients with oral candidiasis in the poor and moderate oral hygiene were 29.7% and 1.4%, whereas patients without oral candidiasis in the poor and moderate oral hygiene were 60.8% and 8.1%. Kendall Tau correlation test results p value of 0.235 (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Conclusion of this study showed there is no association between oral hygiene with oral candidiasis.

Social Programs, Third-Sector Competition, and Transparency

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Chim Richard Wong
Keyword(s):  
Public Debt ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Income Redistribution ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Programs ◽  
The West ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Public Transfers ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Rich Countries

Why have the welfare states of the rich countries of the West, which transfer on average nearly a quarter of GDP from the rich to the poor, failed to alleviate poverty? And why has inequality widened in recent decades in these countries? The liberals in these countries—intellectuals and politicians—continue to argue for more public transfers. But if income redistribution could solve poverty, should it not have done so by now? The illusion that poverty can be solved through income redistribution is the key reason why so many rich economies have become saddled with public debt: in some countries it approaches 100% and even 200% of GDP.

scholarly journals The Robin Hood Index Adjusted for Negatives and Equivalised Incomes

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 1047-1058
Author(s):  
Marion van den Brakel ◽  
Reinder Lok
Keyword(s):  
Gini Coefficient ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Income Transfer ◽  
Income Share ◽  
Robin Hood ◽  
Inequality Measures ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Gini Coefficient ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Original Index

Abstract Indisputable figures on income and wealth inequality are indispensable for politics, society and science. Although the Gini coefficient is the most common measure of inequality, the straightforward concept of the Robin Hood index (namely, the income share that has to be transferred from the rich to the poor to make everyone equally well off) makes it a more attractive measure for the general public. In a distribution with many negative values – particularly wealth distributions – the Robin Hood index can take on values larger than 1, indicating an intuitively impossible income transfer of more than 100%. This article proposes a method to normalise the Robin Hood index. In contrast to the original index, the normalised Robin Hood index always takes on values between 0 and 1 and ends up as the original index in a distribution without negatives. As inequality measures are commonly applied to equivalised income, we also introduce a method for adequately transferring equivalised incomes from the rich to the poor within the framework of the (normalised) Robin Hood index. An empirical application shows the effect of normalisation for the Robin Hood index, and compares it to the normalisation of the Gini coefficient from previous research.

scholarly journals “The Reality from the Myth”: The poor as main agents of forest degradation: Lessons from Ashanti Region, Ghana

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prince Peprah ◽  
Emmanuel Mawuli Abalo ◽  
Jones Amoako ◽  
Julius Nyonyo ◽  
Williams Agyemang Duah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Traditional Authorities ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Depth Interviews

AbstractThe prevailing literature on poverty-environment links mostly presents a rather deterministic view of the nexus between poverty and the environment, revolving around the negative impact of the poor on the environment. Specifically, in Ghana, empirical evidence on the prevalence of forest degradation is sparse because the requisite data are often difficult to obtain. Using a qualitative approach, data collected through in-depth interviews with 45 randomly selected participants and 5 purposively selected key informants (Traditional Authorities) and using a thematic analysis, the poverty-environment, specifically the forest degradation nexus was verified. This cross-sectional study leads the authors to posit that poverty has a minimal negative effect on major forest degradation in Ghana. The study found that the poor were rather conscious, and future-oriented with regard to the environment, specifically forests owing to how their livelihoods and survival are directly linked to their immediate environment. The results suggest that the poverty-environment nexus could be country, or context-specific and varies between geographical and historical contexts. By implication, the seemingly universal assertion that the poor are those who cause major deforestation in communities could be problematic. Henceforth, the study maintains that it would be a fallacy to make generalisations that poverty is the main cause of major forest degradation, since the link between poverty and the environment is very context-specific. We argued on the premise that reduction of poverty in Ghana may not lead to the reduction of forest degradation. Joint implementation of holistic poverty-environment strategies that incorporate both the poor and the rich should be adopted to curb the wanton forest degradation in Ghana.

Welfare, Populism and Welfare Chauvinism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bent Greve
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Welfare State

In the wake of the financial crisis, and with increasing numbers of people in precarious and low paid jobs, there has been a surprising surge of support for populist right-wing political parties who often promote an anti-welfare message. Tougher approaches and welfare chauvinism is on the agenda in many countries, with policies which reduce the welfare state for those seen as undeserving and changes often disproportionally benefit the rich. Why are voters seemingly not concerned about growing inequality? Using a mixed methods approach and newly released data, this book aims to answer this question and to show possible ways forward for welfare states.

scholarly journals Federal Inland Revenue Service Tax Awareness Index: Development and Validation

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Fred Femi Akinfala ◽  
Martha Ekong ◽  
Abubakar M. Liman ◽  
Pirfa Tyem ◽  
Adashu Ashu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component ◽  
Factor Solution ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Inland Revenue ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Development And Validation ◽  
Descriptive Survey ◽  
Survey Approach

Taxation is not just a means for generating revenue for the country, it is also a tool used to regulate the economy using fiscal policy, to control inflation, prices of goods and services and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. However, the awareness for this all-important component of any goal-oriented government is poor. It is against this backdrop that this study aimed at developing a Tax Awareness Index for use in the Nigerian context. The study adopted descriptive survey approach with a cross-sectional design. The sampling approach to recruit participants for the study was the convenience sampling method. Data analysis involved the use of principal component analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation. Results showed that the initially proposed 10-factor solution of 94 questionnaire items was not supported with the data gathered. However, a 5-factor solution emerged that made substantive sense for the purpose of developing a Tax. Awareness Index. A composite score on the 5-factor solution indicates the level of tax awareness for a respondent. It was concluded that this index would serve as a viable tool to measure how much the general populace is aware of tax and its components.

scholarly journals Welfare state structure, inequality, and public attitudes towards progressive taxation

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 823-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Berens ◽  
Margarita Gelepithis
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
State Structure ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Progressive Taxation ◽  
Welfare Spending ◽  
Tax Progressivity ◽  
Country Level

Abstract Recent research indicates that while higher tax levels are politically unpopular, greater tax progressivity is not. However, there remain unanswered questions regarding public support for more progressive taxation. In particular, little is known about how individual attitudes towards tax progressivity are affected by their institutional context. Building on existing theories of redistribution, this article develops the argument that the structure of the welfare state shapes public attitudes towards progressive taxation—support for progressive taxation among both average and high-income households is undermined by ‘pro-poor’ welfare spending. We support our argument with a cross-sectional analysis of rich democracies, interacting household income with country-level indicators of welfare state structure. In doing so, we contribute a micro-level explanation for the paradoxical macro-level phenomenon that larger, more redistributive welfare states tend to be financed by less progressive tax systems.

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