Suchergebnisse

The manner in which open economies in a globalized world shape social policy development is highly disputed, as is the impact of the current financial crisis on social policy. One argument is that globalization and economic austerity force social policy dismantling. Alternatively, it is proposed that open economies – facing greater volatility, especially during crisis – push for greater social protection. Using the examples of Botswana and Mauritius, two open middle-income countries, this article suggests that, in fact, both arguments may be correct. The impact of globalization and economic crisis depends on the character of the welfare system already in place and the organized interests underpinning it. In Botswana a main social policy thrust is to increase efficiency in spending, whereas issues of job security and compensation are more prevalent in Mauritius. The findings imply that divergence across welfare systems persists and that, even in crisis, countries often use tried social policy solutions.

Social policy that emerged from the New Deal era continues to shape race relations and politics today. Since the 1930s, scholars have debated the net effect of the New Deal on racial inequality. On the one hand, the social policies of the 1930s are viewed as a great step toward a racially inclusive society (Myrdal 1944; Wolters 1975; Sitkoff 1978, 1985; Ezell 1975; Patterson 1986; Weiss 1983). In contrast to previous eras and political regimes,Roosevelt's New Deal reflected a qualitatively different sense of government's responsibility toward its citizens, including African Americans. Alternatively, New Deal era social policy is considered a crucial component in the structure of American racial stratification (Lewis 1982; Rose 1993; Quadagno 1994; Valocchi 1994; Brown 1999).The legislative record of the New Deal was consistently racialized and discriminatory.Welfare policy, in particular, actively excluded and subjugated blacks. These contrasting portrayals reflect the ambiguity of the New Deal legacy of race relations.

Abstract
This article examines how the Turkish political elites have responded to the uneven geographical distribution of physicians. This has been a chronic problem in health care provision, with physicians concentrated in the urban areas of western Anatolia at the cost of rural areas and the east, especially the Kurdish southeast. Successive Turkish governments have employed compulsory service laws as major policy tools to tackle this distribution problem. Legislative discussions about these laws have revolved around the idea of a unitary Turkey, the Turkish nation, and how to close the gap between the idealized imaginary of these and the defective reality. Drawing on Kojin Karatani's mode-of-exchange framework, this study examines the legislative process on the distribution problem through the history of the post-Ottoman republic to the present. It identifies Turkish nationalism centered on state and on commodity exchange as two variants giving shape to the response to the problem. This analysis also contributes to our understanding of the weakness of social citizenship in Turkey. It is argued that Turkish nationalism—specifically, its state-centered version—operates by interpellating Turkish citizens as indebted to the nation-state, thereby hindering the development of the notion of the rights-bearing citizen.

This report examines the social policy response of the Government of Armenia to the Covid-19 crisis. Official data on the implemented programs suggest that since March 2020, around USD 55 million has been transferred to individuals and households as wage support, unemployment and family benefits, utility payment subsidies and tuition fee support. Survey data suggest that despite being early and extensive, government assistance has not been effective in relieving the financial stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic, while public expectations about the future remain pessimistic. As individuals most and least in need have benefited equally from the implemented programs, government assistance has also not been well-targeted. ; 10

This paper examines the social policy response of the Government of Armenia to the COVID-19 crisis. Official data on the implemented programs suggest that since March 2020, around USD 55 million has been transferred to individuals and households as wage support, unemployment and family benefits, utility payment subsidies and tuition fee support. Survey data suggest that despite being early and extensive, government assistance has not been effective in relieving the financial stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic, while public expectations about the future remain pessimistic. As individuals most and least in need have equally benefited from the implemented programs, government assistance has also not been well-targeted.

AbstractIn this article, we argue that basic social policy concepts can fertilise the discussion on active labour market policy (ALMP). During the last decades, research on ALMP has become a flourishing field. This is an overall positive development. However, the development tends to fractionate the wider picture of social policy and distance the discussion from social policy seen as a multifold set of government measures that have a direct impact on the welfare of the citizens, by providing services and/or income. We analyse a local ALMP programme in the light of three classical social policy concepts: universalism, selectivism and need. To understand what is going on in ALMP programmes, we argue that it is as important to uncover claims made by the state as it is to satisfy the human needs most often presented as the objectives of ALMP programmes. We propose that the programme under study be characterised as a hybrid, combining elements frequently perceived as dichotomies in social policy literature. Selectivism and universalism are both present as principles and the programme consists of benefits in cash and in kind.