International audience ; Today we are experiencing good improvements in policy, social policy and policy making. A lot of good researches have been done on these issues and helped for the development of policy. The contributions of university professors, politicians and elites cannot be considered low. And the academic papers are deployed to offer from the major theoretical and methodological approaches and empirical research. To put in their proper context the important contributions of the processes of social policy change in the construction of social development should make some notes theoretical and methodological research into social policy.
International audience Today we are experiencing good improvements in policy, social policy and policy making. A lot of good researches have been done on these issues and helped for the development of policy. The contributions of university professors, politicians and elites cannot be considered low. And the academic papers are deployed to offer from the major theoretical and methodological approaches and empirical research. To put in their proper context the important contributions of the processes of social policy change in the construction of social development should make some notes theoretical and methodological research into social policy.
International audience ; The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has made strides in regional integration and cooperation, aided by unique modes of governance privileging consensus and non-interference. However, the social dimension is in the early stages of development and is currently detached from economic integration initiatives. The movement of low- and unskilled workers, many of whom are undocumented, has received especially little attention in ASEAN. Their growing numbers underscore the importance of treating migration as integral rather than separate from labour and general social protection issues. The establishment of regional agreements on social protection and integration, with particular focus on migration and labour standards, should signal the recognition of the economic nature of migration, and help strengthen the relevance and profile of ASEAN among the citizens of member countries. While existing mechanisms can be used to push for this — from Track II discussions to regional coalition building — the political challenge lies in making the issue an active concern in official ASEAN agenda.
This paper explores the transnational dimension of social policy by examining the case of Indonesia, where social policy systems have shifted from community-based schemes for social protection and targeting of the poor to more centralized but broadly national coverage. Focusing on the health care system in particular, it draws on in-depth elite interviews and relevant policy documents to demonstrate how global policy diffusion pushed Indonesia towards universal health care provision. It argues that global actors, such as AusAid, WHO and various UN agencies, played an important role in this transformation, and they have done so in different ways. It further argues that this was made possible by qualitative changes in the relationship between the Indonesian government and global actors, especially AusAid, that broke away from earlier models of foreign intervention.
Health care provision in developing countries is evolving in the direction of more investment in the Primary Health Care field. In Malta general practice has served the medical needs of the community for many years. As has happened in most other countries, the Government has taken upon itself the responsibility of introducing a system of health care to optimize the health of its people. This report highlights the pro and cons of setting up a Family Doctor Scheme, to cater for primary health care using a model which rationalises the utilization of the resources of the country to involve both the public and the health care professionals in the well-being of the general population. ; non peer-reviewed
Background: The social and economic woes that have inflicted many countries around the world are testimony to the inadequacy of current institutional makeup of societies where individualism and market forces by and large have taken the leading role in directing societies' choices and resources. Problems of inequities in health and wealth, the widening gaps between the rich and the poor, employment insecurities, the growing social exclusion of the marginalized, and the looming environmental concerns are acute as ever. At the same time, the progressive social forces and the counter-balancing capacity of governments are being undermined by the prevailing neo-liberal forces. This sobering state of affairs can only lead to more problems and a growing frustration on the part of those who seek alternatives to the status quo, which have actually produced better results in certain countries. Objective: This study takes the position that the involvement of democratic collective institutions (e.g., local organizations and governments at all levels) in setting societal priorities and directing resources towards achieving those priorities would avoid or mitigate many of the socioeconomic problems facing us today. It aims to show that comprehensive social policy could prevent the emergence of such problems and contain the problems that remain, effectively working as a social vaccine. Methods: The study uses macroeconomic panel data and socioeconomic indicators from OECD countries to empirically examine the relationships between indicators of social wellbeing on the one hand, and measures of social policy on the other, while controlling for relevant macroeconomic covariates. Results: The empirical results indicate that better population health outcomes are consistently associated with stronger social policies, including social spending on health and non-health services. Also, they show lower poverty rate is associated with higher social spending. Lower crime rate is also associated with higher social spending, but it is strongly country-specific. Conclusion: Although improving social wellbeing and social protection are morally justified in their own right, the evidence presented in this study suggests that even a purely rational view concerned with the societal costs and benefits of public policy should find social policy an effective tool or vaccine against population ill-health, poverty, and crime.
Social policies predate the welfare state and have left their mark on the genesis and development of the welfare state in different countries, that testifies to the importance of historical and ideological path-dependencies of social policies in different countries. The political/political-economy ecology literature links theories of social welfare and welfare state to environmental issues like resource use through the relationship between economic growth and sustainability. Orthodox mainstream neo-classical and Keynesian economics rely on economic growth in order to raise living standards but using different channels and mechanisms. It is this reliance on economic growth and its depletive effect on environmental resources that has lied at the heart of the critiques of growth oriented liberal/neo-liberal or Keynesian economic policies, and for that matter, economic policies of centralised economies of socialist countries. This paper will start with a critique of conservative environmentalism that is inspired by Malthusian population pressure (with all its social policy implications), that to some extent also informs the degrowth approach. It would then ask how to meet the increasing health, education and other social needs whilst minimising the depletion of natural resources. I argue that the answer to the question of a sustainable social policy in part lies in an economic model, a la Kalecki and others, that can manage/negotiate the composition of output whilst investing in resources to reduce depletion of natural resources and greenhouse emissions. This is a growth strategy based on 'the human theory of needs' that meets the needs of current generation and provides some measure of inter-generational justice. The welfare and social policy counterpart of this should involve public and collective provisioning of socially necessary services of health and education as well as a range of other care services that will reduce per capita cost through economies of scale and scope whilst providing an equitable access to ...
European social policy changed with the evolution of European and global capitalism, the scope and shape of European-level international institutions, the size and heterogeneity of "Europe" as a polity, and the politics of the European national welfare state. The paper outlines the long-term trajectory of European social policy, from the intended absorption of national welfare states into one united, federal welfare state to a selective updating of national social policies by European social policies; to multi-level coordination of national systems by special European institutions; to European soft law helping national "modernization" on the "Third Way"; to exposure of national systems to international economic competition as an incentive for "structural reform"; and to subordination of social policy, national and European, to the defense of a common hard currency through fiscal consolidation - from, in other words, federal social democracy to competitive "adjustment" of national social protection and social life to global markets. ; Die europäische Sozialpolitik entwickelte sich zusammen mit dem Wandel des europäischen und globalen Kapitalismus, der Reichweite und Gestalt europaweiter politischer Institutionen und der Größe und Vielfalt von "Europa" als politisches System sowie der Politik des europäischen Wohlfahrtsstaats auf nationaler Ebene. Der Aufsatz zeichnet die langfristigen Entwicklungslinien der europäischen Sozialpolitik nach, von der beabsichtigten Absorption der nationalen Wohlfahrtsstaaten in einen gemeinsamen, föderalen europäischen Wohlfahrtsstaat; zu selektiver Modernisierung nationaler durch europäische Sozialpolitik; zu Mehrebenenkoordination nationaler sozialpolitischer Regime durch spezialisierte europäische Institutionen; zu europäischem Soft Law zur Unterstützung nationaler "Modernisierung" auf dem "Dritten Weg"; zur Öffnung nationaler Systeme für internationalen wirtschaftlichen Wettbewerb als Anreiz zu "Strukturreformen"; schließlich zur Unterordnung von Sozialpolitik, auf nationaler wie europäischer Ebene, unter die Verteidigung einer gemeinsamen harten Währung durch fiskalische Konsolidierung - von, in anderen Worten, bundestaatlicher Sozialdemokratie zu wettbewerblicher Anpassung nationaler Formen des sozialen Schutzes und des sozialen Lebens an globale Märkte und die von ihnen ausgehenden Zwänge.
This paper is a comparison between two programs implemented to combat poverty in Latin America: Prospera (Prosper) in Mexico and Asignación Universal por Hijo (Universal Assignment for Child) in Argentina. The first section offers a review of the emergence of the welfare state, examining economic and urban development in both countries and the underlying trends of social policy instruments. The analysis is based on the political nature of social problems and the actions undertaken to confront them. The paper offers a theoretical perspective, often questioning the very foundation of the social policy that serves as the main framework for the social programs, in order to present the policies' scope, successes, and disadvantages with reference to social equity and the wellbeing of their participants.
Political and administrative processes are leading to collectively undesirable and intolerable societal outcomes in the advanced liberal democracies, as policymakers seek to address social issues in the design and implementation of new social policies that actively govern conduct. Behavioural regulation is the order of the day. For scholars interested in the development of social policy and the idea of a society as a whole, it is timely to begin the revaluation of the very notion of social policy and society beyond the 'active' neoliberal policy paradigm. Here we are particularly concerned with the ends and means of the coercive policy instruments and the active ethical issues arising from their use.
Social policies predate the welfare state and have left their mark on the genesis and development of the welfare state in different countries, that testifies to the importance of historical and ideological path-dependencies of social policies in different countries. The political/political-economy ecology literature links theories of social welfare and welfare state to environmental issues like resource use through the relationship between economic growth and sustainability. Orthodox mainstream neo-classical and Keynesian economics rely on economic growth in order to raise living standards but using different channels and mechanisms. It is this reliance on economic growth and its depletive effect on enviro
Die Dissertation untersucht die Sozialpolitik in 21 etablierten OECD-Demokratien auf der Mikro-, Meso- und Makroebene und beleuchtet deren Zusammenwirken sowie deren Einfluss auf sozialpolitische Reformen von den 1980ern bis in die 2020er. Dabei zeichnet sich die Sozialpolitik nicht nur durch ihre Budgetrelevanz aus, sondern auch durch ihre Relevanz für Gesellschaften, Parteien und die politikwissenschaftliche Literatur. Als eines der am häufigsten untersuchten Politikfelder zeigt die Literatur jedoch einige Blindstellen auf, wenn es um die Analyse disaggregierter Daten, konditionierender Faktoren und der Mikrofundierung von Makrophänomenen geht. Die fünf Artikel dieser kumulativen Dissertation tragen dazu bei, diese Forschungslücken zu schließen und folgende Forschungsfragen zu beantworten: Wie entstehen sozialpolitische Präferenzen, wie können sie beschrieben und verändert werden und wie werden sie im politischen Prozess repräsentiert? Unter welchen Bedingungen haben politische Parteien (noch) einen Einfluss auf Sozialpolitik? Beginnend auf der Mikro-Ebene untersucht das erste Papier im Rahmen einer qualitativen Fallstudie die Sozialpolitik der Großen Koalition von 2013 bis 2017 in Deutschland. Es zeigt auf, dass die öffentliche Meinung die vote-seeking Parteien in ihrer ideologischen Ausrichtung sowie während des Entscheidungsprozesses maßgeblich geprägt hat. Gleichzeitig zeigt sich der (fehlende) Problemdruck als wichtiger Erklärungsfaktor für policy outputs. Im zweiten Papier wird tiefer auf die Mikro-Ebene eingegangen, indem auf Basis eines Online Surveys untersucht wird, wie policy knowledge sozialpolitische Präferenzen von Individuen beeinflusst. Dabei zeigt sich ein statistisch signifikanter Einfluss von Wissen auf Präferenzen. Durch das experimentelle Design, im Rahmen dessen den Befragten neue Informationen über die sozialpolitischen Programme gegeben werden, wird klar, dass sich Präferenzen dadurch verändern können. Als ein Bindeglied zwischen Mikro- und Makroebene kann das dritte Papier verstanden ...
Evaluation has become part of the fabric of policy-related research in Australia. Program evaluation is now an in-built feature of all Commonwealth programs and is integral to the Financial Management Improvement Program (FMIP) introduced in 1987. This growth in the importance and significance of evaluation reflects the increased interest in ensuring that public programs are appropriate, efficient and effective. This paper explores how the 'new age' of evaluation might influence the development of policy and, more particularly, how it has affected the nature of the work of the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC). Following a discussion of the definitions of evaluation, of other policy-related research, and of evaluative research, changes in the program of research undertaken in the SPRC over the last five years are described and the question of how the emphasis on evaluations has affected the broader profile of research and funding of the body of research undertaken at the Centre is considered. Following this, a number of examples of SPRC research in the fields of social security and community support which illustrate the nature of its contribution to the evaluation of government social programs are reviewed. Drawing on this evidence, it is argued that despite the emphasis placed on evaluation by the Department of Finance and other bodies, the approach is likely to remain only a limited part of the policy process. Other forms of research will undoubtedly continue to complement the contribution made by evaluative research, but these activities, too, are also unlikely to dominate the formulation and implementation of policy.
This article considers the path of social policy and democracy in Australia and the latest set of welfare reforms under Labor. The reforms can be seen to mark a reaction to the excesses of neoliberal government on the one hand, but they also represent continuity in neoliberal thought and policy on the other. As we shall see, engrained ideas about individualist wage-earning welfare, that were established during the formative years of the 20th century, continue to shape, if not constrain collectivist solutions to some of the inherent social risks faced by Australian citizens today. In this light, efforts to create a welfare state geared towards meeting the needs of 'hardworking' Australian families appear much sharper.
