Suchergebnisse

The need to reconcile social and environmental goals for sustainable development still poses problems for policy makers in the richer parts of the world. Using the examples of domestic water and energy, this paper argues that the problems are reflected, and often magnifed, in developing countries. They arise largely from conflicts between the short‐term need to alleviate poverty and longer‐term objectives for environmental sustainability. The dual nature of water and energy as both social and economic goods raises questions about the most appropriate forms of provision and allocation of the utilities. It is in no one's long‐term interest for developing countries to repeat the environmentally damaging mistakes of the industrialized world. But an equitable distribution of the short‐term costs attached to a more environmentally responsible use of resources demands new ways of thinking about global social justice.

European countries vary in the extent to which they succeed in reducing poverty using social transfers. However, we do not have good ways of understanding how these different outcomes are achieved. It is therefore very difficult to learn lessons from abroad. This paper uses micro data from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Condition (SILC), and attempts to decompose reductions in child poverty rates and gaps into the contribution made by children, old age, social exclusion, housing and work-related benefits. The analysis is undertaken for all families with children under 16, lone parent families, couple families, and then for families with varying levels of work intensity. Transfers make a substantial contribution to reducing child poverty rates and closing poverty gaps. The contribution varies between countries in the European Union. There is no single model, no most successful exemplar. Some countries do better for their children in lone parent households and others do better for their children in couple households. The analysis has enabled some opening up of the how question, though what is going on is still something of a mystery in some countries. It is probable that analysis at the national level with greater knowledge of national benefits systems is necessary to further open the 'black box'.

Water poverty is conventionally defined as households spending more than 3% and 5% of their net income after housing costs on water. Water bills have risen faster than general prices and faster than earnings since privatisation. In 2009/10, 23.6% of households paying for water in England and Wales were spending more than 3% of their income on water and sewerage and 11.5% were spending more than 5% of their income. The article explores variation in water poverty and prospects for the future. If water bills rise 1% per year faster than household income, water poverty will increase to 35% by 2033 based on a 3% definition. Policy options are discussed.

Vignettes refer to stimuli, including text and images, which research participants are invited to respond. Drawing on a range of social science sources, this paper focuses on two substantive areas concerning the use of vignettes in research. Considered first is the development and construction of vignettes. This section is concerned with internal reliability; research topics; participants; and interest, relevance, realism and timing. Considered second are vignette interpretations and responses, in particular open and closed questioning; vignette perspectives; and difficulties with interpreting and responding to vignettes. Together these explorations contribute to the wider appreciation of vignette methodologies used within the social sciences. The paper concludes by outlining the limitations of using vignettes in social research.

This paper reviews common reasons postulated for the failure of many externally funded projects to improve the water supplies of people in poor rural areas of developing countries. Analysis of survey data from Tanzania shows that villages most in need of water supply improvements are unlikely to benefit from short-term interventions based on 'dig-install-depart' models. Excess availability and low value placed on labour in poor village communities reduce the chances that necessary effort and resources will be deployed to maintain water schemes following the withdrawal of funding agencies. The paper concludes that, to reduce poverty, interventions must be accompanied by broader packages of prolonged support, enabling communities to develop the skills and obtain the means to maintain improvements in the long term.

The authors examine, from a social policy perspective, the UK government's 1998 transport White Paper, which aims to reduce the environmental and social costs of growing traffic congestion and pollution. Data from the British Social Attitudes Survey are used to analyse the implications of the government's new transport policy for the relative welfare of different social and demographic groups. The results suggest that car dependency, which the government is hoping to tackle, is widespread and is particularly strong among men, people with higher incomes, those aged between 25 and 59 years, people with children, the nonmanual social classes, and those living in rural areas. These classes and groups share most of the responsibility for the negative impacts of motor transport, and are often the least concerned about them. They are also the people most opposed to the idea of government intervention to ameliorate the problems.