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BACKGROUND. Interest in the health and behavioral effects of economic insecurity appears to vary with the performance of the economy. The current recession in the United States and Western Europe and growing unemployment in Eastern Europe make it timely to analytically review the recent research concerned with the health effects of economic contraction. METHODS. The research concerned with the health and behavioral effects of economic insecurity is organized by dependent variable and method. Rules for determining which effects are supported by strong and which by weak evidence are developed and applied to the literature. RESULTS. Evidence for effects on symptoms of psychological distress, seeking help for psychological distress, and nonspecific physiological illness is strong. Evidence for effects on suicide, child abuse, adverse birth outcomes, and heart disease is characterized as weak or sufficiently controversial to warrant skepticism. CONCLUSIONS. The health effects of economic security are undoubtedly mediated by economic policies. Estimating the effect of policy alternatives on the incidence of various outcomes is, however, very difficult given the current state of the research. The effect of rising unemployment on health in Eastern Europe cannot, moreover, be estimated from existing research. Effects estimated from Western economies probably do not generalize to situations in which the meaning of economic insecurity is conditioned by profound social and political reforms.

Are public attitudes toward immigration policy in the United States driven by economic or non-economic concerns? Though systematic analyses are few, a burgeoning literature suggests that cultural norms and enduring values, rather than calculations of self-interest, determine immigration policy preferences. This paper challenges the contention that economic motivations play little or no role in the formation of immigration policy preferences. Drawing on recent work in political economy, I argue that individual preferences over immigration policy reflect economic and non-economic concerns – both broadly rooted in considerations of individual self-interest. While affective orientations toward ethnic groups and prejudice clearly underlie public attitudes toward immigration policy, analysts err in discounting an economic interpretation of immigration policy preferences. In fact, multivariate analysis of 1992 through 2000 National Election Study surveys reveals a robust link between an individual's position in the labor market and immigration policy. Respondents at the lower end of the nation's occupational and/or educational distribution are more likely to oppose increased immigration, as the Heckscher-Ohlin model of international trade implies.

Although evidence varies, the process of globalisation has produced concern among the public in terms of its possible effects on job security. Our objective is to discover some of the determinants of the variation in public opinion on this issue. We analyse public opinion about the effects of globalisation on job security [using a multi-response item] based on the Asia-Europe Study (ASES) study of 18,000 respondents in nine Asian and nine European countries, which studies regions and globalisation. We use multinomial logistic regression techniques to determine the factors that are significant in explaining variation in responses on job security including: demographics, economic situation, value orientations, national political and policy attitudes, and selected economic and migration data. Regression models are specified for the respective regions. Important findings from the results for Europe are that measures of economic insecurity, worries about immigration, dissatisfaction with national government performance and political values are positively associated with 'bad effect' responses. In Asia, there is strong support for the good effects of globalisation on job security, especially among younger respondents. Importantly, this support appears to be more widespread and is not predicted by 'winner status' (education and living standards) as is the case for Europe. Our conclusions are: negative attitudes to the job effects of globalisation in Europe are in part values-driven and that national government performance on unemployment - which has been generally dismal - matters in determining opinion about this issue. Combined with evidence from the survey, which suggests that the public prefers national solutions to unemployment, and global solutions to other problems, we suggest that national institutions have a significant role in mediating both real effects and opinion about this issue.

Most Southeast Asian states now embrace the language of sustainable development, environmental protection, and biodiversity conservation. But the impact of these new policies differs across political and economic systems. This paper compares the links between commercial forest management and community insecurity in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Sarawak (Malaysia), focusing in particular on the roles and responses of the state. Since the late 1980s, the Philippine government has decentralised environmental management, incorporating local governments, communities, and nongovernmental organisations. Although serious problems remain, especially in the areas that retain valuable commercial timber, compared to the years of President Ferdinand Marcos (1965-86), forest management is now far more transparent, inclusive, and responsive to the environmental security of communities. These changes were possible because of the collapse of the commercial timber industry, the fall of powerful logging patrons, and the emergence of democratic practices and a vibrant civil society. Sarawak and Indonesia have also reformed environmental and forest policies since the 1990s, such as raising forest fees, tightening regulations, and increasing the penalties for illegal and destructive loggers. But these new policies have had little impact on powerful, politically-connected companies. With substantial areas of valuable timber controlled by state-business networks, and with b state controls over civil society, state and business leaders have managed to resist and undermine genuine environmental reforms. They have also disputed or ignored the evidence that environmental degradation is contributing to community insecurity. When Indonesia and Sarawak do link security and environmental degradation, the purpose is generally not to improve environmental management, but to justify and legitimise campaigns to increase control and suppress internal dissent.

Date of publication unknown ; Date of publication unknown ; The current economic recession has made it difficult for millions of American households to make ends meet and cover basic needs such as food. The largest federal program that supplements food consumption is the Food Stamp Program.1 While typically, you might expect that food insecurity is lower in states that have high rates of participation in the Food Stamp Program, in Missouri we see a very different pattern. At a time when national levels remained relatively constant, Missouri's food insecurity rate rose from 9.8 percent in 1996 to 12.9 percent in 2006. What is noteworthy is that this increase in state levels of food insecurity occurred during a time when participation in the Food Stamp Program in Missouri rose from 74 percent to 98 percent of those eligible. This report shows the intersection and interplay of three metrics commonly used for examining population well being: food insecurity, food stamp participation, and the poverty level. ; Includes bibliographical references

This paper analyses public policy choices in the security economy from an economic perspective. It discusses the role of public goods for national and global security and identifies the importance of the first- and second-order indirect effects of insecurity on economic activity, which include the behavioural responses of agents and the government to security measures, akin to such effects in insurance economics. Furthermore, key public policy trade-offs are outlined, in particular between security and efficiency, globalisation, equity and freedom. The analysis identifies suitable policy options for raising security in the national and international contexts and in view of these trade-offs. A suitable balance between market and non-market instruments in achieving security should be aimed for to minimise the adverse effects of aiming for higher security. In addition, the public good nature of security implies that international coordination of security policies is important, despite this process being itself fraught with enforcement problems.

The concept of human security as a new paradigm presents a particular challenge for East Asia. While the region experienced dramatic political, economic and social transformations in the last few decades, much of the region's key security concerns are state-focused. In fact East Asian regional security structures that are products of the Cold War era have remained largely intact.

The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa is both a cause and a consequence of poverty. But while there is a clear link between AIDS and economic insecurity, there is no evidence of a connection between AIDS and security understood in the policing/state security sense of the term. Orphans are a human tragedy but not a direct security threat. AIDS does not appear to be high on the list of political priorities for most Southern Africans. Governments are thus likely to continue to respond to the epidemic unevenly and with limited resources.

The issue of urban security can be seen as a persistent and recurring subject in the political and cultural debate about cities: subjective perception increases and, in turn, the demand for security policies rises. This article argues that the lack of urban security is not a given objective, but rather the result of a social construction. In fact, the perception of being less secure does not stem from the increase in the number of acts that threaten the lives and property of individuals, which in fact did not happen. On the contrary, it reflects the situation of social discomfort that affects an increasing part of the population due to liberal economic policies. This feeling of discomfort, in turn, increases acts of intolerance to "drop outs", seen as potentially dangerous (immigrants, poor and excluded) and behaviours that, although not violent, appear to be "deviant" ". In this way, coexistence becomes increasingly difficult and incompatibilities grow wildly. "Safe city", in this context, does not mean the militarized city, on the contrary, the safe city must be understood as the city where "civil control" is exercised (a decentralized form of control and mutual balance that guarantees the best freedom of all) and where tolerance prevails. ; A questão da segurança urbana pode ser encarada como um assunto persistente e recorrente no debate político e cultural acerca das cidades: a percepção subjectiva aumenta e, por sua vez, aumenta a procura de políticas de segurança. Este artigo argumenta que a falta de segurança urbana não é um dado objectivo, mas sim o resultado de uma construção social. Com efeito, a percepção de se estar menos seguro não deriva do aumento do número de actos que ameaçam a vida e a propriedade dos indivíduos, o que de facto não aconteceu. Pelo contrário, espelha a situação de desconforto social que afecta uma parte cada vez maior da população, devido a políticas económicas liberais. Este sentimento de desconforto, por sua vez, aumenta os actos de intolerância perante os "desviantes" ("drop ...

Conflict Management and Peace Science, 1991. ; Refereed Journal Article ; The growth in world military expenditure is the supreme paradox of our age. While it is reasonable and prudent for a nation to make provision for security against external threats, one nation's security is likely to be another's insecurity. As a result, particularly in an atmosphere of hostility and suspicion, military expenditure assumes a competitive dynamic. The net result is a reduction in security for all nations. The realization that this bizarre process consumes huge quantities of resources with high opportunity cost in terms of the possibility of achieving higher standards of living is only slightly less disquieting (Treddenick, 1985: 77).

There has long been an active debate in Haiti - as in many other developing countries - over whether or not the customary tenure system constrains technology adoption and agricultural development, and whether cadaster and land titling should be national priorities. This paper contributes to this debate by reviewing and interpreting the body of literature and new empirical evidence concerning the relationship between land tenure and the adoption of technology in rural Haiti. The findings suggest that (a) formal title is not necessarily more secure than informal arrangements, (b) informal arrangements based on traditional social capital resources assure affordable and flexible access to land for most people, and (c) perceived stability of access to land-via stability of personal and social relationships-is a more important determinant of technology adoption than mode of access. The paper concludes that there is no definitive relationship between tenure and technology adoption by peasants; peasants are preoccupied more by political and economic insecurity than insecure tenure; and rather than tinkering with formalizing tenure, policy makers should prioritize other more fundamental rural sector reforms. The paper ends by considering some of the implications for theory and suggests several avenues for future research on land policy. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; Environment and Natural Resource Management; CAPRi ; EPTD

Movement is an integral part of human existence. While talking about transborder migration from Bangladesh to India, we are, however, aware that this is a controversial subject. The partition of Bengal in 1947 was the cruelest partition in the history of the world and caused forced illegal migration from erstwhile East Pakistan. It is estimated that there are about 15 million Bangladeshi nationals living in India illegally. West Bengal has a border running 2,216 km along Bangladesh. The present study highlights push-pull factors of illegal Bangladeshi migration based on perceptions of respondents obtained from a qualitative survey done on the basis of purposive sampling in Kolkata and 24 parganas and two districts of West Bengal (WB), an Indian State. The economic push factors that motivate people to leave Bangladesh are instability and economic depression, poverty, lack of employment opportunity, struggle for livelihood, forced grabbing of landed property from minority group, and lack of industrialization in Bangladesh. About 56% of the respondents expressed that lack of industrialisation/lack of employment/economic insecurity would be the probable cause of this migration. Among the demographic factors, population explosion in Bangladesh and lowest human development index may be the most important cause of illegal migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal. Hindu minority group faced problems in connection with matrimonial alliances. Educational curricula, which were framed according to Islamic preaching and curtailment of facilities enjoyed by Hindu minority group, were responsible factor for illegal migration of Hindu minority population. Another cause is social insecurity. Political instability, fear of riots and terrorism in Bangladesh, inhuman attitude and activities of the political leaders, absence of democratic rights, Muslim domination, religious instigation by political leaders, insecurity feeling of Hindus, are the major crucial issues that require to be mentioned as political push factors. About 59% of the respondents are of the opinion that religious fundamentalists/insecurity of the minority group/discriminating law and order against Hindus may be the factors that motivated migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal. In terms of ethnic cleansing, one can witness elimination of groups of minorities by dominant ethnic group, curbing their rights controlling their influence in a state's system. Double standards are observed in punishing criminals. Police officials do not record complaints from minority community. According to 85% of the respondent economic opportunity in terms of job opportunity, economic security prevailing in West Bengal worked as pull factors for migrants to West Bengal. Geographic proximity of Bangladesh and West Bengal, the linguistics and cultural similarities, same food habit, homo-ethnic climate, belief of getting shelter, cordiality, fellow-feeling, acceptance power of people of West Bengal have contributed to the movements of population from Bangladesh to West Bengal.

Radical employment, household structure and stability transformations have created new tensions on the welfare state front, whose social programs were constructed in an era with a wholly different risk profile. Rowntree's poverty cycle clearly exemplifies the postwar picture of an exceptional low risk of economic deprivation in the active phase of life cycle, due to decisive factors as well-functioning, full-employment labor markets and stable and fertile families. Since 1970s, because of the increasing family instability and the rising structural unemployment and inequality in wages and incomes, western welfare states have found their safety nets straining under the burden of expanding number of working age families. Market and family concomitant 'failure' is a major catalyst of poverty and the risk of social exclusion and economic insecurity entrapment are considerable. Here, however, welfare states' design make a difference, to the extent that it has rethought traditional assumption on work, family and social risks. The key issue, we find, is in the readiness or reluctance to create, through government, a foundation of income or to supplement earned income or other benefits to families and their successful performance in the labor market. I concentrate on three western settings, each characterized by strong diversities in the resource distribution systems (family, labor market and welfare) and by a different level of economic deprivation: Italy, Sweden and the United States. They nonetheless identify ideal-typical representations of Esping-Andersen's conservative, social-democratic and liberal regimes, respectively (Esping-Andersen, 1990).

Different factors explain the catastrophic human development situation in Burundi. First of all the structural insecurity persists after a decade of ethnic and internal political struggle. Even after the Arusha peace agreement of 2000, the insecurity violence, internal displacements and political struggle persist because the agreement was not able to convince and pay off all actors involved. This pervasive insecurity internally is compounded with the turmoil in the region and explains largely the dismal performance of almost all human and economic development indicators. Only the record on economic governance and stabilisation has not been bad taken into consideration the isolation of Burundi on the international front. Indeed after an embargo that lasted for more than two years and an nearly complete stop of international aid flows after 1995 it is remarkable that the disequilibria of budget and balance of payment are not more pronounced. Under the same conditions Rwanda would have a far less good record but that country has been able to mobilise huge external funds and entry into the HIPC and PRSP financing. Even RDCongo who has been internationally isolated for more than a decade has now been able to have access to international aid. There are no technical economic reasons why Burundi should be treated differently and politically the reasons that favoured Rwanda and isolated Burundi have now petered out.

Different factors explain the catastrophic human development situation in Burundi. First of all the structural insecurity persists after a decade of ethnic and internal political struggle. Even after the Arusha peace agreement of 2000, the insecurity violence, internal displacements and political struggle persist because the agreement was not able to convince and pay off all actors involved. This pervasive insecurity internally is compounded with the turmoil in the region and explains largely the dismal performance of almost all human and economic development indicators. Only the record on economic governance and stabilisation has not been bad taken into consideration the isolation of Burundi on the international front. Indeed after an embargo that lasted for more than two years and an nearly complete stop of international aid flows after 1995 it is remarkable that the disequilibria of budget and balance of payment are not more pronounced. Under the same conditions Rwanda would have a far less good record but that country has been able to mobilise huge external funds and entry into the HIPC and PRSP financing. Even RDCongo who has been internationally isolated for more than a decade has now been able to have access to international aid. There are no technical economic reasons why Burundi should be treated differently and politically the reasons that favoured Rwanda and isolated Burundi have now petered out.