Institutional evolution and abrupt change: Reforming the administration of social assistance in Finland

Historical institutionalist studies have explained institutional change as resulting from critical junctures that interrupt long periods of stability or from endogenous, incremental evolution. Building on these theories, discursive institutionalists have focused on the roles of agency, ideas and discourse as explainers of change. Combining these approaches, this article analyses Finland’s decision in 2014 to transfer the administration of basic social assistance from municipalities to the central government. This study demonstrates that institutional change can be both abrupt and evolutionary. Due to sudden, exceptional political circumstances, the decision in question was made quickly and under pressure, circumventing possible veto players. However, it was possible only because of the incremental, endogenous change that had occurred in the way in which social assistance was administered at the municipal level. It enabled a change in political discourse, which eroded the credibility of the ideational frames that policy actors had previously utilised to reject the centralised model.     

弱势群体公法保护视野下的社会帮扶问题

弱势群体保护问题是当今社会，尤其是公法学界所面临的严峻课题。为了有效应对这一问题，应采用比较研究、实证研究、文献研究的方法，在继续完善传统公法意义上的相关保障性制度的基础上，积极构建弱势群体的社会帮扶制度。弱势群体的社会帮扶制度一方面以服务行政理论为理论依据，要求弱势群体保护由当下的“政治负责”向“社会负责”过渡；另一方面，社会帮扶制度又以公共服务理论为理论支撑，要求政府由高权强制型向怀柔服务型转变。在实践中，弱势群体的社会帮扶制度应遵循政府与社会“两条腿走路”的基本逻辑，而该制度的构建应秉承若干基本思路：破除观念束缚，培育和构建公民社会；丰富社会主体形式，弥补行政保障不足；完善其他社会帮扶途径。     

The 2015 welfare reform of the National Basic Livelihood Security System in South Korea: Effects on economic outcomes

In July 2015, South Korea’s National Basic Livelihood Security System (NBLSS) was reformed for the purposes of eliminating welfare blind spots and reducing poverty. The reform is expected to affect the recipients’ economic behaviours and choices. In this study, we used changes in benefits and eligibility for the NBLSS under the customised benefit system to identify the effects of the change in the NBLSS on a proposed set of economic outcomes – income, labour supply, consumption, savings, poverty reduction. To estimate the effects, we used data from the 10th–12th waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study and employed a difference‐in‐differences framework integrated with the propensity scores. We found that the NBLSS helps the poor to reduce financial and material hardships through income and consumption increments, but that it does not provide disincentives to the recipients from participating in the labour market or from saving.     

Determinants of social assistance caseloads for employable single adults without dependants in Canada

Government officials like the idea of just a small number of households in their respective jurisdiction receiving social assistance. A large number is seen as costly to the public treasury, and declining caseloads are generally viewed as a mark of success for both the economy and the government of the day. But what factors account for the size of a Canadian province's social assistance caseload? This article aims to shed light on this question, with a focus on single adults without dependants (and without serious disabilities) during the 1989–2017 period. One important finding is that when the value of social assistance benefit levels for this group increases by 1% in a province, the social assistance caseload for this demographic rises by 0.457%. Put differently, there is indeed an important behavior response associated with higher benefit levels. In response, we propose that provincial officials budget for higher take up levels when they increase benefit levels for this household group.     

The effect of paid maternity leave on low-income families' welfare use in the US

Despite the critical role that paid maternity leave can assume in the economic lives of low-income families, research to date has paid insufficient attention to whether paid maternity leave reduces welfare use for low-income families. Using the Current Population Survey (CPS) March Supplement 2007–2014 with the difference-in-difference (DiD) technique, this study finds a significant policy effect of paid maternity leave on reducing the probability of using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), TANF benefit amounts and TANF participation length. This study confirms that paid maternity leave is likely to prevent low-income families from using welfare during job interruptions stemming from the birth of a child. Given that TANF is often associated with negative political and social connotations, paid maternity leave can be used as an important social policy to improve economic security as well as offer empowerment in overall social standing for low-income mothers. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings in a broader context of American welfare states.     

民族法律援助的立法思考

2003年9月1日实施的《法律援助条例》关于民族法律援助的相关问题,由于民族地区的特殊性需要从立法到具体法律实践都应该给予足够的重视。     

海峡两岸跨境经济犯罪防治问题研究

当前很有必要深化对海峡两岸间跨境经济犯罪之惩治与防范的研究。跨越海峡两岸的经济犯罪与大陆地区和台湾地区的境内经济犯罪有着不同的表现,而海峡两岸刑事法学界对此的概括和分析也有所不同。这些差异对海峡两岸司法机关开展相关的刑事司法合作有一定的影响。海峡两岸司法机关可在侦查、起诉、审判和执行等刑事诉讼阶段展开合作,但需要特别注意妥当处理司法效率与司法公正的关系,以利于对海峡两岸跨境经济犯罪的有效防治。大陆地区需要立足于自身情况,结合海峡两岸跨境犯罪的具体特点,采取合理的预防措施。     

清末潮汕地区瘟疫流行原因与社会救助研究

清末潮汕地区瘟疫流行给潮汕地区的经济和社会造成了巨大影响,而此次瘟疫流行是气候、地理位置等因素共同作用的结果。当地政府和社会各界采取了一系列措施进行救助和防治,极大地降低了死亡率,同时提高了民众的防疫意识。     

对口支援政策下的产业援疆模式选择与实现路径

积极探索和研究产业援疆模式,有助于实现东西部经济合作,促进产业结构调整,推动新疆自我发展能力的提高。该文基于对口支援政策,总结和借鉴了内地省份飞地经济发展的经验和启示,结合新疆区情,根据产业援疆中的政府作用和资金特点,认为江苏模式、中石化模式、广东模式、山东模式四种较为成功、典型的产业援疆模式及其适用领域,可作为产业援疆借鉴与选择的路径模式,并从产业援疆的市场主体、转移动力、政策体系、运行机制、园区开放等方面就提升产业援疆模式的效率提出了相应的措施和建议。     

社会主义核心价值观视角下高校“精神扶贫”路径探析

通过论述社会主义核心价值观视角下高校“精神扶贫”的内涵，阐明了二者间的契合性及用社会主义核心价值观指导高校精神扶贫工作的必要性，探索了社会主义核心价值观对“精神扶贫”工作顶层设计的意义，并用社会主义核心价值观指引“文化扶贫”“心理调适”“技能培训”等路径，旨在进一步提升高校“精神扶贫”的实效性。