New challenges for the welfare state: The emergence of youth unemployment regimes in Europe?

In this article we discuss the emergence of ‘youth unemployment regimes’ in Europe, that is, a set of coherent measures and policies aimed at providing state responses to the problem of unemployment and, more specifically, youth unemployment. We classify these measures and policies along two main dimensions: unemployment regulations and labour market regulations. Using original data, we show how seven European countries locate on these two dimensions as well as within the conceptual space resulting from the combination of the two dimensions. Our findings show cross‐national variations that do not fit the traditional typologies of comparative welfare studies. At the same time, however, the findings allow for reflecting upon possible patterns of convergence across European countries. In particular, we show some important similarities in terms of flexible labour market regulations. In this regard, the recent years have witnessed a trend towards a flexibilisation of the labour market, regardless of the prevailing welfare regime.     

The changing relationship between the Chinese Government and Non-governmental Organisations in social service delivery: approaching partnership?

Using the Guangzhou social governance reform pilot as a case, this paper aims to explore the transformation of Chinese governments in managing collaborative non-governmental organisation (NGO) relationships. Local governments have adopted multiple new governance tools, and the expansion of the NGO sector with genuine grassroots development has been observed. However, valuable principles of New Public Management (NPM) paradigm have not been followed, and strong authoritarian and bureaucratic practices have been revealed. The state–NGO relationship has moved from a typical statist to a state-corporatist model. Findings indicate distinctive features of Asian public administration and the limitations of applying Westernized NPM models.     

The travelling workshops experiment: An attempt at ‘illuminative evaluation’

An account of the background against which a non-traditional strategy of evaluation was adopted in the Travelling Workshops Experiment at Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic. The author points out that research rarely proceeds along textbook lines and describes how the clear cut distinctions originally envisaged for the internal and external components of the evaluation ot the project soon became blurred in the process of evolving practicable procedures. At the same time, the research team had to resolve the conflict which arose between pressures towards a traditional, tightly controlled approach to evaluation and their own preference for a more exploratory strategy in which behavioural objectives would not be specified at the outset. An alternative model was found in ‘illuminative evaluation’, which eschews pre- and post-testing in favour of a more wide-ranging study ot the contextual determinants of the success of an innovation. Use of this model nonetheless poses many problems, not the least of which is that illuminative evaluation is a broad strategy rather than a set of specific techniques.     

Predicting the trajectories of emotional well‐being of Chinese community dwelling oldest old adults: urban and rural differences

The paper explores the longitudinal changes of emotional well‐being of Chinese oldest old adults (80 years or older) and discloses significant factors that influence the trajectories, with a focus on the differences between those residing in rural and urban settings. Data were derived from three waves (1998, 2000, and 2002) of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), which was carried out in 22 of the 31 provinces in China. We used hierarchical linear modelling to examine how the well‐being of 2490 older adults changed over the three waves of the survey. Results indicate that urban residence and greater involvement in social activities predicted an increase in well‐being over time. Participants with lower cognitive functioning and poorer self‐rated health at baseline tended to show improvements in well‐being over time. Rural oldest old adults were found to report decreases in well‐being, in contrast to an increasing trend found for urban oldest old adults. This finding lends itself to an important conclusion that more social services or formal support should be provided for older adults in rural areas in China.

本文探讨了中国的老年人（(80岁或以上)）跨时间的情绪变化,并揭示当中具有影响力的重要因素,尤其是农村和城市之间的差异。数据主要来自三次（(1998年,2000年和2002年)）对中国22个省份进行的中国高龄老人健康长寿基础调查（(CLHLS)。作者用了分层线性模型去研究2490名老年人在三次调查之间的情绪变化。结果发现,居住在城市和积极参与小区活动对老人的情绪有正面的影响。认知功能较低和对自我健康评分较低的研究对象往往随时间的推移表现出有所改善。报告发现农村的老年人认为幸福的愈来愈少,相反,在城市的老年人中则有上升的趋势。这一发现本身的一个重要结论就是应该为中国农村地区的老年人提供更多的社会服务。     

The measurement and implication of the older people’s social function in the community: a Shanghai experience

Abstract

The study employed a quantitative approach to measure the social function of the older people. From a questionnaire survey in a Shanghai community, we found that participants’ party affiliation, education, age group, functional capacity (IADL) and occupational status were the major factors affecting older people’s social function. The older people participated more actively, tended to trust others more and enjoyed better social function in the community. These findings lead to implications for social work practices and policymaking procedures on active ageing.     

The marketisation of education in Australia: Does investment in private schooling improve post‐school outcomes?

The distribution of school funding has been a controversial topic for decades particularly since the Australian Government introduced a new funding model for private schools in the late 1990s. Recent research shows that changes in the funding of private schools have encouraged growth in the number of private schools allowing parents with the financial means to select from an increasing range of options for their children. For this article, I conduct analyses of data from the 2003 cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth project to examine differences in the outcomes of students according to the type of school attended. The results presented in this article show that students with highly educated parents were more likely than other students to attend independent schools. After controlling for the level of economic, social and cultural status of the school population, type of school attended was not associated with academic achievement, as measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment tests. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant association between type of school attended and employment status, occupation or earnings at age 24, net of level of educational attainment.     

Parenting stress and behavior among single mothers of preschoolers: The mediating role of self‐efficacy

Abstract

This study examines the role of perceived self‐efficacy in mediating relations between mothers’ parenting behavior and variables such as maternal employment status, depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and child behavior problems. Subjects were 93 employed and 95 nonemployed, single, black mothers of a 3–5‐year‐old child who were current and former welfare recipients. Using linear structural relations modeling (LISREL), the findings support a model whereby (a) the more behavior problems the child is perceived to have, the more depressive symptoms the mother feels; (b) the more depressive symptoms the mother feels, the more likely she is to rate herself high in parenting stress; (c) the more depressive symptoms and parenting stress the mother experiences, the lower is the mother's estimate of her self‐efficacy; and (d) the lower the mother's self‐efficacy, the less competent is her parenting. The findings for employment status are similar; i.e., maternal employment predicted a trajectory leading to somewhat better parenting. In addition, child behavior problems were associated with less competent parenting both directly and indirectly through their effect on parenting stress and self‐efficacy. These results suggest that self‐efficacy has import as a mediator of the relations between maternal parenting and other psychosocial variables. There is no evidence, based on these findings, that employment in the low‐wage market is harmful either for single black mothers or their preschool children. However, job availability and an increase in the minimum wage are important policy considerations.     

The Middle‐class in the German Welfare State: Beneficial Involvement at Stake?

The working‐class is typically regarded as the driving force of welfare state development. Yet, some argue that the middle‐classes' beneficial involvement in the welfare state is crucial for its financial sustainability and popular legitimacy. Against this backdrop, we investigate how recent welfare state reforms in Germany which affect the status of the middle‐class are viewed and discussed by this group. Germany is a particularly interesting case because its welfare state is seen to be centred on the desires of the middle‐class, especially through its focus on status maintenance and horizontal redistribution over the life‐course. However, the move from status maintenance to minimum income support in unemployment provision and the strengthening of private old age provision challenge this assumption. Thus, we ask how the German middle‐class views the emerging abandonment of the principle of status maintenance and the shift from collective to individual responsibility. Based on qualitative material from focus groups, we find that individual responsibility is generally supported, but that the state is still assigned responsibility for providing basic levels of social security. Furthermore, for those groups seen as less capable of acting individually responsible (e.g. the poor or long‐term unemployed) the ‘inducement’ of – or assistance for – individually responsible behaviour by the state is demanded. Overall, while the principle of ‘individual responsibility’ seems to find some resonance among the middle‐class members interviewed, they still try to balance individual and collective responsibility.     

The Scale of Government‐financed Persons in China and the Variables Affecting It: The Experience of the Last Ten Years of Institutional Reform

财政供养人员是政府的行政之基,其规模大小直接影响政府效能与社会和谐。1998年以来的政府机构改革,有效地抑制了财政供养规模的膨胀,中国当前的财政供养规模总体上处于安全水平、受控状态,但在优化财政供养人员的结构与功能方面仍然面临巨大挑战。中国的财政供养问题绝非是一个孤立的问题,而是与更深层的政府体制改革息息相关。财政供养问题其实是中国政府体制改革的一个缩影,政府体制很多深层次的问题都会在财政供养问题中得到集中反映,而财政供养存在的各种现实问题,也只有通过政府体制改革才能够从根本上解决。

关键词: 财政供养?机构改革?政府规模

Government‐financed persons (GFPs) form the basis of government administration and the number of the GFPs has a direct bearing on government efficiency and social harmony. Government restructuring since 1998 has effectively curbed inflation in the number of the GFPs, which at present remains at a safe overall level and under control. However, optimizing the structure and functions of GFPs still poses a huge challenge to the central government. The issue of GFPs is by no means an isolated one, but is closely related to government restructuring at a deeper level. In a real sense, the issue of GFPs is a microcosm of China's government restructuring and many of the underlying problems in the government system find a concentrated reflection in the question of GFPs. Conversely, many of the real problems in GFPs can only be thoroughly resolved by government restructuring.