The evolution of the social welfare system in Palestine: Perspectives of policymakers in the West Bank

Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have long experienced social problems such as high rates of poverty and unemployment. These social problems necessitate the development of a viable, effective social welfare system. Relying on colonialism theory, this study examined the evolution of the social welfare system in the Palestinian Territories with an emphasis on the West Bank. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews with 16 staff officials in Palestinian ministries and through archival material and administrative records. Results indicate that the Palestinian National Authority inherited a fragmented social welfare system in 1994 that lacked an appropriate legal framework. Additionally, internal deficiencies (e.g., unclear legal mandates, duplication of services) and external restrictions (e.g., road closures) have undermined the effectiveness of Palestinian social welfare institutions. The newly adopted approach to social welfare planning (i.e., partnership) and recent national planning initiatives show promise. Implications for social welfare policy and future research are discussed.     

Public attitudes toward policies related to labor migrants in Israel

This paper focuses on determinants of public attitudes in Israel toward two policy questions. First, should immigration policy measures be more restrictive toward overseas labor migrants? Secondly, should overseas labor migrants be replaced with Palestinian workers? Based on an attitudinal survey administered to a representative sample of the Israeli population, the findings indicate that support for a restrictive immigration policy is quite prevalent among Israelis. However, the survey reveals only moderate consent for replacing overseas labor migrants with Palestinian commuters. Attitudes toward a restrictive immigration policy are explained by the perceived threat posed by overseas labor migrants to social and economic interests. This threat is explained by the respondents’ socio-economic characteristics. Attitudes toward the replacement policy are partially explained by the sense of threat to the Jewish character of the state posed by overseas migrants, but are also attributed to several personal characteristics. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

Education in the Context of Conflict and Instability: The Palestinian Case

This paper draws on the results of a study carried out in the West Bank, in 1999, to explore the role of education as a coping strategy among the children of Palestinian refugees, and to examine how the state of being refugees affects perceptions of the value and importance of education. The paper first reviews the background to the development of a formal education system in Palestine and considers the different approaches to education in different political contexts, with ensuing particular reference to the West Bank. The findings of the regional study are then reported, with special reference to the various functions of education as a coping strategy—remedial, incentive‐mobilizing and identity‐building. Education, for those who have lost their property and whose identity is under threat, emerges as a key channel for maintaining consciousness of collective rights.     

Negotiating survival: undocumented Mexican immigrant women in the Pacific Northwest

Current analyses of Mexico–U.S. migration theory generally are based on socioeconomic contexts and decision-making processes of male respondents. Further, limited data available on undocumented Mexican immigrant women mainly address the Mexico–U.S. border area, and adjacent U.S. urban centers. Our qualitative study focuses on undocumented Mexican immigrant women residing in central Washington State, where the regional economy is dominated by agribusiness development and dependent on immigrant and migrant farm labor. This paper assesses propositions of neoclassical economic and social capital theories of international migration in explaining the women’s migration decision-making processes. Project data indicate that while the Pacific Northwest has been a primary migration destination for sometime, it now may be increasingly a second-stage U.S. migration site, following initial migration to more traditional destinations such as California.     

Measuring the economic impacts of recent oil price shocks on oil-dependent economy: evidence from Malaysia

This paper examines the economy-wide impacts of recent oil price shocks on the Malaysian economy. To achieve this objective, an integrated methodological framework that combines econometric and input–output models is utilized to assess the impacts of an oil price shock on tax revenues, employment, labor income and gross domestic product (GDP). Our results reveal that the recent oil price shocks significantly affects these macroeconomic variables. The decline in oil prices from 2015 to 2016 reduces tax revenues by 10.5%, lower GDP by 1.9% and increases the unemployment rate by 0.3%. As such, the sharp crunch in oil prices serves as a reminder to policymakers on the vulnerability inherent in overreliance on oil exports and the urgent need to diversify the economy.     

建立中国西部国际港口—“西安陆港”的设想

进入21世纪,中共中央决定实施西部大开发战略。这为西部经济与社会可持续发展提供了融入世界经济全球化趋势的契机。但西部地处内陆,远离国际海运航线,这直接制约了西部的发展。为解决这一问题,应当在西部的中心城市西安建立国际货物运输港口——西安陆港。使西安成为国际港口城市,使西部有了出海港口。     

Culturally Sensitive Education: Adapting Self-Oriented Assertiveness Training to Collective Minorities

Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel have suffered from neglect and discrimination. They face a policy of "Israelization" and rejection of their national and cultural identity. The self-oriented education that is advocated by the Israeli ministry of education is perceived as a threat to Arabic family unity and to their cultural and national identity; therefore, it is resisted. Adopting culturally sensitive education would be an important step toward trust and coexistence. This article suggests a culturally sensitive adaptation of assertiveness training programs. Respecting Arab values and norms, as well as the joining of parents, teachers, and community leaders is central to accomplishing success for this program. Implications for coexistence meetings of Palestinian Israelis and Jews are discussed.     

Hatred of "Others" Among Jewish, Arab, and Palestinian Students in Israel

This study analyzes hatred against diverse sociopolitical groups and compares the social and political attitudes of three distinct and highly differentiated groups: Jewish, Arab, and Palestinian high school students in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It examines their perceptions of the political context and aims to find the factors that influence the extremity of their hatred. Analysis of the data shows that the proposed model is more applicable to Jewish students than it is to Arabs and Palestinians, and shows that hatred toward outgroups is influenced by religiosity, the salience of national and civic identity, national security issues, and political ideology.     

Debt management in a small open economy: A theoretical and an empirical study for Belgium

This article analyzes the effects of debt management and its consequence for the control of base money in a small open economy (Belgium). The study compares the effects obtained from a small theoretical model with the results of a larger empirical model.The theoretical model focuses on the financing of government by money operation, on the bond rate, and on the international reserve of the Central Bank.The empirical model is a medium-term one, including the demand and the supply sectors of the economy and permitting simultaneous analysis of real and financial variables.The effects of an endogeneous or exogenous debt management have been studied by numerical simulation of modification in the public expenditure, the world trade, and the discount rate.     

Christian Fundamentalists and Public Opinion Toward the Middle East: Israel's New Best Friends?*

Objectives. Although Christian fundamentalist elites have become increasingly vocal in their support for Israel in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, it is not clear that this rhetoric has produced differing attitudes about U.S. foreign policy in public opinion. This article examines whether such differences exist, and whether they are rooted in aspects of fundamentalist eschatology. Methods. Data from a national telephone survey on attitudes toward the Middle East conflict and U.S. policy were examined using multivariate regression and means comparisons. Results. These results demonstrate that Christian fundamentalists are the strongest supporters of Israel in America today. Fundamentalists have greater sympathy for Israel, oppose policies to pressure Israel, and are distinctive from all other groups in their high levels of support for continuing Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, as well as complete Israeli control of Jerusalem. Conclusion. Christian fundamentalists in America are distinctive on this vital issue in American foreign policy because of their literal interpretation of the Bible or their leaders' increased cues on Middle East policies, or both. This suggests that religion is now an important factor in understanding public opinion on U.S. foreign policy in the region.     

The impact of government spending on Ireland’s housing and residential market – Targeted vs economy-wide stimulus

The Irish residential property market is currently characterized by a considerable structural deficiency in housing supply compared to the underlying level of demand. The lack of housing has led to several economic and social problems in Ireland. The imbalance between supply and demand has led to both house prices and rents increasing faster than household incomes. Recent policy initiatives by the Irish Government have outlined plans for significant spending aimed at increasing the numbers of housing completions to tackle these issues. This paper examines the impact of government spending on housing supply using a structural econometric model of the Irish economy with a specific construction block. Within our econometric analysis, we compare the results of an economy wide versus a sector specific government stimulus on the property market. Our simulations suggest that, in order to achieve social and economic goals like increasing the number of dwellings and making housing more affordable by containing house price inflation, a targeted policy such as that described in the Irish Government's Housing for All plan may be preferable to an economy-wide stimulus.     

Providing better protection and promoting growth: A defence of Averting the old age crisis

This article briefly summarizes the recommendations of the recent World Bank report, Averting the old age crisis , analyses why representatives of the ISSA and the ILO came to quite different policy conclusions from that report, and takes up other selected issues. The article argues that there are four underlying reasons for the divergence between the World Bank and the ILO/ISSA positions: the Bank is more concerned about the impact of social security systems on the broader economy; the Bank is troubled by the inequities that we often find in current systems in practice, even though they may look equitable on paper; the Bank believes that behavioural responses and political economy factors sometimes make non-viable the design changes of public systems recommended by the ILO and the ISSA; and the Bank places considerable emphasis on the benefits of risk diversification.     

中国的刘易斯转折点是否到来——理论辨析与国际经验

各国农业劳动力占总劳动力的比重随着各国人均GDP增长呈现先加速下降而后减速下降的趋势,分界点就是刘易斯转折点。跨国平行数据的回归结果表明,刘易斯转折点在人均GDP为3,000—4,000美元（购买力平价2000年国际美元）之间出现。中国的人均GDP超越了这一水平,但农业劳动力比重远高于该经济发展水平下的世界平均水平,这很可能意味着中国的农业劳动力转移仍有较大潜力。     

Does television terrify tourists? Effects of US television news on demand for tourism in Israel

We analyze the impact on US tourist flows to Israel of variations in both the actual intensity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the intensity implicit in US television news coverage. Conditional on actual events, changes in reported conflict intensity could influence tourists because alternative sources of information are costly; this explanation is consistent with a rational choice model. However, television news could influence tourist behavior because of its emotional impact, or because it causes the conflict to be brought to mind more readily, increasing the subjective probability of conflict events. We find that tourists respond to variations in actual Israeli casualties and reported Palestinian casualties; both effects are large. Reports of Israeli casualties and unreported Palestinian casualties have no significant impact on tourist flows. These asymmetries are consistent with asymmetric information costs within a rational choice framework, but are more difficult to square with the alternative explanations for media influence.

论劳动价值论在当代的四种品质--一项侧重于规范性的分析

经济全球化的历史趋势和我国正在建设的社会主义市场经济 ,是我们进行理论研究与理论创新的两大现实基础。当前 ,传统的马克思主义劳动价值论受到了理论本身、客观实际以及西方效用价值论的三维冲击。在这些冲击中 ,马克思劳动价值论所具有的科学性、时代性、兼容性和创新性是其强大生命力的源泉 ,是对劳动价值论的核心思想与外延范围进行科学整合的基础。对劳动价值论四种品质的认识将有助于马克思主义劳动价值论在当代的完善和发展     

Saving public pensions: Labor migration effects on pension systems in European countries

European countries have experienced population aging and consequent pressure on public pensions. Some European countries, therefore, have welcomed migrants, expecting that the inflow of people will ease the demographic and fiscal problems. It is important to ask if this policy approach has had the intended effects. This paper examines the effects of labor migration on public pension systems. Using error correction models (ECMs) with cross-country time-series data on European countries from 1981 to 2009, this analysis demonstrates that labor migration has deterred the reduction of public pension benefit levels and government expenditure on pension as well as the expansion of private pensions. This implies that labor migration eases the pressure on public pension systems. Migration contributory effects have been larger in countries with Bismarckian pension systems because those countries have experienced greater pressure on public pension systems than other countries.     

现行对外援助中附加政治条件差异分析——基于中国与西方国家外援实践的比较研究

对外援助是一国实现特定目标的重要外交手段,随着中国自身经济实力和国际地位的快速提升,其对外援助规模不断扩大。本文试从中西方对于附加政治条件的不同态度出发,通过比较分析,揭示双方在此问题上的立场,即中国实质上将附加政治条件贬义化,认为在援助中附加政治条件就是对受援国主权和内政的侵犯;而西方国家则将附加政治条件褒义化,主张将附加政治条件作为更好实现对外援助目标的重要前提。本文认为,应考虑将附加政治条件的理解中立化,与主权和干涉内政问题相脱钩,使不附加政治条件原则具有一定弹性,促进中国对外援助及其政策的顺利实施。     

劳动价值论与均衡价格理论之比较研究

马克思的劳动价值论和西方均衡价格理论既有明显区别 ,又不乏相同之处。只有在劳动价值论的基础上 ,强调供求对价格的决定作用 ,才能科学地解释各种经济现象。在市场经济条件下 ,应建立一种既反映商品价值 ,又反映供求关系的灵敏的价格机制     

Agricultural policies and migration in a U.S.-Mexico free trade area: A computable general equilibrium analysis

A United States-Mexico agreement to form a free trade area (FTA) is analyzed using an 11-sector, three-country, computable general equilibrium model that explicity models farm programs and labor migration. The model incorporates both rural-urban migration within Mexico and international migration between Mexico and the United States. In the model, sectoral import demands are specified with a flexible functional form, an empirical improvement over earlier specifications, which use a constant elasticity of substitution function. Using the model, we identify trade-offs among bilateral trade growth, labor migration, and agricultural program expenditures under alternative FTA scenarios. Trade liberalization in agriculture greatly increases rural- urban migration within Mexico and migration from Mexico to the United States. Migration is reduced if Mexico grows relative to the United States and also if Mexico retains farm support programs. However, the more support that is provided to the Mexican agricultural sector, the smaller is bilateral trade growth. The results indicate a policy trade-off between rapidly achieving gains from trade liberalization and providing a transition period long enough to assimilate displaced labor in Mexico without undue strain.     

西部大开发的主体定位

正确的主体定位是西部大开发成功的前提。从现实条件、历史实证和国际比较的多重角度分析,西部大开发正确的主体定位应该是:开发主体是企业而不是政府、资本主体是民本经济而不是官本经济、服务主体是公务员服务企业家而不是企业家从属于公务员、规模主体是中小企业而不是大型企业、产业主体应该是自主选择而不是人为调整、战略主体应该是以人为本而不是以资源为本。