The Maid Trade: Cross-Border Work in South Texas

Objective . The primary objective of this article is to investigate the "informal" marketplace for domestic servants (maids) in a border community in South Texas (Laredo). Methods . A questionnaire was administered by a household member familiar with the present study who employed at least one maid utilizing the snowball method of sample selection. Usable data (surveys) were collected from 389 individuals—195 maids and 194 employers. Results . For maids, who are overwhelmingly female Mexican nationals, the primary determinant or "push" factor in becoming a maid was economic necessity while the primary "pull" factor was good pay. A large hourly wage differential was uncovered for day maids ($3.44) vis-a-vis live-in maids ($2.61), which was primarily the result of civil status and the possession of documents permitting entry into the United States as determined by a logistic regression. Conclusion . The relative attractiveness of work as a maid in Laredo, Texas reflects the benefit of good pay balanced by the cost of poor employment choice in Mexico.     

Determinants of Household Insurance Coverage Among Low‐Income Families from Boston,Chicago, and San Antonio: Evidence from the Three‐City Study*

Objectives. In this article we examine correlates of health insurance coverage for low‐income households. Methods. Using data from the Welfare, Children, and Families Project (1999–2001), a sample of 2,402 low‐income families from Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio, we estimate two logistic regressions, one that predicts health insurance coverage for one focal child in each household and another that assesses the odds that all children in the household have coverage. Results. The children of poorly‐educated, immigrant, and Mexican‐origin parents are at an elevated risk of lacking insurance. These characteristics also increase the risk of incomplete household coverage. Mexican‐origin children and households are at particularly high risk of lacking complete coverage, a fact partially reflecting their residential concentration in states with high uninsurance rates, such as Texas. Conclusions. Serious holes in the health‐care safety net affect poor Americans differently based on their state of residence, race, ethnicity, and household structure.     

Building racial bridges? Social capital among community gardeners in US food deserts

This study examined the relationship between race and racial diversity on social capital in community gardens located in food deserts in the southeastern region of the USA. Using snowball methods, a sample of 52 gardeners who represented 10 community gardens was obtained. Cross‐level regression models were performed using two different aspects of social capital: one’s “sense of community” and the “number of resources” a gardener could obtain from fellow gardeners, as dependent variables. Results indicate that community gardens are excellent vehicles for promoting one’s sense of community regardless of one’s race or a garden’s racial composition. In contrast, community gardens were less likely to increase the number of resources. It took longer and more effort to access a greater number of resources while increased perceptions of racial diversity had a negative relationship with number of resources.     

Ideas and Institutional Change in Social Security: Conversion,Layering, and Policy Drift*

Objectives. In recent years, social scientists such as Kathleen Thelen and Jacob Hacker have introduced new concepts to assist in the understanding of institutional change. Fostering some of these concepts, this article proceeds to augment the theoretical debate on institutional change in social science and policy research. A discussion of Social Security development in the United States advances the article's main objective: to uncover the relationship between ideational processes and policy development. Methods. Qualitative and historical analysis is offered to examine three major policy episodes: the enactment of the 1939 amendments, the first mandate of the Nixon Administration (1969–1972), and the push for Social Security privatization that emerged in the 1990s. Results. First, the analysis suggests that, through the process of institutional conversion, the 1939 amendments and the Nixon‐era reforms altered the nature of Social Security. Second, the discussion on Social Security privatization stresses the impact of layering and policy drift on public and private pensions. Conclusions. The concepts of conversion, layering, and policy drift receive further empirical support through the presented analysis. Moreover, this article suggests that, for a full understanding of institutional change, a systematic analysis of ideational processes is necessary.     

The protection of atypical work in the Australian, British and German social security systems

It is a common feature of Australian, British and German social security law to exclude atypical work from many normal standards of protection. Social insurance and occupational welfare law still concentrate on the standard employment relationship, as they use length and continuity of employment as the major criteria for distributing benefits, and means-tested systems put those who depend on different sources of income, as most atypical workers do, at a disadvantage. However, equal treatment and even promotion are granted to one type of atypical work: the combination of domestic and atypical labour market work. Examples are the law of unemployment insurance in Great Britain and Germany, the family components within the social insurance schemes, the special British and Australian means-tested benefits for the working poor family, and parental leave legislation in Germany.     

Social security coverage extension: A review of recent evidence

This article reports the findings of 13 studies undertaken as part of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) project on “Examining the existing knowledge on coverage extension”. It reviews recent evidence that highlights how cash benefits and health‐care coverage, financed on the basis of contributions or tax revenue or both, can be extended and maintained in low‐, middle‐ and high‐income countries. The article also highlights a number of priority areas and issues for coverage extension, including realizing improved protection for informal‐economy and migrant workers.     

Injured but not Entitled to Legal Insurance Compensation – Ornamental Institutions and Migrant Workers’ Informal Channels in China

Due to the rapid industrialization and urbanization of China, an estimated 252 million farmers have migrated from impoverished rural areas to prosperous urban regions, seeking off‐farm employment. In China, these are referred to as migrant workers. Workers’ compensation insurance law represents one of the most vital formal institutions for Chinese migrant workers. Through in‐depth interviews with migrant workers and employers, the authors find that instead of making a formal claim based on workers’ compensation insurance law, most injured migrant workers adopt informal channels (e.g. bargaining, negotiation, threats, violence) to receive compensation from employers. Even when migrant workers are insured in accordance with the law, they may be denied legal insurance compensation and thus turn to informal private settlement. Generally, the amount of compensation acquired by means of informal private settlement is significantly smaller than that awarded in the case of legal insurance compensation. This practice reveals that, like some other formal institutions in China, workers’ compensation insurance law is merely a symbolic ornament, window‐dressing for the public, which are referred to as ‘ornamental institutions'. In the way they are designed, set up and funded, these ornamental institutions can easily prove illusory since they conceal an anarchic world wherein diverse informal channels of social actors emerge, which reflect the reality of Chinese society. Therefore, only through deep empirical research, like this study, can one see beyond the facade of modernity in contemporary China, observe the reality of social actors, and reflect upon the functioning of ornamental institutions.     

Employment status transitions among young adults,with and without disability

Employment is a crucial avenue through which young people with disability can experience material wellbeing and social participation. While the low employment rates of young people with disability are well established, little is known about the stability of employment status – that is, the degree to which individuals remain in or move in and out of employment. This article uses longitudinal data from a large Australian national data set to investigate the transitions between full‐time, part‐time and non‐employment for young people with and without disability. Considerable mobility was found between employment states for both young people with and without disability, with young people with disability more likely than their peers without disability to transition to reduced levels of employment and less likely to transition to increased levels of employment. Social background and contextual factors predicted employment for young people with disability; however, disability represented an additional penalty even after taking these factors into account. Findings suggest a need for social policy targeted specifically towards the barriers to maintaining and increasing employment experienced by young people with disability.     

France: working longer takes time,in spite of reforms to raise the retirement age

Examination of the French situation from a comparative European perspective exposes the country's poor performance with regard to the employment of seniors and the prolongation of working life. Despite a recent rise in the employment rate of 55–59 year‐olds, worrisome signs have appeared, such as the steep rise in unemployment for this age category; this is indicative of the increasing vulnerability of ageing workers in the labour market. This critical analysis of twenty years of French public policies related to older workers seeks to identify the reasons for France's lag in making working life longer. The principal reason seems to be that public policies have nearly exclusively focused on increasing the supply of senior labour without adequately taking into account incentives for stimulating corporate demand for it. The many pension reforms undertaken from 2003 to 2014 have sought to lift the institutional obstacles to working longer. Accordingly, they have raised both the legal retirement age and the requisite number of quarters of contributions for entitlement to a full pension under Social Security. But effective, active labour market policies for stimulating the demand for senior labour have been lacking.     

Social health protection in Cambodia: Challenges of policy design and implementation

The Government of Cambodia is implementing ambitious reform initiatives to improve the country's social health protection system. In January 2018, it was announced that the Health Equity Fund (HEF), which is fully subsidized by a joint government‐donor initiative for the reimbursement of user fees for the poor at public health facilities, is to be expanded to some segments of informal workers belonging to associations, as well as to commune and village chiefs. Since 2017, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has provided social health insurance for formal economy workers in enterprises with eight employees or more. In January 2018, it was expanded to civil servants and all employees regardless of the size of the enterprise. However, this article highlights that the new ambitious reforms are not accompanied by careful planning as regards funding, service delivery, human resources and institutional design. This article therefore aims to examine key policy issues and challenges for Cambodia's ambitious reform of its social health protection system in terms of resource generation, population coverage, strategic purchasing and governance.     

Informal Self-Employment in Developing Countries: Entrepreneurship or Survivalist Strategy? Some Implications for Public Policy

A central debate around labor market informality, which has enormous implications for the design and implementation of public policy, relates to the nature of informal employment. Is informal employment and, in particular, informal self-employment, a symptom and, at the same time, a reproductive factor of precariousness and inequality, as well as social and individual poverty? Or is it, on the contrary, a space of individual and social action that reflects economic initiative and business potential which, if channeled and fostered properly, could contribute to social and economic development and, consequently, to the reduction of inequality and poverty? In this article, the findings of the 2005 edition of the Mexican version of the World Value Survey—concerning relevant values and attitudes of informal participants in the labor force in Mexico—are used to assess whether informal self-employment is a reflection of incipient entrepreneurship and individual choice or, rather, a survival strategy forced on individuals by their precarious circumstances. This article explores the public policy implications of the results obtained.     

Downscaling,Upgrading or Linking? Ways to Realize Micro‐Insurance

Micro‐insurance is seen by many as a promising tool to improve the social protection of low‐income earners. This assumption is supported by the positive experience of existing micro‐insurance schemes. At the same time, however, many schemes have failed to organize sustainable insurance arrangements that are affordable for the poor and near‐poor. The question is thus which institutions are best able to arrange for micro‐insurance. Formal institutions such as public agencies or commercial companies are usually too distant in social and spatial terms from the target group of micro‐insurance and face severe difficulties in downscaling. Informal institutions, however, such as self‐help groups or grassroots NGOs, usually lack the know‐how, experience and capacities to design and manage insurance arrangements. They need powerful partners to upgrade. An alternative would be that formal and informal institutions cooperate in providing micro‐insurance. This article argues that such a linking approach is superior to both the downscaling and upgrading approach.     

Trends in long‐term sickness absence in Sweden 1992–2008: the role of economic conditions,legislation, demography,work environment and alcohol consumption

Lidwall U, Marklund S. Trends in long‐term sickness absence in Sweden 1992–2008: the role of economic conditions, legislation, demography, work environment and alcohol consumption Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 167©179 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. In Sweden, absence from work because of illness or injury has fluctuated considerably over time. This study aimed to identify potentially important factors behind variations in long‐term sickness absence. Aggregated data were used to assess factors correlated with the number of ongoing cases of sickness absence lasting more than 59 days. Trends were analysed using statistics from national social insurance records, labour force surveys and other official statistics. Although specific changes in the degree of generosity in the sickness insurance scheme were important in some cases, the results showed no consistent associations for the study period 1992–2008. Men were generally more sensitive to macroeconomic factors than women. Furthermore, compared with earlier findings, workforce composition had less impact on variations in long‐term sickness absence. Notably, public health indicators such as alcohol sales and working conditions were clearly related to long‐term sick leave during the period under investigation.     

Social Policy in Greece: Rhetoric versus Reform

This paper reviews the major social policy developments in Greece during the 1980s and 1990s, focusing on social security, health and employment policies. It argues that the concept of social policy and the practice of politics have been distorted in this country. Social policy reflects the legacy of a heavily politicized and centralized policy‐making system, an impoverished administrative infrastructure and poorly developed social services. Its emergence is characterized by the pursuit of late and ineffective policies. It lacks continuity, planning and coordination, being oriented towards short‐term political expediency. It is largely insurance‐based, reproducing huge inequalities and institutional arrangements which are behind the times. It provides mainly cash benefits, low‐quality but rather expensive health services and marginal social welfare protection. Moreover, the lack of a minimum income safety net confirms the country's weak culture of universalism and social citizenship. By implication, complex policy and interlocking interest linkages have tarnished the “system” with a reputation for strong resistance to progressive change. At the same time, sources of change such as globalization, demographic developments, new household and family/gender patterns, unstable economic growth, fiscal imperatives, programme maturation, as well as persisting unemployment, changing labour markets and rising health care costs, have produced mounting pressures for welfare reform.     

Effective retirement age from employment and full‐time employment,and the impact of the 2008 crisis

Estimates of effective retirement age based on labour force participation rates are commonly used for actuarial experience review and policy development. However, the transition from work to retirement and the socio‐economic environment have evolved over the years, influenced by a growing role for gradual retirement and the labour market impact of the 2008 economic crisis. Rather than focusing exclusively on retirement ages based on labour force participation rates, this article presents complementary estimates of retirement ages to better assess the effective retirement age from employment. It also introduces the concept of retirement from full‐time employment, showing that the retirement age from full‐time employment is systematically lower than the retirement age from employment. The results reveal that the trend towards an increase in the retirement age has been impacted by economic conditions when considering the effective employment of older workers. Results are presented for different Member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development over the period 2005–2015.     

Mexican Immigrant Self‐Employment Along the U.S.‐Mexico Border: An Analysis of 2000 Census Data*

Objective. This study explores the entrepreneurial tendencies of Mexican immigrants in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) on the U.S. side of the Mexican border vis‐à‐vis the U.S. interior. Methods. Using 2000 Census data available in the 5% Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, we empirically analyze the self‐employment rates and earnings of Mexican immigrants residing in U.S. cities near Mexico versus those in nonborder MSAs. Results. Our findings indicate that Mexican immigrants in MSAs along the U.S.‐Mexico border have significantly higher self‐employment rates (but lower earnings) than their counterparts in the rest of the United States and non‐Hispanic whites in border cities. Explanations for these findings include the existence of trade opportunities in U.S. border cities as well as intense labor market competition that crowds a greater share of immigrants into self‐employment. Conclusion. Immigration reform that curtails the immigration flow from Mexico might hinder small business formation and economic development on the U.S. side of the Mexican border.     

Little cash to large households: Cash transfers and children's care in disadvantaged families in Ghana

Social protection is widely considered to have a positive effect on children, including supporting improvements in nutritional, educational and health outcomes. Much less is known, however, about the impact of interventions on children's care. This article considers the impact of a social cash transfer targeted at poor households – Ghana's Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme – on child well‐being, quality of care and preventing children's separation from their parents as perceived by programme and non‐programme beneficiaries in a context of vulnerability, large households and widespread informal kinship care. Findings suggest that cash transfers can improve both material and non‐material aspects of well‐being and contribute to the quality of care and have the potential to prevent children's separation from their parents. At the same time, not all children appear to benefit equally, with non‐biological children being disadvantaged. The combination of large household sizes with programme design and implementation challenges, including low transfer amounts, a cap on the maximum number of eligible household members and poor sensitization and follow‐up, undermine the positive role that cash transfers can play.     

Reactions to social security retirement reform proposals in the United States

For some time the actuarial imbalance between revenues and benefit payments in the Social Security retirement programme in the United States has been a concern for decision makers, professional analysts, and the public. In response to this actuarial imbalance, President George W. Bush proposed in 2004 that changes be made in the method whereby Social Security benefits are determined and that individual investment accounts be established under the rubric of Social Security. The debate over the issue was intense, but it was effectively stilled by the middle of 2005. The probable legacy of the 2004‐05 debate is that limits have been placed upon future options to deal with the Social Security programme's financial difficulties. This article identifies those constraints which, together, constitute the new public policy “template” for future debates relating to the Social Security retirement programme in the United States.