Assessing the impact of liberalising the one-child policy on the sustainability of China’s pension system

This article examines the effects of the so-called two-child policy on the future demographic structure and on alleviating the pension payment pressures. To this end, we provide population projections based on the cohort-component method and simulate the total fertility rate in different social-demographic scenarios. Actuarial models for pension fund budgets are calibrated. We found that the economic effects of the new fertility policy involve a time lag, with the predicted system dependency ratio significantly declining after 2035. The overall sustainability of pension balance will be improved, however, with the occurrence of both current and accumulated deficits delayed.     

Fraternal foreign policy transfer? Evaluating the case of Australian Labor and British Labour

ABSTRACT

The literature on policy transfer and policy diffusion is vast, but analysis of how this operates in the domain of foreign policy is limited. Is there evidence that policy-related knowledge and ideas in the foreign policy realm are transferred between jurisdictions? This article addresses this question in the context of the relationship between two fraternal social democratic parties – the British Labour Party and the Australian Labor Party. It focuses on the period between 2006 and 2010, which covers Kevin Rudd’s assumption of the Labor leadership and his first term as Prime Minister and the transition from Tony Blair to Gordon Brown in June 2007. Kevin Rudd’s Prime Ministership was terminated in a party room coup in June 2010 while Gordon Brown led the British Labour Party to electoral defeat one month earlier. The article investigates three prominent areas of foreign policy – regional engagement, climate change, and aid and international development – to evaluate the extent of policy transfer and diffusion between the Rudd and Brown Governments. Using the ‘degrees of transfer’ framework outlined by Dolowitz and Marsh, it finds that emulation, policy combinations, and inspiration all featured but that there was scant evidence of complete transfer.     

Implementing Working for Families: the impact of the policy on selected Māori whānau

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the qualitative data collected for a study investigating the effect of the Working for Families policy on Māori families’ self-reported whānau ora (family wellbeing). Data are drawn from a discrete set of 30 qualitative interviews undertaken with Māori whānau involved in the Te Hoe Nuku Roa Longitudinal Study. Whānau perceptions about how the Working for Families policy has impacted on their lives and the contribution the policy has made towards their family's wellbeing is presented. The paper discusses how the Working for Families policy appears to have become an integral component of household income for many low-to-middle-income whānau and reflects on how this policy, conceived and designed (amongst other things) to alleviate and redress child poverty, is contributing towards supporting family wellbeing or ‘whānau ora’.     

Better educational inclusion of migrant children in urban schools? Exploring the influences of the population control policy in large Chinese cities

The educational inclusion of rural–urban migrant children in Chinese urban schools has been promoted in the past decades. This paper provides a contextualized interpretation of recent policy developments governing large Chinese cities and evaluates its impact upon the status of migrant children's education. Drawing on data collected from 1,331 migrant children in urban inclusive schools, this study compared current migrant children's family backgrounds and psychological sense of belonging at school in relation to educational outcomes at the primary education level. Results showed that migrant children's socioeconomic status (SES) levels were slightly higher than their counterparts in inclusive schools and a salient SES stratification of migrant students was found. This correlates with students’ reports of fewer incidences of discrimination than hypothesized. Furthermore, capital in migrant families was positively associated with the psychological sense of belonging and academic achievement. These results reveal a significant change to migrant students’ SES as a result of the recent population control policy pertaining to China's large cities since 2014. Implications for research and educational practice, especially with at‐risk migrant students of low‐SES, are discussed.     

Distorted policy transfer? South Korea’s adaptation of UK social enterprise policy

This study draws upon communicative processes in policy transfer to consider the ways in which policy may be adapted to context or distorted. The theoretical framework is used to investigate exactly what the South Korean government borrowed from UK social enterprise policy. Despite claims that the UK was the source of both the general policy direction and the particular regulatory device, the Korean government did not learn about the specific contexts of the British policy, nor attempt two-way communication with domestic stakeholders. Rather, the UK policy was interpreted in accordance with the Korean government’s own ideas about how to utilize social enterprise. Historical legacies of top-down decision-making played an important role in this process, as did the state’s role as a regulator which mobilizes the private sector to achieve policy goals. The consequences have been negative for those organizations refused social enterprise status under the Ministry of Labor’s strict approval system, as well as for the original target population: the socially disadvantaged and vulnerable. It is suggested that the model advanced may help to illuminate the reasons why some borrowed policies differ considerably from the originals, and the use of policy transfer as a means of legitimization.     

One new policy: A variety of applications—The implementation processes of a new mental health policy in Sweden

The increase in mental ill health at a global level is widely acknowledged. This trend has led to the development of new policy frameworks that focus on public mental health. This study aimed to explore the implementation process regarding regional and local responses to national policy, proposing a substantially enhanced understanding of mental health within the Swedish welfare system. To explore the implementation process, a multiple case study was conducted using snowball sampling. In all, 18 key informants were interviewed. The results revealed that the informants adopted an experimental implementation process in which policy learning could take place. Contextual factors were essential for how a broad policy approach could be translated into practice. The broad policy not only made it possible for local needs to be addressed, but it also allowed for variations in focus position within the country as a whole. There seemed to be no consensus among the informants as to the origin or solution to the problem. Essentially, the question of whether public mental health issues should be dealt with at a structural or individual level remained unresolved. The Swedish case could be understood as an illustrative example of how one country attempts to handle a major problem despite insufficient information to direct the initiative towards a certain direction.     

How effective are countercyclical policy tools in mitigating the impact of financial and economic crises in Africa?

Using panel vector auto regression (PVAR) and GMM estimates we provide evidence for the transmission of financial crises to African economies through foreign direct investments and exports. Although many countries resort to stimulus packages to mitigate the impacts of financial crises, we find no evidence for fiscal policy to be considered an effective countercyclical policy tool in the African context. Monetary policy could be an effective tool in mitigating the impact in non-resource rich SSA countries, but not in others. Limited policy space calls for African economies to reconsider their policies towards trade, investment, finance and macroeconomic management.     

Europe’s lack of structural transformation and necessary policy changes of EMU

Primary goal of stabilisation policy in the Treaty of European Union is price stability. That goal may be in conflict with the goal of full employment in the member states, particularly, then the union is hit by an asymmetric shock. Assuming perfect capital mobility an initial adverse shock [Lessons of Massachusetts for EMU, in: F. Torres, F. Giavazzi (Eds.), Adjustment and Growth in the European Monetary Union, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge] may have permanent effects by releasing a self-reinforcing process, which will result in lower relative growth. Given the specification of a model that captures the crucial element of efficient structural transformation it is easy to conclude the lack of necessary structural transformation within European Monetary Union (EMU). In addition, the basic foundation of economic policy by EMU, as manifested by the Treaty of European Union, is by latter research put into question. Therefore this paper suggest, it is necessary that the Treaty of European Union must be supplemented, changed, or both.     

Rhetoric,reality and dissent: The Vietnam policy of the British labour government, 1964–1970

This article analyzes the interactions between Prime Minister Harold Wilson and the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary Labour party in the formulation of Britain's policy towards the Vietnam conflict.Two well-known theses about the structure and functioning of Britain's major political parties serve as the point of departure for this analysis. R.T. McKenzie (British Political Parties) contends that the distribution of power within the Labour and Conservative parties is fundamentally similar. In contrast, Samuel Beer (British Politics in the Collectivist Age) argues that there is greater intraparty democracy in the Labour party than in the Conservative party.The article concludes that by and large the Labour Government was a reluctant supporter of U.S. Vietnam policy. The Parliamentary Labour left consistently challenged the Government on this issue but stopped short of any attempt to oust the Government. Wilson took the opinions of the extra-parliamentary party into account but refused to be bound by them. Thus, while Labour's dissidents had a degree of influence over Britain's Vietnam policy from 1964–1970, they did not exercise veto power.     

Ideas and actors in policy processes: where is the interaction?

Several influential frameworks in the field of policy analysis explicitly acknowledge that the role of ideas is as important as the role of actors in analyzing and understanding policy and policy change. An issue of principal interest in this body of literature concerns the interaction between ideas and actors. This article argues that, regardless of important contributions from previous research, the literature can be enriched by new analytical tools that further our understanding of the complex interplay between ideas and actors in policy-making. The article outlines a dynamic approach to policy analysis, which has proven fruitful in producing high quality empirical research in a Swedish case of policy on prostitution. Three new analytical dimensions are specified and operationalized: (1) the political institutionalization of frames, analyzing how the influence and content of ideas change over space and time in policy-making; (2) the mechanisms of institutionalization and assignment of jurisdiction through which ideas become part of the political context and work restricting and enabling for actors; and (3) risk-taking and limitation as unintended consequences of actors' involvement and strategic action in the construction of meaning.     

On the Historic Evolution of the Tibetan Policy of the American Government

The Tibet policy of the American government is part of its China policy.From     

On the Theoretical Positioning of the Philosophy of Culture

The philosophy of culture became aprominent school of thought in Chinese philo-sophical circles in the 1980s and 1990s.However, one of the major problems con-fronted by studies of the philosophy of cul-ture is its indistinct theoretical boundaries,largely due to the uncertainty of the categoryof culture.     

Did monetary policy fuel the housing bubble? An application to Ireland

This paper provides empirical evidence of the role of the euro in the genesis of the recent Irish financial-economic crisis. By using a Taylor rule we measure the appropriateness of the ECB’s one-size-fits-all policy rate for the Irish economy. A counterfactual analysis suggests that the Irish interest rate should have been on average 6.5% higher. Using a BVAR and multivariate housing model, we provide econometric evidence that under an alternative sovereign monetary policy, the average house price would have been 25–30% lower just before the housing bust. In addition, it shows that a monetary policy tailored to the needs of the member state prevents housing prices from dramatically increasing.     

On the Globalization of the Economy

Somepeopletracetheglobalizationoftheeconomybacktothe15thcentury,whencapitalismwasinitsembryonicstageinEuropeandEuropeanmerchantsbegantodobusinesswithothercontinents.However,thistradeofapIunderingnaturewasonlyapreludetomoderncapitalistlarge-scaleproductionandworldmarkets,apreparationforthelaterinternationalizationofproductionandtheglobalizationoftheeconomyweseetoday.Inthemid-l8thcentury,thefirstscientificandtechnologicalandindustrialrevolutionsoccurred,resultinginthetransformationofhandicraftp…     

The Formation and Main Breakthroughs of the Theory of a Socialist Market Economy-In Celebration of the Twentieth Anniversary of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

Withoutacorrectreformtheorytherewouldbenosuccessfulreformpractice.ThebasicreasonforthetremendousachievementsinChina'sreformandopening-upsincetheThirdPlenarySessionoftheEleventhCentralCommitteeinDecember1978isthattheyhavebeencarriedoutundertheguidanceofDengXiaopingtheory.DengXiaopingtheoryincorporatesextensiveknowledgeandprofoundscholarshipandconstitutesascientificsystem.DengXiaoping'seconomictheoryisaveryimportantcomponentofthisscientificsystemandthesocialistpoliticaleconomicsincontempora…     

Declaration of the Aesthetics of Comedy

当前中国的美学研究是在传统的知识论哲学的基础上进行的,因而"什么是美?"就成了美学研究的根本问题。本文认为,应当从生存论哲学的立场出发去研究美学。这样一来,美学研究的根本问题就转换成"为什么人类需要美?"在人类发展的历史上,之所以会产生美的意识,并逐步形成一门相对独立的学科,是因为美学对人类的生存是有意义的。谁都不会否认,异化、紧张和冲突构成了当代人的生存状态,因而当代人的主导性的审美需要不再是加剧这一状态的悲剧美学,而是喜剧美学。喜剧美学的核心是通过喜剧性(轻松、俏皮、滑稽和幽默)消解异化、紧张和冲突得以形成的不切实际的理想,从而激发当代人的生命力和创造性,使他们从精神上逐步摆脱并超越这一生存状态。     

Reconsidering the philanthropic foundation minimum payout policy under a “new normal”

With the increasing salience of foundations in many policy fields, and recent changes in market conditions, policies towards foundations designed decades ago seem outdated. In this article we suggest reassessing foundation payout minimums. To examine the impact of payout rates on grantmaking foundations lifespan and performance under “new normal” economics, we simulate multiple foundations lifecycles using Monte Carlo methods in diverse capital market conditions, with varied investment and payout strategies.We find that while under past market regime perpetuity seems to be a given, under more probable future scenarios, foundations might face increasingly early mortality and endowment depletion, limiting their potential impact. Furthermore, lower payout rates allow for higher lifetime grantmaking, higher mean annual grantmaking, and lower giving volatility. Accordingly, we suggest a tiered payout policy, in line with foundations’ missions and proper financial planning.     

Who are the lucky ones? Heterogeneity in active labour market policy outcomes

Nordlund M. Who are the lucky ones? Heterogeneity in active labour market policy outcomes Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 144–155 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. This study focuses on how the effects from investments in Active Labour Market Policy programmes (ALMPs) may be differently distributed due to the age and educational level of participants. Outcomes were measured as the chance of labour market inclusion, labour market stability and post‐unemployment incomes. This longitudinal study captures long‐term effects among 50,000 Swedes who entered unemployment in 1993. While the youngest gained most from ALMP‐training, the oldest were best helped by ALMP‐ employment in reducing the risk of labour market exit. The lowest educated gained much from ALMP participation, although the effects were weaker than expected: those with a higher education gained more in terms of labour market stability from ALMP‐training compared with the less educated persons. This result was interpreted in terms of a springboard effect, meaning that ALMP‐training pushes higher educated people into further education in the regular educational arena.     

On the Character of Universality:A Comparative Study on the Mor-phology of the Traditional Phi-losophies of China and the West

Since the era of Plato and Aristotle,Western philosophy has defined the pursuitof universal knowledge as its final goal, lead-ing to the rise of the absolute concept ofuniversality and the world of absolute prin-ciples composed of universal concepts. Tra-ditional philosophy in the West is a learningin search of universal knowledge while thehighest aim for traditional Chinese philoso-phy is to acquire the realm of Tao. This isthe demarcation line dividing the morphol-ogy of the traditional ph…