The Revenge of History – The Institutional Roots of Post‐Communist Family Policy in the Czech Republic,Hungary and Poland

The authors combine historical and sociological institutional analysis to show that despite the political and socio‐economic transformation in 1990s, the institutional development during and before the communist era provides the best explanation for current childcare policies in Central Europe. While most authors have concentrated on policy changes that have taken place in the region since 1989, this article concentrates on the historical roots of these policies and shows that today's policies are highly influenced by a certain dynamics that had already emerged under communist rule. It shows that a historical institutional approach, which analyses the ‘gendered logic of appropriateness’ and policy legacies at various critical junctures, can explain why family policies in Central Europe had already begun to differ during the communist era, why these main differences continue and why even the changes that have taken place follow logically from historical‐institutional developments.     

A Sarmanov family with beta and gamma marginal distributions: an application to the Bayes premium in a collective risk model

In this paper we firstly develop a Sarmanov–Lee bivariate family of distributions with the beta and gamma as marginal distributions. We obtain the linear correlation coefficient showing that, although it is not a strong family of correlation, it can be greater than the value of this coefficient in the Farlie–Gumbel–Morgenstern family. We also determine other measures for this family: the coefficient of median concordance and the relative entropy, which are analyzed by comparison with the case of independence. Secondly, we consider the problem of premium calculation in a Poisson–Lindley and exponential collective risk model, where the Sarmanov–Lee family is used as a structure function. We determine the collective and Bayes premiums whose values are analyzed when independence and dependence between the risk profiles are considered, obtaining that notable variations in premiums values are obtained even when low levels of correlation are considered.     

Student-t censored regression model: properties and inference

In statistical analysis, particularly in econometrics, it is usual to consider regression models where the dependent variable is censored (limited). In particular, a censoring scheme to the left of zero is considered here. In this article, an extension of the classical normal censored model is developed by considering independent disturbances with identical Student-t distribution. In the context of maximum likelihood estimation, an expression for the expected information matrix is provided, and an efficient EM-type algorithm for the estimation of the model parameters is developed. In order to know what type of variables affect the income of housewives, the results and methods are applied to a real data set. A brief review on the normal censored regression model or Tobit model is also presented.     

Limits and challenges for the participation of migrants' associations in state development policies in Morocco and Mexico

In many developing countries, migrants play an important role by supporting their local communities in their places of origin. An extensive literature has made visible their contribution to local development, thus revealing their involvement in the provision of social services or the construction of infrastructures. In this paper we illustrate the extent and scope of this task and the types of actions that migrants have started up in different countries of the world in general, and the cases of Morocco and Mexico in particular, to examine the achievements and limitations of both states' policies and migrants' associations in regard to their involvement in local development initiatives.     

A social policy model for the reconciliation of employment and family life from a gender equality perspective

The issue of family–employment reconciliation has rapidly evolved from being ignored to a certain dejá vu perception in public debate, as a result of its media success during the last decade. This is even more the case in Spain, where it was only in the late 1990s, when a law was passed to regulate and extend parental and other leave for workers with close relatives in need of care, that reconciliation policies began to be generally discussed and considered. In a context of quick population aging as a consequence of low fertility, concern on labor force supply in the middle term is high on the agenda. Women are increasingly considered to be necessary both as workers and mothers (of future workers), thus raising awareness of the importance of social policies to make their double presence in both worlds possible. There is now general agreement from the right to the left on the urgency to develop family–employment policies. But what is not generally addressed is the impact of such policies on gender equality, a dimension which tends to be either ignored or taken for granted. Not all reconciliation measures have the same effects on the women and men relationship. Some of them push forward equality, whereas others go backwards. Efficiency in making job and family responsibilities compatible does not always go hand in hand with increasing equality. The paper presents a theoretical model for the reconciliation of work and family life from a gender equality perspective. The three main kinds of instruments available in social policy – services, leave, and cash – are examined in four different cases: care of under-threes, care of sick children, coordination of work and school schedules, and care of children during school holidays. Each case is looked at considering its effects on social and gender equality, as well as child welfare. The model includes as active agents of the system the State (promotes and regulates), families and individuals (those directly implicated), and the market as labor market, on the one hand, and supplier of private services, on the other.     

Socio‐Demographic Risks and Challenges of Bare‐Branch Villages in China

China's bare branches, the Chinese name for surplus men, have attracted much attention, yet few studies have focused on the increasing phenomenon of bare‐branch villages. In this literature review, the formation of bare‐branch villages, the impact of such villages on individual bare branches and their families, and potential threats to villages and families are analyzed. It was found that the sex ratio and female marriage migration to prosperous areas are the two main determinants of the formation of bare‐branch villages. Individual bare branches in such villages are affected both physically and psychologically and are isolated in social activities. Their families and villages suffer in many ways. Bare branches may accelerate the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and increase the incidence of criminal behavior and violence. Even worse, because bare branches in a village share many bonds, they may take collective actions that can endanger China's social stability.     

Understanding Acculturation,Depressive Symptoms,and the Protective Role of Family Involvement Among Latino(a) Immigrant Families

Although the relationship between varying levels of acculturation and depressive symptoms has been established among Latino(a) youth, the positive role of family involvement in relation to depressive symptoms among immigrant Latino(a) families has been studied less. This study draws on a sample of first-generation Latino(a) youth from the Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation Study and explores the relationship between acculturation levels and depressive symptoms, as well as the protective role of family involvement. Although results do not support a relationship between acculturation and depressive symptoms, family involvement was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms while taking important sociodemographic variables into consideration. Research and practice implications with Latino(a) immigrant families are discussed.     

Teaching Note—Educating Public Health Social Work Professionals: Results From an MSW/MPH Program Outcomes Study

Dual-degree programs in public health and social work continue to proliferate, yet there has been little research on master’s of social work (MSW)/master’s of public health (MPH) graduates. The purpose of this study was to describe and better understand the self-reported professional experiences, identities, roles, and outcomes associated with 1 group of graduates from an established MSW/MPH program. A 57-question electronic survey was administered to 214 alumni in 2010; the response rate was 71.4% (n = 153). Findings provide a snapshot of public health social work alumni experiences, including diverse employment opportunities, high career satisfaction, and a strong sense of reported public health and social work integration in the workplace.