Public opinion and the privatization of welfare: some theoretical implications

The social policy of the Thatcher government is characterized by an abrupt shift in the direction of the private sector. To what extent does this reflect what people want? The Institute of Economic Affairs conclude from the only suitable national opinion survey that such a move is strongly supported. Our reanalysis of their data shows that this strand in public opinion can coexist with, and need not contradict, an equal public enthusiasm for state welfare. Such results have important implications for our understanding of social policy. We conclude, therefore, with a discussion of contrasting marxist and liberal accounts which seeks to show that the evidence of ambivalence in popular attitudes about the welfare state supports particular developments in theory.     

Policy sources of worker dissatisfactions: the case of human services in aging

This article explores job dissatisfaction experienced by service providers in the field of aging and the policy sources of such dissatisfactions. Workers interviewed identified four major areas of complaint about their jobs: lack of resources, agency problems, mandates and regulations, and client characteristics. Such problems, it is argued, are associated with specific characteristics of policies under which the respondents work. These characteristics include the symbolic nature of legislation, policy ambiguity, universal entitlement, and calculated fragmentation. Whether or not policy changes should be made to alleviate worker dissatisfactions is discussed in the concluding section of the article.     

Social and demographic determinants of abortion in Poland

Summary Most abortions in Polish hospitals and clinics are performed on social indications. In the 22 administrative areas of Poland, the high rates of divorce and large proportions of total population employed in non-agricultural pursuits reflect the individualistic approach to family planning which is characteristic of present-day urban society. Industrialization is disruptive to the normal functioning of the country's traditionally large families. In addition, the gross reproduction rate increases directly with the proportion of the peasant population in 17 voivodships and five large cities of Poland, whereas in the urban sector the gross reproduction rate has fallen below replacement level in the past few years. Rural birth rates will continue to decline. In view of increasing needs for future manpower, population policy aimed at increasing births through incentives to prospective mothers may achieve a limited degree of success in cities only among the educated segments of the female population.     

Female employment and fertility: a study based on Chilean data

Conflicting studies bring into question the hypothesis that increased employment opportunities for women in the modern sector would reduce the population growth rate. To help clarify the situation, data from about 4000 families in central Chile, obtained from interviews in 1965, are used to test 3 hypotheses: 1) that in the traditional sector of the economy, young children do not adversely affect the mother's labor force participation; 2) that in the modern sector, child care reduces labor force participation unless there are relatives or older children to look after the young children; and 3) that young children also have a positive influence on female employment in that they increase the need for added income. This would be particularly true in the traditional sector where average household income is lower. All hypotheses were proved true by the data. Furthermore, the positive effect on the mother's employment of a larger family size proved to be true in the modern sector as well as the traditional sector. The study indicates that if a country's objective is to lower the population growth rate, a population planning program relying on higher rates of fe male employment will have to be accompanied by other socioeconomic policies intended to achieve a higher level of economic development.     

Fertility differences between the family of orientation and the family or procreation in Barbados

Data from an island-wide probability sample of 4119 Barbadian females aged 16-50 were used to study whether there has been an intergenerational fertility decline between the respondents and their mothers. The fertility of the respondents, all from the low or lower middle class, was significantly lower than that of their mothers. However, the size of the family of procreation was seen to be positively related to the size of the family of orientation; i.e., those from large families tended to have large families and vice versa. There was, however, a regression to the mean. There were no differences between women from small and large families as to fertility norms, age at 1st use of contraceptives, or actual practice of contraception. Women from small families did tend to enter sexual relationships and get pregnant at a later age. The women from small families were better educated, earned higher incomes, and had higher status occupations, all factors which might have influenced their fertility. Women from larger families cited higher numbers for both small and large families than did the women from small families. This indicates a perceptual difference which was, in turn, related to fertility differences.