Gaps in social protection for health care and long‐term care in Europe: Are the elderly faced with financial ruin?

While public expenditure on health care and long‐term care (LTC) has been monitored for many years in European countries, far less attention has been paid to the financial consequences for older people of private out‐of‐pocket (OOP) expenditure necessary to access such care. Employing representative cross‐sectional data on the elderly populations of 11 European countries in 2004 from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we find that OOP payments for health care and LTC are very common among the elderly across European countries and such expenditures impact significantly on disposable income: up to 95 per cent of the elderly make OOP payments for health care and 5 per cent for LTC, resulting in income reductions of between 5 and 10 per cent, respectively. Failure to prevent financial ruin, as a consequence of excessive OOP payments, is evident in 0.7 per cent of elderly households utilizing health care and 0.5 per cent of elderly households utilizing LTC. Those particularly concerned are the poor, women and the very old.     

Getting Real About Food Prices

The 2008 spike in world grain prices is widely recognised to have had serious impacts on food security and poverty, but these high grain prices are commonly described as low in historical terms – an inconsistency resulting from the use of advanced‐ and global‐economy price indices in calculating real prices. This ignores the high share of food in poor people's expenditures and the indirect effects of income growth on expenditure patterns of rich consumers. Poor consumers have not experienced the same falls in real food prices and are more vulnerable to price shocks. Different price indices must be developed to take account of differences between consumer groups.     

Enriching Resources for the Poor: Lessons from the Philippines

The paper provides an overview of the poverty situation in the Philippines, followed by a brief profile and assessment of two anti‐poverty programs: the Kapit‐Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan‐Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI‐CIDSS) program and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Official statistics disclose that the global economic crisis in 2008 adversely affected Filipino households, leading to higher levels of poverty especially in rural areas. In response, government introduced an Economic Resiliency Program with social protection as one component. Sixty‐six social protection programs were launched, including the two under review. KALAHI‐CIDSS and the 4Ps apply poverty reduction strategies that focus on the development of human and social capital, rather than economic capital. They involve processes and relationships that aim to improve the other dimensions of poverty, such as lack of access to opportunities or deprivation of basic human necessities. Qualitative and quantitative reports describe generally favorable outcomes from both programs. However, these gains at the household level need to be supported by relevant policy, enhanced public services and badly‐needed infrastructure programs from government, in order to sustain achievements culled from social protection programs and attain broader developmental impacts.     

试析青海社会经济发展现状与实现小康的差距

全面建设小康社会是“十六大”确定的重要目标。边远、落后的民族地区能否实现小康事关全局。本文就青海目前的发展现状和差距及如何实现民族地区的小康社会作了一些探讨。     

西部民族地区退耕还林还草的法律保障探讨

自然生态环境是人类赖以生存的基本条件,是经济社会发展的根本基础。自然生态环境的不断恶化,已成为制约西部地区经济社会持续发展的严重问题之一。我国制定“退耕还林还草”战略决策最主要的目的,就是为了给西部地区人民营造一个新的生存和发展空间。实施“退耕还林还草”的战略决策,必须尊重群众意愿,确保林草的成活率;必须遵循自然规律,因地制宜,宜林则林,宜草则草,实行综合治理;必须严格执行国务院关于“退耕还林、封山绿化、以粮代赈、个体承包”的法规措施;必须认真落实保护农民土地经营权的法律规范,树立生态环境可持续发展的法律协调观;必须建立和健全西部地区生态效益补偿机制,充分利用价格杠杆的作用促进西部地区的生态平衡。西部大开发要维护经济发展与生态的良性循环,建设山川秀美的新家园,让西部地区人民群众脱贫致富奔小康。     

转型加速时期西部少数民族地区结构性贫困研究述论

文章认为西部少数民族地区在社会转型加快时期的贫困问题基本上是结构性贫困,并对这种结构性贫困问题的具体特征及其产生的社会危害进行纬度结构分析,最后系统地从建构现代国家治理体系和治理现代化的背景下提出了治理路径。     

攀西地区特色产业扶贫发展经验研究——以攀枝花市米易县为例

攀西地区得天独厚的气候条件孕育着特色产业发展的巨大优势,该地区充分利用其特有的气候条件,依托独特的资源优势,实施特色产业扶贫战略,积极走现代化、标准化、规模化的生态发展之路,大力发展早、稀、特、优等现代特色产业,加快产业结构调整,积极带动农民增收致富,农村经济实力和农业发展活力不断增强,农业增产增效、农民持续增收,为当地群众脱贫发展做出了积极贡献。本文以攀西地区米易县为研究案例,积极探索该区域特色产业脱贫发展经验,对类似气候条件下特色产业扶贫发展提供一个可供参考的研究个案,以便能充分地开发利用特殊气候下的自然资源,实现长效扶贫,促进当地群众脱贫致富积极创造条件。     

小额信贷经理人愿意扶贫吗？——基于西北地区贫困县152位信贷经理人的经验分析

基于西北5省15个国家级贫困县152位信贷经理人的问卷调查,分析了小额信贷经理人的扶贫意愿、行为以及影响因素。经验研究结果表明：在调研的国家级贫困县中,尽管近六成小额信贷经理人向贫困户发放过贷款,但业务量总体较少,具有信贷扶贫意愿的不到2成;性别、教育背景、收入满意度、信贷决策自主性、放贷任务以及是否完成任务对信贷扶贫业务有显著影响;性别和信贷自主权对扶贫意愿具有显著影响。由此,在信贷扶贫项目选择信贷经理人时,采取差异化策略,有序放松信贷自主权,加强扶贫效果考核,对提高金融扶贫绩效会起到积极的作用。     

民间组织参与我国贫困治理的角色及行动策略

民间组织是参与贫困治理的重要社会力量。在我国扶贫开发进程中,民间组织在贫困治理中扮演了扶贫资源有益补充、践行微观贫困治理理念/技术、专业扶贫服务供给等多种角色。民间组织的贫困治理行动是民间组织汲取各类资源并将其传递到扶贫对象的过程。在大扶贫格局中,民间组织扶贫资源汲取已由传统的社会领域延伸至政府部门和市场领域,形成了慈善捐助、政府购买扶贫服务、市场化运作（社会企业）等多种扶贫资源汲取策略。相应的,主要形成了项目机制、市场机制两种扶贫资源传递策略。项目机制的运用表明了民间组织在分化发展的过程中扶贫资源传递的整合,以及民间组织与政府部门协同推进贫困治理的制度化和规范化。市场机制（社会企业）是民间组织扶贫行动的策略创新,对民间组织独立实施贫困治理具有重要意义。     

表面摩擦驱动收卷的玻纤布卷驱动力特征

与传统股权相比,扶贫股在出资、股权类型、权利内容、收益分配、退出机制、风险防范等方面形成了许多创新做法,但存在制度回应弱、效益吸引力不够、相关利益协调不足、长效的收益分享机制缺失、平台治理参与局限等深层次问题。据此,应立足中国实践,在集体股的框架内,明确扶贫股的法律属性,以集体股制度创新为路径,从制度层面规范扶贫股。