Same-sex cohabiting elders versus different-sex cohabiting and married elders: Effects of relationship status and sex of partner on economic and health outcomes

In this article, I use pooled data from the 2008–2010 American Community Surveys to examine outcomes for different-sex married, different-sex cohabiting, and same-sex cohabiting elders across several key economic and health indicators, as well as other demographic characteristics. The findings suggest that elders in same-sex cohabiting partnerships differ from those in different-sex marriages and different-sex cohabiting relationships in terms of both financial and health outcomes, and that women in same-sex cohabiting partnerships fare worse than men or women in other couple types. The results indicate that financial implications related to the sex of one’s partner might be more predictive of economic and health outcomes in old age, rather than solely access to legal marriage. Nonetheless, findings suggest that individuals in same-sex cohabiting partnerships might experience worse outcomes in old age as a result of cumulative effects across the life course from both the sex of their partner (in the case of female couples) as well as their lack of access to benefits associated with marriage. Accordingly, these findings demonstrate that persons in same-sex cohabiting partnerships require unique policy considerations to address health and economic concerns in old age.     

The Decoupling of Social Policy Reforms in Romania

Social reforms in Romania have been, from the beginning of the 1990s and throughout the EU post‐accession phase, the battlefield for many domestic and international actors. The article identifies, from an historical institutionalist perspective, the international actors who decisively influenced reforms of social protection in Romania during the transition, with a special emphasis on the EU pre‐ and post‐accession stages. Further, the article attempts to understand the impact of the various external influences on the sustainability and effectiveness of domestic reforms, by assessing the convergence, or the decoupling, between the rationales – i.e. ideologies and values – that explicitly grounded social reforms in Romania and the domestic public rhetoric on social risks and values. Answers to these questions can provide important insights in regard to both the impact of the EU upon new member states and the challenges of EU enlargement for the EU and its core member states.     

Neo‐liberalism by Decay? The Evolution of the Czech Welfare State

In this article we analyse the evolution of the Czech welfare state and we examine the factors explaining its path. We show that although the Czech welfare regime exhibits a 'mixed profile' that includes conservative and universalist elements, it is increasingly moving in a more liberal, residualist direction – not because of conscious steps but rather through decay. Governments have often zig-zagged in their policies and resorted to symbolic reforms at times rather than implementing ideologically based, consistent policies. We argue that historical and sociological institutionalism combined with a social-capital approach can explain this decay better than the more common arguments about economic pressures combined with ideological hegemony or the protest-avoidance strategy. In particular, the social capital approach adds to our institutional framework by explaining why cutbacks in welfare programmes have not met much opposition, even though public opinion surveys consistently show support for more generous welfare policies, and why policies have deviated so much from political rhetoric.     

全球化与民族关系研究

我们思考当今世界各国的民族关系,很难脱离全球化这个宏观历史背景。今天我们研究一国内部的民族关系时,已不可能忽视境外政治、经济、文化、宗教因素对该国民族关系的影响。面对全球化浪潮中西方政治理念、经济制度与意识形态在其他国家的扩散,各国的传统制度和文化将必然会受到很大的冲击,各国对外来文化也势必出现反弹,以提倡本国传统的"复兴"来与外来文化相抗衡。因此全球化与各国的本土化实际上是两个并行的潮流。全球化的扩散是不可抗拒的,本土化的反弹是不可避免的。我们在思考中国民族问题时,应借鉴中国历史和其他国家在处理民族关系方面的经验。     

范文澜及其《中国经学史的演变》的理论启示

范文澜先生既是马克思主义史家,也是马克思主义经学家,他在延安时期通过《中国通史简编》所形成的史学理论不仅指导了后来的马克思主义史学的发展,还在实践上回答了马克思主义者应如何进行经学史研究,即要坚持世界物质统一性原理、坚持斗争是经学发展的动力、坚持实事求是原则、坚持辩证思维方法等。这些史学理论指导经学研究的理论意义,对我们今天实现经学史的创造性转化、创新性发展仍有着重要的启迪意义。     

论司马迁对先秦仁学的继承和改造

仁学思想是儒家道德哲学体系中的核心思想。司马迁通过历史研究,认识到了"仁"在治国安邦中的作用,于是对先秦仁学,特别是孔、孟仁学进行了批判性的继承和改造,孔子的仁学思想更是成为了他撰写《史记》、品评历代帝王的重要指导思想。本文将从《史记》入手,论述司马迁对先秦仁学的扬弃,并分析其伟大的历史意义和对当今构建和谐社会的借鉴价值。     

知识经济与人口发展

知识经济将是经济发展的主流 ,它要求社会对科技有巨大的投入 ,而这种投入对经济和社会有更大的回馈 ;知识产业将成为经济结构中的主导产业 ;知识经济以知识价值为核心 ;在知识经济时代世界经济将形成全球化的新格局 ,并对传统产业进行技术改造。知识经济时代对人口数量的制约因素将主要是环境的和空间的适度 ;对提高人口素质的要求更为迫切 ;人口的经济结构将发生重要变化 ,知识工人将成为社会的主导力量 ;人口分布与迁移也将出现集中化分散化的新特点。知识经济对人口学研究提出了更高要求 ,人口学研究手段要实现现代化和信息化 ;人口学要开放化     

《史地学报》及其群体与《学衡》之关系的探讨

从吴宓到鲁迅,再到后来的研究者,都将<史地学报>和<学衡>紧密地联系在一起.将前者的核心人物、诸位同人和刊物本身三个层面与后者进行比较分析,不仅可以揭示1920年代在南京乃至全国学界甚有影响的两份刊物之间的密切关系与异同所在,同时也可展现当时相关学术群体的学术风貌.     

改琦和海内外孤本《先贤谱图》考

过去对清代画家改琦的介绍都很零散,且对其作品也没有系统的罗列。本文根据各种历史资料,首次厘清了改琦的家世和祖籍,其次陈述了对海内孤本《先贤谱图》的鉴定和艺术价值,再次分析了文字狱海富润事件对改琦创作《先贤谱图》和其他艺术作品的深刻影响,然后概括介绍了《先贤谱图》的主要内容;文章最后对《先贤谱图》的原创力、对改琦艺术作品和艺术思想,及其文化综合主义世界观作了初步的探讨。     

试论马克思恩格斯辩证唯物主义与历史唯物主义思想对当代的价值与启示

在世界陷入新一轮金融危机的情况下,人们重新发现一个多世纪前的马克思主义以其真理性的理论准确地预测并指导着人们的实践,自苏东剧变后受到冷遇的马克思主义再次被世人正视。文章通过分析马克思恩格斯辩证唯物主义与历史唯物主义思想,对当今国内外重大理论和现实问题进行分析,并提出这些思想给我们的启示。