International-domestic linkages in a developing-country context: the case of the Rohingyas in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

Since 1978, the Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar and taking refuge in Bangladesh. The state of Bangladesh is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention and does not recognize refugee rights, but the initial experiences with the Rohingya refugee population led the government to create a temporary and ad hoc domestic policy advisory and refugee management system, which eventually became highly politicized. There was also some degree of slow “externalization” of policy advice through the involvement of international organizations from 2006–2007 onward, mainly through the participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM). Over 2017–2018, there was a massive influx of refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh. The domestic advisory and refugee management system lacked the capacity to manage the crisis and had to quickly and greatly externalize policy advice and refugee management. The UNHCR and IOM came in with a host of international organizational networks and coordinated with each other and the state through a multi-sectoral approach to manage the crisis. This externalization led to the systematization and institutionalization of the state’s domestic advisory system. However the effect of externalization on politicization is equivocal; on the one hand it decreased politicization of the domestic policy advisory system, but on the other hand, it created new levels of politicization.     

The Saving for Every Child Program in Israel: an overview of a universal asset-building policy

ABSTRACT

In 2017, the Israeli government implemented a universal child development account programme – the Saving for Every Child Program (SECP) – which establishes a personal savings account for every Israeli child and provides monthly deposits until the child turns 18. The SECP has the potential to provide substantial assets when children reach adulthood, but the benefits depend on parents’ investment choices. The unique programme’s nature presents opportunities to learn from its implementation. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the SECP, its legislative history, early findings from its implementation, and recommendations that may improve programme participation and outcomes across population groups.     

中原崛起的财政政策思考

经过20多年的改革开放,加上近年来西部大开发战略的实施和东北等老工业基地改造工程的启动,我国区域经济呈现全面发展的趋势。相对来看,中原地区整体经济发展出现了趋缓的势头,特别是三农问题突出、产业结构升级困难、资源抽空现象严重,河南及中部发展速度落后于西部,发展水平落后于东部,“中部塌陷”的危机越来越紧迫。中央提出中部崛起战略,为河南的发展提供了重要的发展机遇。我们要深刻领会中央这一决策的重大意义和精神实质,在政策许可的范围内争取国家财政政策的倾斜和支持。同时要结合我省实际,确定促进河南发展的财税政策。     

土地征用的理论分析及我国征地制度改革

土地征用是政府引导土地利用的重要权利。由于公共利益的需要,土地产权从绝对性向社会性转化,产生了政府的土地征用权。作者认为公共利益是一个动态的概念,并划分了公共利益的层次。通过对土地征用补偿的各种理论依据与原则的分析,认为补偿理论与原则的选择随经济发展动态变化。在理论分析的基础上,作者认为我国土地征用存在问题的根本原因在于公共利益的内容、补偿理论与原则的选择与当前的社会经济背景不适应,文章提出了与当前社会经济背景相适应的征地制度改革思路。     

欧盟反社会排斥的社会政策发展研究——以劳动力市场问题为例

建立解决劳动力市场问题的反社会排斥的社会政策,一直是欧盟促进社会融合与一体化发展的主要手段。本文首先从社会排斥概念的诠释入手,分别从学术层面与欧盟层面进行社会排斥概念解析和社会排斥概念政策应用解析。其次分析了欧盟目前解决劳动力市场问题的社会政策发展现状:鼓励更多的社会成员更有效地参与劳动力市场,提高社会融入程度;增强工人和企业的适应性,减少潜在的社会排斥;发展人力资本政策,打破社会排斥的恶性循环。本文最后对欧盟反社会排斥的社会政策面临的挑战进行简要分析,并讨论了欧盟反社会排斥的社会政策发展对中国社会政策发展的借鉴意义。     

城乡居民收入差距的变化及政策因素分析

改革开放以来，中国的城乡居民收入差距呈阶段性的变化，从1978-1984年逐年缩小，1985-1990年略有扩大，但基本未超过改革开放前的水平。进入20世纪90年代，这一差距迅速扩大，目前已经超过了世界一般国家的水平。城乡居民收入差距呈阶段性变化的原因是复杂的，但在市场经济不发达的条件下，政府的政策无疑是重要的影响因素。其中，宏观经济政策、体制改革政策、收入分配政策、对农业的保护政策等都直接影响城乡居民收入差距的变化。本文分阶段对中国城乡居民的收入差距进行了政策性因素分析。     

Listening to 'life knowledge': a new research direction in poverty studies

This article points to a current research direction in poverty studies, which explores the knowledge of people living in poverty. The article examines three studies from the USA, Europe and Israel which give voice to the 'life knowledge' of people living in poverty regarding different aspects of their lives. Through these examples, the article examines the potential contribution of 'life knowledge', possessed by people who are welfare-reliant, to the body of knowledge concerning welfare policy. Knowledge of this sort challenges standard preconceptions about the ways in which people cope with hardship and about the ways in which assistance might be given. The article discusses the ways in which 'life knowledge' can be recognised as such and investigated, and how it might contribute to the formation of public policy.     

论农村政策基础研究--对当前中国农村研究的反思及建议

当前以实证材料为基础的中国农村研究,主要是以与西方对话为特点的农村学术研究和以总结推广农村实践经验为特点的农村政策研究.这两类研究的共同弱点是,缺乏对中国农村社会状况尤其是其非均衡状况的关注.通过研究农村政策在农村实践的具体机制及后果,以理解中国农村非均衡的内部结构,从而将抽象的中国农村具体化,可以构成农村政策基础研究,从而为农村政策研究提供理论资源.     

Culture and social policy: a developing field of study

This article takes the increased interest in the relation between culture and social policy as a starting point, and discusses how this increasing attention can be understood as the result of contextual factors such as economic, social and academic trends. It discusses these matters and at the same time reviews briefly some of the main findings of studies that contain a cultural perspective in analysing social policy. A second issue concerns the specific character of cultural perspectives in such analyses. Thus far, most studies in the field have been guided by a notion of culture as consisting of the values, norms and beliefs of welfare state actors. Recently, this notion has been questioned by advocates of the so-called 'cultural turn', who suggest that a radical change in the cultural analysis of social policy is required. The article concludes with a discussion of their claims.     

New avenues to be opened for social protection in the Arab world: the case of Egypt*

This article looks at social protection in the Arab world. Giving the example of Egypt, it asks why poverty is so widespread and why – despite the country's numerous social protection systems – social risks are a major contributing factor to it. It concludes that reforms are due. The existing systems are well funded but inefficient and more to the benefit of the better‐off than the poor. A reform approach is proposed which builds on both conventional and more innovative strategies: campaigns should be launched to raise public awareness of social risks; social assistance spending should be increased; and the operating public pension schemes should be reformed. At the same time, new avenues have to be opened to meet the specific needs of informal sector workers who have extreme difficulty in being covered by social insurance or social assistance. To this purpose, micro‐insurance is a promising approach for the Arab‐world region.