Varieties of Liberalism: Canadian Social Policy from the 'Golden Age' to the Present

The dominant welfare regimes approach, like the historical-institutionalism on which it draws, predicts path-dependent responses to contemporary challenges. According to this, Canada's social policy regime clearly belongs to the (mainly Anglo-American) 'liberal' family, where markets and families retain a key role, supplemented by modest state supports. Yet, as some have recognized, there are important differences among liberal regimes and within a particular welfare regime over time. There are, in other words, 'varieties of liberalism'. This article argues, moreover, that in the contemporary period Canadian welfare reform has been characterized by warring principles for redesign. While some have sought to deepen the postwar social project, the main trends have been neo-liberal restructuring and, more recently, policies inspired by 'inclusive liberalism', though less deeply than under Blair's government in the UK. The continued existence of such alternatives suggests the need for a more nuanced conception of path-dependent change, consistent with recent revisionist trends in historical-institutionalism.     

The Relation between Ethnic and Civic Views on Citizenship,Attitudes towards Immigrants and Sympathy for Welfare Recipients

In this study we investigate the relationship between different definitions of national citizenship, sympathy for welfare recipients, and how this relation is mediated by attitudes towards immigrants. We make use of the 2008 wave of the Belgian Political Panel Survey 2006–11, in which over 4,800 18‐year‐old adolescents were questioned. The results demonstrate that an agreement with both ethnic and civic definitions of national citizenship is related to reduced sympathy for welfare recipients, although the association with an ethnic view on citizenship is clearly dominant. Furthermore, these relations are almost entirely of an indirect nature: ethnic and civic citizenship attitudes are associated with negative views on immigrants, which, in turn, is the key variable that is associated with reduced sympathy for welfare recipients.     

From the Cradle to the Grave: Funeral Welfare from an International Perspective

This article reports on a pilot study examining funeral welfare for citizens from low income backgrounds. Through a review of funeral welfare provision in 12 capitalist democratic countries it seeks to inform the current system of state support in Britain, arguing that insufficient attention has been given to funeral costs as a policy issue. Mindful of the British welfare state's original ‘cradle to grave’ ethos, such attention is ever more pressing in light of rising funeral costs, an ageing population and projected increases in the death rate. Arguing that funeral costs are an issue of income support, the article draws on Esping‐Andersen's threefold welfare‐regime typology to situate the British system within a comparative study of funeral welfare that identifies similarities and differences both within and between the three welfare‐regime types. On the basis of an empirical example, the article further argues that systems of funeral welfare reflect the relationship between culture, politics and local practice. The findings indicate that the British system is hampered by a discourse of welfare dependency rather than entitlement, which stigmatises those who need support with funeral costs at a time when they are under pressure to ensure that the deceased person receives a ‘dignified’ send‐off.     

“人文儒学”批判与后儒学当代突围——兼与李承贵、夏锦乾商榷

在当代,面临各种挑战的儒学境遇窘困。学术界关于儒学的探讨,有很多有价值的观点,但整体存在方法论上的认识偏误。其中,李承贵关于人文儒学为儒学的本体形态之说脱离了当代现实的学术诉求,在学理逻辑上也难以成立。夏锦乾关于巫文化家族血缘制为儒学统绪的观点,囿于文化解读和批判的视界来理解当下的儒学建设,也存在对儒学后现代生成认识不足的局限。儒学的当代生存,只有依托后现代视界的理论介入、展开后儒学的理论突进,才能寻到生存之路。而后儒学基旨的重构和逻辑空间的拓展,是后儒学当代突围的关键问题。通过后儒学与后现代文化的深层对话,可以形成多元化的当代儒学学科形态。     

Impediments to Mothers Leaving Welfare: The Role of Maternal and Child Disability

This research examines the relationship between disabilities in families and exits from welfare. Controlling for variations in characteristics known to be associated with welfare exits, this study investigates and documents that specific configurations of disabilities in families are also strongly associated with reduced rates of welfare exits. The impact of a child with a disability on welfare exits is similar to the mother's own disability, with an impact equivalent in magnitude to minority status. The presence of a child with a disability limits the chances that a mother with disability will leave welfare. Our findings add to the literature on welfare dependency and have implications for welfare reforms that emphasize work, self-sufficiency, and reducing poverty.     

Children's exposure to paternal imprisonment: Incidence, evolution, and correlates among young nonmarital children

Although the well-being of nonmarital children has been the focus of recent public policy developments and academic research, relatively little is known about the risk of paternal imprisonment among these children. Particularly in a context of declining public assistance, the unprecedented imprisonment rate may place additional stress on nonmarital children if a substantial portion of their fathers are incarcerated and therefore unable to provide support. Research on this topic has been impeded by methodological difficulties, such as the lack of representative data on nonmarital children's fathers, and inaccurate or insufficient information on fathers' incarceration. Using unique combined administrative data sets from Wisconsin that largely overcome these methodological obstacles, I provide improved estimates of paternal imprisonment risk among young nonmarital children. I distinguish between point-in-time and cumulative risks and assess the length of paternal imprisonment, first considering only biological fathers and then also including the mothers' other partners. I also estimate the risks separately by socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Results suggest that nonmarital children face a high risk of paternal imprisonment, a substantial proportion also face an elevated risk of lengthy paternal imprisonment, and the racial disparity in risk is significant.     

Effects of federal programs on children: Absolute poverty, relative poverty, and income inequality

Since the 1996 welfare reform, federal spending on means-tested programs targeting the poorest children has decreased, while programs that benefit children in low-income working families have been expanded substantially. With this background, this study examined changes in the antipoverty and anti-inequality effects of children's programs between 1995 and 2007 using data from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The findings suggest that although the poverty-reduction effects of the federal child programs increased between 1995 and 2007, the programs' effects on the reductions of children's absolute poverty gaps, relative poverty rates, relative poverty gaps, and income inequality all decreased. More importantly, the antipoverty effects of the federal child programs were most weakened for the poorest children (i.e., those in female-headed, immigrant, and nonworking families) between 1995 and 2007.     

Predictors of child protective service contact between birth and age five: An examination of California's 2002 birth cohort

This study utilizes population-level birth data to describe those children who may be at greatest risk of maltreatment during the first five years of life. Based on a unique dataset constructed by linking California's administrative child welfare data to statewide vital birth records, a cohort study design was employed to track reports of maltreatment involving children born in 2002. Twelve variables captured in the birth record were selected for analysis. Generalized Linear Models were used to estimate adjusted risk ratios (RR) for each independent variable. Predicted probabilities of CPS contact were computed based on the count of risk factors present at birth. Results suggest that many of the associations previously observed between birth variables and subsequent maltreatment have sustained value in foretelling which children will be reported to CPS beyond infancy. Of the 531,035 children born in California in 2002, 14% (74,182) were reported for possible maltreatment before the age of five. Eleven of the twelve birth variables examined presented as significant predictors of contact with child protective services.     

我国福利彩票业监管机制创新的策略

福利彩票事业是我国社会保障体系的重要组成部分,发行福利彩票可以广泛筹集社会资源,弥补政府财政社会保障资金投入的不足,促进社会救助、社会福利事业的发展壮大。当前,随着福利彩票业的进一步发展,出现了监管机制与市场发展需求不相符合的矛盾。因此,改革并创新我国福利彩票业监管机制就成了当务之急。     

贝弗里奇福利国家思想的诠释与启示——兼论中国养老保险制度的改革与发展战略

英国贝弗里奇著名的《贝弗里奇报告———社会保险与相关服务》,为英国社会保障制度发展奠定了坚实的基础,并给世界指明了一条新的福利道路即福利国家模式。党的十七大明确指出要实现老有所养的战略目标,而我国当代养老保险制度尚存不足。贝弗里奇福利国家思想对于我国养老保险制度改革的启示在于：以行政统一管理为基础建设城乡统筹一体化的养老保险制度,坚持公平建制理念兼发挥效率作用,坚持政府主导地位并鼓励社会合作,落实新型农村养老保险使农民老有所养,建立老年护理保险制度,全方位提高老年人生活质量。