我国家庭福利政策探究

在人口变迁与社会发展过程中,我国家庭规模逐渐缩小,传统的家庭功能已经受到严重冲击。因此,单纯地依靠家庭能力难以摆脱贫困、医疗、就业等困境。中国的家庭福利政策属于补缺型的家庭福利政策,应当尽快向普惠型和发展型转变：从发挥政府的主导作用,加强事前预防,投资家庭成员,扩大政策受益对象等方面重构家庭福利体系。     

中国居民家庭脆弱性及因病致贫效应分析

为定量分析医疗支出对家庭经济水平的冲击,以贫困脆弱性指标作为家庭经济风险的代理变量,利用微观调查数据构造反事实框架估计就医行为对家庭经济境遇的冲击,验证了医疗与家庭致贫效应的因果关系和影响程度。家庭成员在过去半年内若因病住院,对家庭福利会造成损失,损失幅度因贫困标准、样本年份而不同。2012年在贫困线标准为2美元条件下,家庭经济风险概率值增加0.31。分城乡和收入高低不同组估计,农村居民以及低收入群体的福利水平受就医影响幅度大于对应的其他群体。     

农村经济、社会福利与区域非均衡性研究

我国农村经济增长与社会福利存在明显的区域非均衡性,二者均呈现出自东部向西部递减的规律;大部分省、市经济增长和社会福利的耦合度经历了从勉强协调向基本协调过渡的发展过程,二者的协调程度还有进一步提升的空间;经济增长指数与耦合度表现出了一致的波动性,经济子系统对整个系统具有牵引作用.当前,加快发展农村经济,扩大对农村地区的必要性供给,推进农村地区的城镇化进程是实现我国农村地区经济增长与社会福利协同发展的有效途径.     

中国内地与香港经济周期协同性的门限性质检验——兼论两地经济周期协同性中的美国因素

运用M arkov区制转移模型,对中国内地与香港经济周期协同性的门限性质以及美国对两地经济周期协同性的影响进行分析。结果显示:一方面,两地经济周期的协同性依赖于区制状态的"门限性质",即在不同的经济周期区制内呈现出不同的协同性水平。另一方面,两地经济周期的协同程度隐含了美国作为两地之间经济冲击的传递渠道以及两地共同的外部冲击源的影响。当剥离美国经济的影响之后,两地经济周期的协同程度较为微弱。因此,促进两地经济周期的长期趋同,应科学甄别和合理利用美国经济对两地经济周期协同性的影响。     

通货膨胀目标制--一个可能的最优货币政策操作规则

相机抉择的货币政策由于时间非一致性而具有通货膨胀倾向,经济学者为解决时间非一致性问题设计了各种方案,通货膨胀目标制就是其中之一。其优越性主要有:1.有效降低通货膨胀倾向;2.能兼顾灵活性和可信度;3.具有可操作性,一些西方国家已经采用该制度并且效果不错。实践证明,通货膨胀目标制可能是未来的最优货币操作规则。     

金融知识差异与我国家庭财富积累

通过应用中国城市家庭消费金融调研数据,本文系统的实证检验了改进后的金融知识指标、经济学专业、金融学专业以及家庭理财规划等因素对家庭各项财富积累的影响,并通过使用合适的工具变量进行两阶段估计,验证了这种正向影响的稳健性。此外,实证结果中家庭理财规划以及理财规划时间跨度的正向边际效应表明,理财规划可能是金融知识差异影响家庭财富积累的重要机制。研究结论有利于更准确地理解居民金融知识差异对于家庭福利,特别是退休福利的影响。     

Dual conditionality in welfare and housing for lone parents in Ireland: Change and continuity?

This article focuses on multiple conditionalities in benefits and housing from the perspective of lone parents in Ireland. The Irish case echoes historical experiences elsewhere and is offered not as an exceptional or extreme case but as an in-depth single case study and a lens for comparison. Although contemporary forms and combinations of conditionalities are new to Ireland, the experience of multiple conditionalities in benefits and housing is not new. Hence, a historical perspective is used to examine contemporary multiple conditionalities in benefits and housing. In the past, conditional regimes for lone parents were justified in terms of moral reformation for first time mothers and avoiding moral contagion of mothers with subsequent pregnancies. In contemporary times, in the case of employment, lone parents are problematised as working part-time and “nesting” on in-work-benefits, and in the case of homelessness, lone parents who prioritise the security of tenure embedded in social housing are accused of “gaming” the system. While acknowledging ambiguities, the paper finds the overlap of welfare and housing discourses contribute, intentionally or unintentionally, to epistemological foundations or understandings of lone parents, shifting public perceptions, and framing them as “problems” to be solved. They simultaneously temper lone parents' expectations. Increased precarity and disempowerment is associated with dual conditionality, and ontological uncertainty is multiplied when experienced cumulatively across employment, social protection, and housing regimes in a context of generally poor public services and labour market precarity and in the historical context of stigmatisation. Nonetheless, lone parents demonstrate considerable agency.     

Evaluating social investment in disability policy

Disability policy in European countries is displaying a shift towards social investment: increasing human capital and access to the labour market. The reasoning that underlies this transition is that disabled persons would benefit from mainstream employment, but are impeded in traditional policy by deficiencies in labour supply and demand. However, the shift towards more activating policies in many countries is accompanied by a decline in social protection. It is unclear whether social investment may effectively promote the employment chances of disabled persons within this context. The present research examines this question through a quantitative, cross-sectional, multilevel analysis on microdata from 22 EU countries. Our findings suggest greater activation to predict lower employment chances, while reducing passive support shows mixed effects. Conversely, measures for facilitation in daily life predict greater employment chances, as do measures for sheltered work. These findings raise questions over the value of social investment for disabled persons—and underline the need to overcome broader barriers in the labour market and in society.     

The effect of paid maternity leave on low-income families' welfare use in the US

Despite the critical role that paid maternity leave can assume in the economic lives of low-income families, research to date has paid insufficient attention to whether paid maternity leave reduces welfare use for low-income families. Using the Current Population Survey (CPS) March Supplement 2007–2014 with the difference-in-difference (DiD) technique, this study finds a significant policy effect of paid maternity leave on reducing the probability of using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), TANF benefit amounts and TANF participation length. This study confirms that paid maternity leave is likely to prevent low-income families from using welfare during job interruptions stemming from the birth of a child. Given that TANF is often associated with negative political and social connotations, paid maternity leave can be used as an important social policy to improve economic security as well as offer empowerment in overall social standing for low-income mothers. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings in a broader context of American welfare states.     

Determinants of social assistance caseloads for employable single adults without dependants in Canada

Government officials like the idea of just a small number of households in their respective jurisdiction receiving social assistance. A large number is seen as costly to the public treasury, and declining caseloads are generally viewed as a mark of success for both the economy and the government of the day. But what factors account for the size of a Canadian province's social assistance caseload? This article aims to shed light on this question, with a focus on single adults without dependants (and without serious disabilities) during the 1989–2017 period. One important finding is that when the value of social assistance benefit levels for this group increases by 1% in a province, the social assistance caseload for this demographic rises by 0.457%. Put differently, there is indeed an important behavior response associated with higher benefit levels. In response, we propose that provincial officials budget for higher take up levels when they increase benefit levels for this household group.