Social Policy from Olson to Ostrom: A Case Study of Dutch Disability Insurance

Social policy development and reform in corporatist welfare states often follows a pattern of subsequent collectivization and de‐collectivization. This has to do, the article argues, with the social problems these phases address. Early social policy development forms a response to Olson‐type collective action problems that organized actors (labour and employers' organizations) in the field experience: state‐obliged benefits solve free rider problems, while bipartite administration allows labour and employers' organizations to organize their constituencies. This solution to Olson‐type collective action problems, however, also constitutes an Ostrom‐type collective action problem. Such a system functions as a common pool resource. Individual benefit take‐up is experienced as free and the costs of benefit take‐up are collectivized in the common pool. The article illustrates this pattern with reference to Dutch disability insurance.     

Promoting Children's Welfare by Inter‐professional Practice and Learning in Social Work and Primary Care

Social work in the United Kingdom is an activity that benefits from, and often requires, co‐operation between different staff and across different professions. How this is to be achieved has been a central dilemma for practice and policy for many years. Primary care health services often play a key role. New policy and practice developments are designed to promote inter‐professional working with children, where research has shown significant problems in the community‐based health care of looked after children, children leaving care, and children at serious risk. There is, however, little evidence from research that supports current developments in inter‐professional practice; analysis of the particular nature of the inter‐professional problems is lacking, as are therefore the relevant inter‐professional solutions. A framework for better analysis, linked to developments in practice‐based research, one that would yield significant improvements for children's welfare, is presented here.     

出生性别比综合治理:有所为,有所不为

从1980年我国出生性别比越过正常值域至今,党和各级政府制订了种种措施进行综合治理,但取得的成效甚微。这一时期我国治理工作的特点有:重视禁止性法律法规的制定,但与之相配套的规章制度比较缺乏;重视目标任务的提出,但落实目标的措施比较缺乏;部门性、专项性规章制度较多,综合性规章制度比较缺乏。今后一段时期内综合治理工作,可以按照避实就虚、避难就易的原则,在大力发展社会经济、建立健全社会养老制度、相关法律法规的制定与完善、加大对两非行为的打击力度等方面有所作为;而在人口生育政策的调整、传统文化的改变等方面有所不为。     

Old-Age Homes and Services

Summary

Although generational co-residence continues to be the dominant form of housing and care for Indian elders and only 1% live in old-age homes, the numbers and types of these homes are growing. This article describes a recent study of 48 old-age homes in different parts of India, approximately 12%-15% of all homes. They included the more traditional free homes for the aged poor who have no family to care for them and the more recent for-pay homes for the middle-class. A small number of day-care centers, also a new phenomenon, were investigated. Two- to three-hour structured interviews were conducted with managers, supervisors, and trustees, augmented by a checklist of environmental and neighborhood features. Most homes house small numbers of residents, have common spaces for dining, TV and prayer, have access to medical care and transportation, provide meals and some assistance with activities of daily living, and are open to all castes. All are run by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), only one-third with any government assistance. Free homes tend to be bigger and older, serve non-aged clients, have less privacy and emphasize occupational therapy and income-generating activities, and are more like board-and-care homes. For-pay homes have more privacy and western-style amenities, focus on local community outreach and provide fewer meals. The gradual increase of all old-age homes has given rise to debates about their appropriate roles in Indian society and about their quality. Government grants to NGOs for homes and day-care centers (often considered more appropriate support for elders) are limited. With the National Policy on Older Persons looking to NGOs and village councils to be the primary sources of non-familial aged care, several ways to build their capacity are suggested.     

从苏丹个案看中国对阿外交之成长

苏丹是中国外交参与程度较深的发展中国家,中苏双边关系的发展演变不仅始终彰显着共同发展的主旋律,也清晰地反映了中国对阿外交的成长轨迹。在民族解放运动蓬勃发展时期,中国和苏丹的相互援助加速了全球殖民体系的瓦解,整体上推动了发展中国家的社会发展进程。在此后的全球化浪潮中,中国逐步深度参与了苏丹的经济事务,帮助苏丹实现了经济腾飞和国内持久和平。以南北矛盾和达尔富尔人道主义灾难为主要内容的苏丹危机,是中国外交参与国际事务时必须直面的挑战之一。中国外交必须重新审视与西方和发展中国家关系的基本内容和应对技巧,在深度参与中逐步走向成熟,实现外交转型和国家形象重塑。     

约旦社会保障制度改革及其启示

和世界上大多数国家一样,约旦也面临着越来越严重的人口老龄化问题。为此,约旦政府在社会保障领域实施了三项重要的改革措施。一是参数式改革,即不改变现有制度的性质,只是调整具体的参数;二是整合碎片化制度改革,把公务员和军事人员纳入全国统一的社保制度中来;三是未雨绸缪,积极开展公共预筹积累制改革,融资模式由现收现付制逐步过渡到部分积累制,不断完善投资管理体制。这三项改革不仅符合世界银行提倡的改革模式,而且这三项改革措施之间的相互配合与协调,有力地推动了约旦社保制度的改革和发展,具有极强的借鉴意义。     

Links between informal caregiving and volunteering in Sweden: a 17-year perspective

This article analyses informal caregiving and volunteering in organizations over 17 years in Sweden, with a focus on links between these two forms of unpaid activities. The discussion is based on results from a national survey that was repeated four times in the period 1992–2009. Links were found between the different types of activities. In all four studies a substantial group of the population was involved both in informal caregiving and volunteering. This group of ‘active citizens’ are commonly also engaged in informal social networks. This ‘double active’ group had increased over time and they provide a substantial amount of hours of involvement. Patterns outlined in this article demonstrate that unpaid activities represent a multifaceted phenomenon, and that the boundaries between informal caregiving and volunteering as forms of engagement may be more fluid than has previously been acknowledged. The results challenge the literature in which informal caregiving is viewed as a major obstacle to volunteering. At the same time, however, informal caregiving in general was found to be increasing. There might be reasons to be cautious about the possible risk that too much pressure on citizens for informal caregiving might jeopardize the type of double involvement that is outlined in this article.     

Policy Diffusion and Policy Transfer in Comparative Welfare State Research

For many years, comparative welfare state research has followed a ‘methodological nationalism’ in the sense that countries were treated as independent units. Yet the recent ‘spatial turn’ in comparative politics has also influenced welfare state research. For some years now, the field has been witnessing a growing interest in questions about interdependencies and policy diffusion between countries. In this article, we provide a structured overview of the state of the art in the policy diffusion and transfer literature that deals specifically with social policy. We present and critically evaluate existing theoretical concepts and quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches that enable the analysis of interdependencies between countries. Moreover, we summarize the empirical findings of quantitative and qualitative studies on the diffusion and transfer of social policy, from some pioneering studies to the latest findings. Against this background we point out what we believe to be promising avenues for future research. We focus on five areas: theoretical work on the mechanisms underlying diffusion and transfer; methodological approaches; the impact of domestic institutions and policy characteristics on social policy diffusion and transfer; programme‐specific dynamics; and the systematic combination of horizontal and vertical interdependencies.     

Impacts of government high-tech policy: a case study of CAD technology in China

Rapid growth of technology innovations promotes governments world-wide to actively explore the best way to realize its economic benefits. Likewise, Chinese government has positioned advances of high technology a driving-force to continued economic achievements, and launched various high-tech policies. This case study focuses on computer-aided design (CAD), a key field under policy support, discloses policy’s critical role. Interview/survey data from corporate and academic leaders were also collected and synthesized. The emergence of university–industry collaboration, capitalizing university intellectual property, and new modes in CAD innovation and technology diffusion are among those major findings. A Model is also proposed. The study provides new observations for debates to high-tech policy-makers and can benefit scholars and business managers seeking to understand the environment in China, and serve as a foundation for further policy and management research.