Forced to work and liberated from work

The work-welfare nexus is essential in all social policy regimes. The question is in what situations individuals should be entitled to social welfare benefits and in which situations they should be obliged to work. Social welfare law and administrative practices define mechanisms that separate the deserving poor from people able to work. This article analyses the functions and character of these "separation mechanisms" in Sweden during three periods in history: a) in rural society in the late 19th century; b) in industrial society during the successful years of the Swedish model from World War II until the late 1970s; and c) the present, including the period of welfare retrenchment and reconsideration since the early 1980s. The conclusion is that Swedish social policy has always been strongly work-oriented, but the specific form and content of the work ethic has varied under the influence of different ideologies and handled in different social policy institutions. Under specific conditions the work line has been either generous or restrictive and it has been based on structural attempts to improve the opportunities to work as well as on attempts to strongly pressure the individual to work. The work line of today is seen as an interesting attempt to combine an effort to create good work through improved work conditions and an effort to reinforce elements of work enforcement in the social insurance system.     

Making ends meet: perceptions of poverty in Sweden

During the era after the Second World War, Sweden has built a welfare system based on labor market participation and income maintenance. Low unemployment and decent wages are supposed to guarantee people a labor market income or income maintenance, which in turn should provide a proper standard for everyone. However, a rapid increase in unemployment and economic problems have made the future of the Swedish welfare state more uncertain than ever. These circumstances have, among other things, led to the suggestion that Sweden should abandon the income maintenance policy and create a social policy system with the more limited ambition of guaranteeing everyone a minimum income. In that case, one central question must be answered: what constitutes a decent minimum income in today's Sweden? Where should we draw the poverty line under which people will not be forced to live? These questions are central in the current debate. The consensual poverty line method is used in this article to derive a poverty line relevant for today's Sweden. The results shows that more than every fifth household has an income below the consensual poverty line. That is, they have an income that most Swedes would argue is too low to make ends meet. The level of the consensual poverty line was compared with the National Board of Health and Welfare's guidelines for social assistance. The consensual poverty line was shown to be more generous to small households and the norm for social assistance was more generous to larger households. Finally, the expenditure for guaranteeing all Swedish household a minimum income equal to the consensual poverty line was estimated: more than SEK 25 billion per year. The results in the article casts serious doubt on the ability of the Swedish welfare state to secure a decent income to all citizens.     

A Process for Incorporating Comparative Risk into Environmental Policymaking in Louisiana

The goal of Louisiana's 1990–1991 comparative risk project, also called the Louisiana Environmental Action Plan (LEAP), was to incorporate risk assessment into state environmental planning and policymaking. Scientists, government officials, and citizens were brought together to estimate the relative risk to human health, natural resources, and quality of life posed by 33 selected environmental issues. The issues were then ranked according to their relative estimated risks. It was hoped that this ranking of "comparative risks" would enable state policymakers to target the most important environmental problems and allocate scarce public resources more rationally and efficiently. As a result of the project, the governor issued an Executive Order forming a permanent Public Advisory Committee to continue this type of comparative risk assessment in Louisiana.     

公路建设项目施工期全程环境管理

通过分析公路施工期公路施工对自然生态、大气、声、水环境以及社会环境的影响,针对公路施工期环境管理的薄弱状态及施工期环境监理尚处于试点研究阶段的现状,提出了公路建设项目施工期全程环境管理的理念,建立施工期全程环境管理制度的思想:承包商、监理、业主及政府环保部门共同承担环保责任的“四位一体”的施工期环境管理模式,并对其内涵进行了分析。这对建立公路建设项目施工期全程环境管理制度、规范施工期的环境管理有着积极的推动作用。     

Who Gets What From Government? Distributional Consequences of Child‐Care Assistance Policies

Given the fragmented structure of child‐care assistance in the United States, it has been difficult to obtain accurate estimates of which families are assisted, through which mechanisms, and at what level. Making use of survey data from New York City, we analyze the distribution of several forms of public child‐care assistance. Results suggest that about 40% of all families with young children receive some form of child‐care assistance. Considering all forms of assistance, the distribution of child‐care help is targeted in both expected and some unexpected ways. Implications of these results are discussed in the context of U.S. child‐care policies governing access and benefit levels.     

清初治滇述论

清朝初年,特别是平定“三藩之乱”后的二三十年间,是云南实现由乱到治的关键时期。清朝统治者在总结和借鉴历代治滇思想和治策的基础上,经过不断调整、充实,逐步形成了一套相对完整的治滇治策体系,其治策涉及云南的政治、经济、文化等领域,较为切合当时社会发展的实际,成为其后清朝统治云南的治边思想和治策。     

东盟政策机制中的政策网络

政策网络是政策机制的重要组成部分,东盟政策网络的结构和运作是其政治精英理性选择的结果,目的是使这个地区政策网络能满足一体化政策领域扩展的需要,并实现区域一体化进程中各成员国的利益最大化。     

Role of informal sector recycling in waste management in developing countries

Many thousands of people in developing country cities depend on recycling materials from waste for their livelihoods. With the focus of the Millennium Development Goals on poverty reduction, and of waste strategies on improving recycling rates, one of the major challenges in solid waste management in developing countries is how best to work with this informal sector to improve their livelihoods, working conditions and efficiency in recycling.The general characteristics of informal recycling are reviewed, highlighting both positive and negative aspects. Despite the health and social problems associated with informal recycling, it provides significant economic benefits that need to be retained. Experience shows that it can be highly counterproductive to establish new formal waste recycling systems without taking into account informal systems that already exist. The preferred option is to integrate the informal sector into waste management planning, building on their practices and experience, while working to improve efficiency and the living and working conditions of those involved. Issues associated with integrating informal recycling into the formal waste management sector are discussed.     

西安环境污染经济损失估算与分析

为有效监测、控制环境污染,保护城市环境,采用市场价值法、修正人力资本法和工程费用法等估算方法,对2002年西安市大气污染、水污染和固体废弃物污染造成的经济损失进行测算评估,通过各项指标和数据分析环境污染状况,给出西安市因大气、水和固体废弃物污染造成的经济损失估算结果。结论认为,西安市环境状况依然十分严峻,2002年因环境污染造成的直接经济损失高达7.30亿元。城市污染治理和城市环境保护由此成为西安市经济可持续发展的首要前提。     

公益林补偿政策评价研究

论述了公益林补偿政策评价研究的现状,分析了补偿政策评价的特点和存在问题,提出了解决问题的对策,并借鉴了美国联邦政府项目评价体系,提出了补偿政策的定性评价内容。