Welfare and the unemployment crisis: Sweden in the 1990s

In the 1990s Sweden went through a deep economic recession accompanied by a massive increase in unemployment and a rapidly growing budget deficit. The crisis had large repercussions for the welfare of many citizens and it generated cutbacks in virtually all social policy programmes. This halted a welfare-state expansion that had been going on for decades. It also caused great concern about the state of welfare of the nation. In 1999 the Swedish Government appointed a 'Welfare Commission', a team of academic researchers who were assigned the task of drawing up a balance sheet for the development of welfare in the 1990s. The Commission delivered its final report in October 2001. This article is a condensed account of one of the more central issues for the Commission; namely, how the unemployment crisis affected already socially and economically vulnerable groups. Looking at the development over the entire decade, three groups stand out as particularly disadvantaged in terms of individual welfare resources: young adults, immigrants and single mothers. The downturn for these groups was especially accentuated in terms of employment and income. Young people and immigrants trying to get into the labour market during the crisis years faced the problems of newcomers to the systems of social protection. The poor economic development for single mothers could essentially be attributed to the shortage of work in general and of full-time work in particular that followed from the unemployment crisis. As a consequence, the importance of selective benefits increased and the relative size of all public transfers – despite rationing measures – stayed fairly unchanged. The results highlight the great influence of macroeconomic conditions and policy making for the welfare of vulnerable groups in society.     

真理的等级论与交互文本论

在各种不同学科的真理之间的关系问题上 ,真理的等级论长期以来是占主导地位的理论。亚里士多德为真理等级论做出了经典论证。近代出现了真理等级论的三种不同模式 ,它们在现代被进一步发展 ,并遇到了难以摆脱的困境。由此出现了消解真理等级论的趋势 ,这在后现代主义哲学中达到了登峰造极的地步。但消解真理的等级论并不意味着否认不同学科真理间的制约关系 ,并不一定要陷入真理的“原子论”。真理不是一种封闭的属性 ,而是一个开放的过程。各个学科之间的真理是相互制约的 ,真理是在文本间碰撞过程中显示出它的力量。     

Family Policies and Children's School Achievement in Single‐ Versus Two‐Parent Families

We investigate the gap in math and science achievement of third‐ and fourth‐graders who live with a single parent versus those who live with two parents in 11 countries. The United States and New Zealand rank last among the countries we compare in terms of the equality of achievement between children from single‐parent families and those from two‐parent homes. Following a multilevel analysis, we find single parenthood to be less detrimental when family policies equalize resources between single‐ and two‐parent families. In addition, the single‐ and two‐parent achievement gap is greater in countries where single‐parent families are more prevalent. We conclude that national family policies can offset the negative academic outcomes of single parenthood.     

客家移民流动与乡村聚落变迁——对一个华南乡村姓氏的追踪调查

探讨一个村落的形成发展是反映多样的异质性文化的基础,而追溯村落中的姓氏源流及其发展变迁乃是研究族群问题和现代村落形成的切入点。本文以华南的一个单姓客家继嗣群派系的发展为案例来揭示移民流动与乡村聚落变迁的关系,并由此分析现代村落中都市化问题、宗族发展新趋势及其对地方权力带来的影响。     

Thinking outside the box: Strategies used by low‐income single mothers to make ends meet

Recent changes to Australia's welfare system have impacted low‐income single parents who have been moved from a family payment, Parenting Payment Single, to a lower payment directed at individuals looking for work, Newstart Allowance. Research has shown that single‐parent families are particularly vulnerable to the risk of financial deprivation and poverty, and this recent welfare payment change further compounds the often dire financial situation for these families. Twenty‐three in‐depth interviews were conducted with low‐income single mothers who had been recently moved off the Parenting Payment Single and on to Newstart Allowance. As a result of this payment change and the decreased welfare assistance, the women spoke of needing to develop new strategies to compensate for their decreased income. This article focuses on the strategies these families developed and employed, exploring the women's ability to be resourceful in times of welfare changes.