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.     

The 2015 welfare reform of the National Basic Livelihood Security System in South Korea: Effects on economic outcomes

In July 2015, South Korea’s National Basic Livelihood Security System (NBLSS) was reformed for the purposes of eliminating welfare blind spots and reducing poverty. The reform is expected to affect the recipients’ economic behaviours and choices. In this study, we used changes in benefits and eligibility for the NBLSS under the customised benefit system to identify the effects of the change in the NBLSS on a proposed set of economic outcomes – income, labour supply, consumption, savings, poverty reduction. To estimate the effects, we used data from the 10th–12th waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study and employed a difference‐in‐differences framework integrated with the propensity scores. We found that the NBLSS helps the poor to reduce financial and material hardships through income and consumption increments, but that it does not provide disincentives to the recipients from participating in the labour market or from saving.     

关系型贷款、市场结构与小额贷款公司使命漂移

我国小额贷款公司发展极为迅速,但小微企业融资难问题依然严峻,小额贷款公司存在着显著的使命漂移.对于微型金融机构的使命漂移问题,大量的研究主要以财务可持续性为视角.本文结合关系型贷款理论和市场结构理论并构建理论模型,以一个新的视角分析我国小额贷款公司的使命漂移问题,证明了开展关系型贷款和提升小额贷款市场的竞争程度均有利于小额贷款公司发放更多的小额贷款,增加小微企业等融资主体的信贷可得性,从而避免使命漂移.进一步的,通过对一个代表性城市小额贷款公司的相关数据分析,认为小额贷款公司使命漂移的内在原因是关系型贷款技术运用不足和小额贷款市场竞争程度较低.     

Vowel harmony redux: Correct sounds,English loan words,and the sociocultural life of a phonological structure in Korean1

This paper examines an ideology of standard pronunciation and spelling of English loan words in South Korea through the lens of Korean vowel harmony. I focus specifically on the alternation between an older Japanese‐style ‘a’[a] and a newer Korean‐style ‘?’[?] for the mapping of mid‐vowels from English to Korean. The opposition between ‘a’ and ‘?’ also figures into the dichotomy of vowel classes between ‘yang’ or ‘light’ vowels and ‘yin’ or ‘dark’ vowels in Korean vowel harmony. This opposition is pervasive in Korean's rich stock of denotationally iconic words (e.g. onomatopoeia), where ablaut between vowel classes produces semantic and pragmatic contrasts. I suggest that this latter structure of phonological opposition has an influence on speakers’ perceptions of vowel difference and associated values in English loan words, despite an overarching ideology of standard pronunciation that is based on assumptions about phonetic fidelity. ? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ? ??? ? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????. ??, ?? ???? ‘?’[a]? ‘?’[?]? ??(mapping)?? ?? ??? ??. ??? ?? ????? ‘?’? ?? ?? ??? ? ?????? ???? ???? ??(正音)?? ?????? ??. ?? ‘?’? ????? ???, ??? ???? ??? ????? ?(音)?? ???? ??. ???, ‘?’/‘?’? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??; ?, ??? ????? ????? ??? ??. ??, ????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??? ? ? ??. ????, ????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??? ???. [Korean]     

农民工社会保障问题研究

建立健全农民工社会保障体系关系到我国和谐社会构建的成败。但目前我国农民工社会保障的法制建设落后,社会保险、社会救助和社会福利缺失。要加快农民工社会保障法律制度建设,降低农民工缴纳社会保险费的标准,建立与农民工收入水平联动的缴费标准机制,构建科学的农民工社会保险关系转移制度,加大国家对农民工社会保障建设的资金投入力度。     

民事诉讼代理视野下的“草根律师”制度——以成都地区为例

民事诉讼代理制度作为现代民事诉讼制度中的一项重要制度,是法律面前人人平等原则的重要体现和保障。但是在我国农村劳动力向城镇转移、劳动纠纷增多的时代背景下,我国民事诉讼代理制度日益暴露出一系列的问题。课题组通过大量的实证调研,拟从民事诉讼代理制度的基础理论出发,结合我国目前农民工维权的实际,在理论上初步构建“来自于农民工,服务于农民工”的“草根律师”制度,解决有关农民工劳动纠纷案件中的诉讼代理难的相关问题。     

雷州话与厦门话中外来词的异同及其根源

从文献资料及现状调查两方面入手,分析了同为闽南方言的雷州话和厦门话在吸收外来词数量和范围上有很大差异的情况,这与两个地方的历史地理、对外语的态度以及社会政治体制等有关。     

试论国家助学贷款良性运行机制建立之对策

国家助学贷款是利用金融手段完善我国普通高校资助政策体系,加大对经济困难学生资助力度所采取的一项重大措施。运行中存在问题是当前市场经济法制不健全、社会信用部分失范的必然结果。要形成大学生助学贷款良性运行机制,必须建立国家、银行、高校、学生与社会"五位一体"的联合保障机制。最重要的是应尽快建立全国性的以居民身份证号码为依托的"全国大学生信用网",并以此作为建立全国性的信用机制的开端。要在全社会形成一种讲诚信光荣、不讲诚信可耻的持久氛围,让信用缺失者无论在何处都要为自己的行为付出代价。此外还应大力发展学生生源所在地贷款业务。     

基于联贷联保的供应链融资模式与策略研究

供应链融资模式实现了中小企业与银行的双赢。针对供应链上游的中小供应商在面临资金约束时,采取与下游核心企业达成协议结为联贷联保体的供应链金融模式,通过构建供应链金融期望利润函数,分析各供应链主体的最优策略,并进一步讨论银行贷款利率、供应商生产量等决策变量之间的相互关系及其对供应链利润的影响。