Family Policies in Germany and France: The Role of Enterprises and Social Partners

Although France and Germany are commonly classified as Bismarckian welfare regimes, they differ significantly in terms of family policy. For a long time, social and family policy in (West) Germany was focused on the male-breadwinner model of married couples. This was based on the expectation that women, in particular married women with children, would withdraw from the labour market permanently, or at least temporarily. Whereas care by mothers was massively subsidized by state family policy, the expansion of the childcare infrastructure was neglected and progressed only very slowly compared to the situation in many other countries of Europe. France, on the contrary, is one of the European countries where childcare services are particularly widespread, giving mothers the option to combine paid work and motherhood. Nevertheless, significant changes are happening in both countries. Concern over the demographic trends and low birth rates (in particular in Germany) have refocused attention on family policy in recent years. In Germany, it has now become a key field of debate and policy, and new actors have appeared on the scene. This article proposes to compare the latest developments in both countries, highlighting the contribution of enterprises and social partners to work–life balance, re-analysing the different types of familialism characterizing both countries.     

清代品体文学之论的承传

清代品体文学之论的承传主要体现在三个维面：一是在诗学领域，其体现在袁枚的《续诗品》、顾翰的《补诗品》、曾纪泽的《演司空表圣（诗品）二十四首》及蒋斗南的《诗品目录绝句六章》中；二是在词学领域，其体现在郭摩的《词品》、杨夔生的《续词品》、姚燮的《鸥波词序》及江顺诒的《词品》中；三是在文章学领域，其体现在马荣祖的《文颂》、许奉恩的《文品》及魏谦升的《二十四赋品》中。上述三个维面，从不同的论说视域将传统品体文学之论予以了发扬光大。     

关于构建和谐社会过程中制度建设的几点思考

中共中央十六届六中全会将建设和谐社会定为主题,表明我党已经把建设和谐社会的重点从思想意识形态层面的论证转移到制度建设层面。社会主义公有制为构建和谐社会提供了基本制度前提,当前和谐社会的建设必须落实到具体制度的创新建设上,否则,既不能推动和谐社会理念的落实,更不能保障和谐社会已有的建设成果,因此,合乎公平正义的制度建设是构建和谐社会的根本保证。     

科学发展观的法学解读

科学发展观的核心与灵魂是以人为本。同时,科学发展观与依法治国也是紧密相关的,科学发展观是依法治国的思想武器,依法治国是贯彻科学发展观的重要保障。科学发展观对依法治国的理论与制度创新提出了新的要求,它要求法学创新要坚持中国特色、中国风格和中国气派。     

历史唯物主义对发展研究的指导作用

历史唯物主义所主张的公平分配、重视个人、全面发展等价值观念,整体主义、进步主义、主体主义等研究方法,关于资本主义生产力发展的原因、不发达国家如何发展自己、科学技术的社会作用等方面的理论观点,对于发展研究具有重要的指导作用。由于历史唯物主义与发展研究的目的和重点不一样,我们要正确理解这种指导作用,特别是要注意,并不是历史唯物主义的所有价值观念、研究方法和理论观点都对发展研究有指导作用。     

Ideas, private institutions and American welfare state 'exceptionalism': the case of health and old-age insurance, 1915–1965

Traditional theories of welfare state development divide into two camps: societal accounts and institutional accounts. The aim of the present article is to amend and enrich the institutional approach to US social policy by reconsidering key aspects of the genesis of the American welfare state: 1) showing that concepts such as 'policy feedback' and 'path dependence' need to be extended to encompass the effect of private social policies; and 2) taking policy paradigms and agenda setting more seriously than is the norm in institutional scholarship. The empirical analysis is divided into two parts. The first part explores the activities of the American Association for Labor Legislation (AALL) in the decade beginning in 1910 and the genesis of Social Security in the 1930s, while the second part examines the effect of the private benefit developments on policy choices between 1935 and 1965.     

Network Neutrality Versus Paid Prioritization: Analyzing the Impact on Content Innovation

We examine the link between network neutrality (NN) and content innovation on the Internet by comparing the impact of NN and packet discrimination (PD) regimes on content innovation. We do this in the context of a two‐sided market model that simultaneously considers content provider (CP) and consumer decisions concerning market entry and participation while taking into account consumers’ response to network congestion. We find that content innovation flourishes under NN to a greater degree than under PD due to two effects we uncover: the generation of what we call a pro bono innovation zone in which CPs are able to enter the market without contributing to network provider profits; and the cross‐side congestion effect, a negative network externality wherein higher broadband market coverage levels result in greater congestion for CPs, and increased content results in greater congestion for consumers, taking into account consumers’ strategic response to network congestion. These results have important implications for current public policy debates regarding the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet Rules.     

Competition and Coordination in Two‐Tier Public Service Systems under Government Fiscal Policy

As a result of government budgetary limits and rapid market growth, many public service systems—such as health care—are characterized by extensive customer wait times that have become a serious problem. This problem might be solved by allowing private firms to enter these markets, which would provide customers with a choice between a free (governmental) public service provider (SP) and a fee‐charging (or “toll”) private SP. In such a two‐tier service system, the two SPs are differentiated by service quality and cost efficiency. This study focuses on the competition and coordination issues for two‐tier service systems with customers who are sensitive to both service quality and delay. The free system attempts to maximize its expected total customer utility with limited capacity, whereas the toll system attempts to maximize its profit. Neither goal is aligned with the social welfare goal of the public service. To achieve the social welfare goal, the government plays a crucial role in coordinating the two‐tier service system via the budget, the tradeoff of social members' goals, and tax‐subsidy policies. Using a mixed duopoly game, we establish Nash equilibrium strategies and identify the conditions for the existence of the two‐tier service system. We employ several interesting and counter‐intuitive managerial insights generated by the model to show that the public service can be delivered more efficiently via customer choice and SP competition. In addition, we show that a relatively low tax‐subsidy rate can almost perfectly coordinate the two SPs to achieve most of the maximum possible benefit of the two‐tier service system.     

The satisfaction of Finnish adoptive parents with statutory pre-adoption counselling in inter-country adoptions

We examined how satisfied Finnish adoptive parents were with statutory pre-adoption counselling in inter-country adoptions. The data were collected through the Finnish Adoption Study using a retrospective survey measuring satisfaction with received pre-adoption counselling. All adoptive parents with a child under the age of 18, adopted from abroad between the years 1990 and 2007, were included. The sample of the study comprised parents of 1451 children and a total response rate of 55.7% was achieved. The data consisted of self-scored reports of satisfaction as well as open answer questions. Parent satisfaction and associated variables were analysed using chi-square and multiple logistic regression. Of the respondents, 81.7% reported satisfaction with the pre-adoption counselling they had received. The level of satisfaction was stable over time and did not differ according to service provider, whereas family type and sending country were associated with satisfaction. However the explanations for satisfaction were different for those services provided in units specialized in adoption and for those provided by municipal child protection services. The components found to explain satisfaction and dissatisfaction were experience, adoption knowledge, and attitude of the social worker, service accessibility and availability issues, as well as the content of the pre-adoption counselling offered.     

Child welfare clients and school satisfaction

Despite long-standing knowledge about child welfare clients' poor educational outcomes, we know less about these vulnerable young people's situation in school. This article addresses school satisfaction among upper secondary students who have been in contact with the child welfare services. These child welfare clients' school satisfaction is compared with their peers' satisfaction. The results from a survey indicated that the majority of child welfare clients were satisfied with school but that they were less satisfied with school than were their peers. The results showed that the association between school satisfaction and positive school experiences explains a large part of this difference. Among students who reported they were doing well in school, had supportive teachers and friends at school, the difference in school satisfaction between child welfare clients and others was small. Among students who did not report similar positive experiences in school, difference in school satisfaction between child welfare clients and their peers was more substantial. These results show that school can be a good place for child welfare clients, but that facilitating support from teachers, increasing opportunities for making friends at school, and working to develop the child welfare clients' academic performances are important as efforts to improve school satisfaction.