Institutional evolution and abrupt change: Reforming the administration of social assistance in Finland

Historical institutionalist studies have explained institutional change as resulting from critical junctures that interrupt long periods of stability or from endogenous, incremental evolution. Building on these theories, discursive institutionalists have focused on the roles of agency, ideas and discourse as explainers of change. Combining these approaches, this article analyses Finland’s decision in 2014 to transfer the administration of basic social assistance from municipalities to the central government. This study demonstrates that institutional change can be both abrupt and evolutionary. Due to sudden, exceptional political circumstances, the decision in question was made quickly and under pressure, circumventing possible veto players. However, it was possible only because of the incremental, endogenous change that had occurred in the way in which social assistance was administered at the municipal level. It enabled a change in political discourse, which eroded the credibility of the ideational frames that policy actors had previously utilised to reject the centralised model.     

Ethnicity, migration and health: A population-based study of 338 refugees from Latin America, 396 nonrefugee immigrants from Finland and 161 from southern Europe and 996 age-, sex- and education-matched controls from Sweden

This article shows the influence of being a refugee from Latin America or a nonrefugee immigrant from southern Europe or Finland on self-reported illness, controlling for social factors and lifestyle. The study population consisted of 338 Latin American refugees, a random sample of 396 Finnish and 161 southern European immigrants and 996 age-, sex- and education-matched Swedish controls. The data were analysed unmatched with logistic regression (multivariate analysis) in main effect models. The strongest independent risk indicator for long-term illness was being a Latin American refugee (estimated odds ratio (OR)=2.96, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.19–3.82). There was a significant association between being a Latin American refugee and period prevalence, ill health and unsatisfied need for care. Being a southern European or Finnish immigrant was a risk indicator of ill health but was not associated with the other dependent factors. Not feeling secure in daily life was a strong risk indicator for long-term illness and ill health (estimated OR=1.89, 95% CI=1.26–2.76 and OR=3.04, 95% CI= 1.97–4.48) respectively). Being a Latin American refugee was equal in importance to traditional risk factors such as overweight and not taking regular exercise for long-term illness and ill health.     

论重视和加快民办高等教育的发展

民办高等教育在十几年里飞速发展 ,取得巨大成就的同时也遇到很多的困难与问题。文章试图从宏观上论述在新的时代背景 ,尤其是即将步入WTO的国际大环境下 ,如何改变民办高等教育发展的不利因素 ,并采取有效的政策扶持 ,积极加快湖南的民办高等教育发展的问题     

高等教育学费和学生资助政策

在高等教育投入的多元化趋势中,伴随着高校收费政策的实施,学生资助问题成为国家宏观教育政策关注的重点领域。本文在国际高等教育投入和学生资助模式比较分析的基础上,对我国高等教育学费和学生资助提出政策建议。争取除学费外的其他社会投入应成为中国进一步筹措高等教育经费的重点;在确定高等教育学费时应兼顾培养成本和人均收入水平;同时要建立和完善多元化的学生资助体系。     

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.     

The Sandwich Generation: Dependency, Proximity, and Task Assistance Needs of Parents

This study was designed to determine the extent of sandwiched families and the impact of dependency and proximity to task assistance provided to parent(s). Data were collected in Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Michigan from a random sample of 40–65-year-old respondents. Fifteen percent are sandwiched between needs of aging parents and financially dependent children. Respondents are much more likely to be providing assistance to mothers than fathers. Parents are most likely to live near, but not necessarily with, the respondent. Spouses and partners' parents, however, are likely to live farther away. Task assistance provided most often to aging parent(s) includes help with transportation and shopping; financial assistance was reported least often. Income of respondent and dependency and proximity of parents are significantly related to providing assistance to parents. This study offers a unique glimpse at the relationships between personal characteristics, dependency, proximity, and task assistance issues as they pertain to the sandwich generation.     

The British,Persecuted Foreigners and the Emergence of the Refugee Category in Nineteenth-Century Britain

For most of the nineteenth century, there were no barriers to immigration into Britain, and hence little need for the British to distinguish one foreigner from another. Despite this fact, philanthropists, officials and public commentators identified some foreigners as ‘refugees’, a designation that called for national sympathy. How and why did this category emerge? What were its inclusions and exclusions? This essay traces the expansion of the refugee category in the context of British commitments to European liberals and foreign slaves in the second quarter of the century. It argues that, by the 1840s, would-be refugees and their British supporters established a standard narrative from which audiences were meant to recognise particular foreigners as refugees and respond accordingly.     

对口支援政策下的产业援疆模式选择与实现路径

积极探索和研究产业援疆模式,有助于实现东西部经济合作,促进产业结构调整,推动新疆自我发展能力的提高。该文基于对口支援政策,总结和借鉴了内地省份飞地经济发展的经验和启示,结合新疆区情,根据产业援疆中的政府作用和资金特点,认为江苏模式、中石化模式、广东模式、山东模式四种较为成功、典型的产业援疆模式及其适用领域,可作为产业援疆借鉴与选择的路径模式,并从产业援疆的市场主体、转移动力、政策体系、运行机制、园区开放等方面就提升产业援疆模式的效率提出了相应的措施和建议。     

Learning to be gay: LGBTQ forced migrant identities and narratives in Belgium

Within the wider population of forced migrants, LGBTQs face particular challenges. While sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are recognised grounds for asylum, academic and civil society observers are critical of the imposition of Western identity labels and liberation narratives on asylum seekers. This paper explores the situation in Belgium, where an increasing number of people obtain asylum based on SOGI claims. First, the relevant regulations and practices are discussed, based on desk research as well as interviews with advocates. Second, the personal experiences of forced migrants are discussed, based on in-depth interviews with gay-identifying men. The advocates confirm the prominence of (Western) conceptions and narratives of sexual identity in the procedure. While the forced migrants seem to reinforce this view, by expressing Western views on sexuality in the research interview, this paper explores the degree to which this can be attributed to the asylum procedure.     

清代棚民问题侧论

农民背井离乡,到山间开垦并种植山地,开发种种山林资源,以谋生存,被称为棚民.清代棚民,数量庞大.政府为了维持社会稳定,对棚民采取安辑的政策.棚民对山地等山林资源的开发,严重破坏了生态环境,造成了严重的后果.对社会维稳和生态维护的两难选择,包世臣的应对策略,很有意义.