Natalist Policies in the United States

This retrospective reviews the policies that affect the fertility of American women, both policies designed to alter fertility intentionally as well as those that change childbearing unintentionally. Becker's seminal work on the economics of fertility serves as the theoretical foundation for this literature. After describing Becker's economic model, we review the empirical literature on fertility responses to social welfare policies, tax policies, the mandated health care coverage of infertility treatments, abortion policies, and government‐sponsored family planning services. We also address several Supreme Court cases that have played an important role in the interpretation of these policies. Where relevant, this retrospective describes the distributional effects of these natalist policies. We also discuss the limitations of this literature and identify important gaps. Unlike most developed countries that have created strategies to increase fertility to support their ageing population, the United States spends considerably less time and thought on this issue. Our reading of the literature suggests that we have many public policies that have affected and continue to influence the fertility choices made by families in the United States and that this is a topical area that deserves more attention in policy debates.     

Private health insurance in Uganda: bridging the gap in public health provision?

This article discusses two organisations currently providing voluntary private health insurance in Uganda and considers their contributions to bridging the gap in provision in the country's public health sector.     

The Soviet reaction to ‘Eurocommunism’

Assertion of independence from Moscow by some West European Communist parties, inaccurately known as ‘Eurocommunism’ has caused angry reaction by Soviet Russia, especially when those parties have criticised the internal policies of the Soviet government in the matter of civil rights. The Soviet Union is also apprehensive about the possible effects of ‘Eurocommunism’ on the cohesion of the Communist bloc. But this apprehension should not be exaggerated. The USSR can still rely on the Western Communist parties for support for its foreign policy, and can exercise control over them in various ways. There is no probability of a break between the USSR and any Western Communist party in the foreseeable future.