State Medicaid reform under Section 1115 demonstration authority

Given the complexity of federal Medicaid law and the limitations it imposes on state flexibility, it is likely that states will continue to ask the Secretary to grant waivers under Section 1115 to allow them to pursue new approaches to health care reform. The results of currently operational Section 1115 projects involving statewide managed care systems will be useful in evaluating the Medicaid reform measures currently under discussion in other states and at the federal level. In particular, the ability of the states to control Medicaid and indigent care costs and to utilize federal dollars more efficiently should prove important in evaluating a block grant approach to federal Medicaid funding. Moreover, Section 1115 project results that bear on the sufficiency of various Medicaid capitation rate methodologies will also be of value as more states expand the use of managed care arrangements for their Medicaid populations.     

Migrating women: Mexican women in the United States

"This analysis considers some aspects of the international migration of Mexican women, seen under the light of two recent statistical sources: the [U.S.] 1990 census and the 1993-1994... International Migration Survey at the Mexican Northern Border. The joint analysis of migrations and migrant inventories reveals the hidden scope of feminine exile, as well as some of its peculiarities, and offers numerical answers to two questions: How does sex differentiate Mexican immigrants in the United States? How does the migration affect work, marriage, child-bearing, etc. of Mexican women? The results suggest the need to address migration no longer as an action of individuals, but of families (most immigrants are married), and to place the mother or the wife at the gravity center of the household migratory space." (SUMMARY IN ENG)     

The importance of children for the elderly and changes in reproductive behavior (a study of three rural communities in Mexico)

"This study analyzes the importance of children in the care of elderly populations in rural communities [in Mexico].... In particular, the perception of elders about the value of their children is analyzed, especially the role children play in their economic contribution to the household or their instrumental value to it at different stages of their lives.... With respect [to] the condition in which children support their parents in their old age the economic assistance given was studied too. Finally, the preference regarding family size of those 60 years or older [is] given, as well as the view points of women on the need to control fertility and reduce family size. Three different types of cost are studied: the economic cost of supporting and caring for children, the emotional cost of their upbringing and the health cost of multiple pregnancies and births." (SUMMARY IN ENG)     

Interreligious conflict in Israel: The group basis of conflicting visions

Utilizing several theories of sociocultural mobilization, this paper examines the contours of secular-religious conflict in contemporary Israel. According to a survey of adult Israelis, resistance to religious coercion among the secular population is driven primarily by symbolic, social, and cognitive forces rather than perceived discrimination or the threat posed by spatial proximity to the religious. As such, it is rooted in cultural identity. The theocratic disposition among religious Israelis is almost entirely a matter of social identification. These findings both confirm existing theories of intergroup conflict and suggest a framework for analyzing religion and state controversies in other polities.