What are the Future Prospects for the European Social Model?An Analysis of EU Equal Opportunities and Employment Policy

The aim of our article is to examine the future prospects of the European Social Model (ESM). First, the article defines the ESM as a mixture of hard law, soft law and underlying norms and values. Second, the article analyses the ESM on a more detailed level in the case of the law of equal opportunities and employment through a historical account and the legal dynamics of integration. The results of the analysis indicate a growing integration capacity of the ESM. Yet, this runs counter to the current neoliberal preferences of the Barroso Commission which has moved from a strategy of combining economic growth and social cohesion, to one in which economic growth creates social cohesion.     

Redlining or risk? A spatial analysis of auto insurance rates in Los Angeles

Auto insurance rates can vary dramatically, with much higher premiums in poor and minority areas than elsewhere, even after accounting for individual characteristics, driving history, and coverage. This paper uses a unique data set to examine the relative influence of place‐based socioeconomic characteristics (or redlining) and place‐based risk factors on the place‐based component of automobile insurance premiums. We use a novel approach of combining tract‐level census data and car insurance rate quotes from multiple companies for sub‐areas within the city of Los Angeles. The quotes are for a hypothetical individual with identical demographic and auto characteristics, driving records, and insurance coverage. This method allows the individual demographic and driving record to be fixed. Multivariate models are then used to estimate the independent contributions of these risk and redlining factors to the place‐based component of the car insurance premium. We find that both risk and redlining factors are associated with variations in insurance costs in the place‐based component, with black and poor neighborhoods being adversely affected, although risk factors are stronger predictors. However, even after risk factors are taken into account in the model specification, SES factors remain statistically significant. Moreover, simulations show that redlining factors explain more of the gap in auto insurance premiums between black (and Latino) and white neighborhoods and between poor and nonpoor neighborhoods. The findings do not appear sensitive to the individual characteristics of the hypothetical driver. © 2007 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management     

Fiscal Management Implications of the TABOR Bind

Following a wave of state-adopted tax and expenditure limitations (TELs), in 1992 the state of Colorado amended its constitution with the strictest TEL to date. Called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and known as TABOR, the amendment has limited the size and scope of Colorado governments. Praised as a restraint on unbridled government growth in good economic times, TABOR reared its highly restrictive head as the state economy turned downward. The central issue explored is how binding tax and expenditure limitations affect the state's ability to weather economic recessions and employ sound fiscal management practices. As in most institutional arrangements, the devil is in the details. The analysis presented here reveals that binding limitations create perverse incentives for budgetary actors to earmark, privatize, and shift responsibilities to other jurisdictions, which ultimately combine to reduce the state government's ability to perform and to maintain sound fiscal management practices.     

Perceived Support and Internalizing Symptoms in African American Adolescents: Self-Esteem and Ethnic Identity as Mediators

Existing research leaves a gap in explaining why African American adolescents do not exhibit more anxiety and depression than other youth, at the same time that they experience more contextual risk factors. The current study examined the roles of social support as well as possible mediators self-esteem and ethnic identity (sense of belonging to one’s ethnic group) in reducing internalizing symptoms in 227 African American adolescents (mean age = 12.55). Structural equation models indicated that self-esteem and ethnic identity partially mediated the relation between social support and depression. For depression, ethnic identity accounted for more of the social support effect for males, whereas self-esteem had more impact for females. The mediation model for anxiety was supported in females, with self-esteem more important than ethnic identity. The results suggest that ethnic identity and self-esteem function as important links in how social support reduces internalizing symptoms in African American youth. Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychology, Loyola University Chicago. Received Ph.D. in Psychology from The University of Memphis. Current interests include coping and resilience in African American youth and the role of family characteristics in children and adolescents’ stress and coping processes. Teaching Associate, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University. Received Ph.D. in Psychology from University of Rhode Island. Research interests include ethnic identity in African American youth and the effects of exposure to violence on well-being. Assistant Professor, Human Development and Social Policy, Northwestern University. Received Ph.D. in Psychology from University of California, Riverside. Primary research examines the nature and effects of socialization, father’s involvement, and how they interact with gender, race, and SES to impact youths’ academic and social development. Professor, Clinical and Developmental Psychology, Loyola University Chicago. Received Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Chicago. Current research interests include the developmental stage of adolescence with a focus on the daily experience of urban African American young adolescents and how this relates to their psycho- social well being. Dr. Richards served as a Predoctoral Adolescent Fellow (1979–1981) and Postdoctoral Adolescent Fellow (1984–1985) at the Clinical Research Training Program in Adolescence in Chicago, IL, which was co-directed by Dr. Daniel Offer., Loyola University Chicago, 6525 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL, 60626 USA Visiting Professor, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs; President, University of Minnesota and Global Philanthropy Alliance. Received Ph.D. in Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistical Analysis from the University of Chicago. Research interest is in adolescent development. Dr. Petersen served as Coordinator of the Clinical Research Training Program in Adolescence (1978–1982) and Associate Director (1976–80) and Director (1980–82) of the Laboratory for the Study of Adolescence at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center (Chicago, IL) where Dr. Daniel Offer served as Director of the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Petersen and Dr. Offer collaborated on numerous research papers while working together at Michael Reese Hospital., University of Minnesota and Global Philanthropy Alliance USA     

Intravenous Drug Use and HIV in Estonia: Socio-Economic Integration and Development of Indicators Regarding the Right to Health for its Russian-Speaking Population

This article seeks to highlight some potential indicators and benchmarks for the right to health under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ratified by Estonia. These potential key indicators, as part of a human rights based approach to health indicators being developed by the UN Special Rapporteur, are argued to be particularly important in the context of the exceptionally high HIV rates among the Russian speaking population in Estonia. The historical emergence of the HIV epidemic in Estonia is traced, comparing its development with the situations in Latvia and Lithuania. This article describes the current extent of the HIV epidemic in Estonia which is the country with the highest reported number of HIV infections per capita in Europe, a number impacting in an extremely disproportionate fashion on its Russian-speaking population, particularly in North-Eastern Estonia. Understanding of the HIV epidemic in Estonia cannot exclude the social contextual factors of the social marginalization of many among the Russian-speaking population, the ‹alien’ status of those without citizenship of Estonia or any other State, and other failures of Estonian State policy with regard to intravenous drug use and HIV in the recent past. HIV among the prison population is also examined as disproportionately impacting upon Russian-speaking prisoners. It is argued that the language and logic of the Estonian State Integration Programme, as well as Estonia’s Second Report on the implementation of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (2004) which refer to its Russian-speaking citizens as ‹non-Estonians’ is discrimination based on ethnic origin. In order to develop a system of State accountability in relation to the right to health, candidate indicators and benchmarks are proposed as structural, process and outcome indicators relevant to Estonia regarding the right to health and HIV, intravenous drug use, socio-economic integration and its Russian-speaking population. Dr. Paul Downes is Director of the Educational Disadvantage Centre, St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland.     

A detective allocation model

Assuming that the primary purpose of investigative detectives is to solve cases (make arrests), a mathematical model is developed that allocates detectives among divisions in large urban police department so as to maximize the city-wide clearance rate.