Squaring the circle: domestic welfare,migrants rights,and human rights

Domestic welfare reform and the management of international migration in Britain have been described by David Cameron as ‘two sides of the same coin’. Heightened conditions and sanctions for the benefit-dependent domestic population, both in and out of work, are being harnessed as a means of promoting labour market change and reducing demand for low-skilled migrants – often EU workers, whose own access to benefit is being curtailed. Arguments about the post-national expansion of rights and associated cosmopolitan debate implicitly measure migrants rights against a normative model of citizenship as the yardstick of full social inclusion, but with little attention to how far citizenship itself falls short of this promise. Taking Britain as a case study, this paper considers how the concept of civic stratification can further advance analysis of the link between domestic welfare, migration and human rights in a context of intensifying controls for both migrants and citizens.     

21世纪以来梅州籍华侨华人、港澳同胞与侨乡的公益事业

进入21世纪,梅州籍华侨华人、港澳同胞捐助侨乡公益的力度和广度都大大提升,“造血型”捐助项目增多。但是也存在捐赠渠道、领域有待拓宽、捐赠项目有待提质、新生代侨捐未能有效培育等问题。在新时代下,为了更好地推动侨乡公益事业的可持续发展,可以在拓宽侨捐渠道、打造特色项目领域、维系乡情以涵养侨捐资源上有所作为。     

专栏导语:社会养老保险改革的德国经验

正2014年12月24日,第十二届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第十二次会议发布了国务院关于统筹推进城乡社会保障体系建设工作情况的报告。报告指出,我国将推进机关事业单位养老保险制度改革,建立与城镇职工统一的养老保险制度。机关事业单位养老保险制度改革这一公众期待已久的重大政策以全国人大常委会审议国务院报告的形式在岁末年初骤然出台,不但引起了舆论对这一带有根本性和制度性的改革的具体内容的广泛关注,还引发了公众对以养老保险制度为核心的中国社会保障制度的深入讨论。     

Social Control and Emancipation ? Ambiguities in Child Welfare

Child welfare may be regarded either as a tool used by the authorities to exercise social control over family life, or as a weapon supporting the cause of children, striving to emancipate them from both parental and societal neglect or oppression. Research into Norwegian child welfare in the period since the Second World War reveals an ambiguous picture: the intervention of the state into family life signals both tightening social control of all family members and emancipation of the less powerful from patriarchal rule. As the rights and needs of children are considered more important, the control of parents, especially the mother, is increased. The central position of children and their interests have been strengthened in child welfare legislation. However, it is not the child, but the child welfare officials who define what is 'in the best interest of the child'. Post-war development has not granted children autonomy. Child welfare legislation is still mainly paternalistic. In child welfare casework, there is a danger that the lived experience of the child never emerges from the shadows cast by the interaction between adults. In relation to older children who came in contact with child welfare primarily because of their own problem behaviour, the ambiguity of emancipation and control has taken a somewhat different shape. The authorities wanted to keep these children out of prison. Humanitarian considerations, however, have been coupled with hopes of more effective crime prevention. In the postwar years, misbehaving children were also embraced by the increasing importance of 'the best interest of the child' as the main objective in child welfare decisions. In order to secure both emancipation and control, 'the best interest of the child' and the state's interest in preventing crime had to be understood as one and the same.     

Joblessness and poverty in America's central cities: Causes and policy prescriptions

Abstract

Two paradigms pervade the policy debate on the causes of urban joblessness and poverty: (1) a structural, nonvoluntaristic perspective emphasizing the roles of urban economic change, residential segregation, and spatial and skills mismatches, and (2) a rational‐choice, voluntaristic perspective contending that the generosity and ready availability of welfare programs have removed the incentive for poor persons to accept low‐paying jobs. This article brings together propositions of each paradigm into a comprehensive theoretical model. The study measured and tested key causal operators of the model for a sample of 67 large U.S. cities, with special attention to race and gender.

Results show that structural and welfare disincentive perspectives are not in conflict but rather operate side by side to reinforce joblessness and poverty. Race and gender, especially the role of urban space for women's work, are important. The article raises pertinent policy issues derived from the two perspectives and from the analysis.     

The private safety net: The role of charitable organizations in the lives of the poor

Abstract

As welfare reform unfolds, nonprofit social service agencies will increasingly be called upon to help fill the gap between what unskilled and semiskilled mothers can earn in the low‐wage labor market and what they need to meet their monthly expenses. This article draws on in‐depth interviews with low‐income single mothers and multiyear observational studies of two nonprofit social service agencies.

Using these data, the authors show what kinds of resources these agencies provide low‐income single mothers, how mothers mobilize the resources available, to what degree agencies actually contribute to mothers’ cash and in‐kind resources, how agencies distribute their resources, and what effect agencies’ distribution practices have on these women. The analysis shows that although nonprofit social service agencies are a crucial part of many low‐income mothers’ economic survival strategies, they cannot come close to substituting for the eroding public safety net.     

Subsidized housing,housing prices,and the living arrangements of unmarried mothers

Abstract

Although many studies estimate the effects of welfare benefits on mothers’ living arrangements, housing subsidies and prices are rarely the focus. This article uses a new longitudinal birth cohort study, the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, to examine the relationship between subsidized housing, housing prices, and the living arrangements of unmarried mothers three years after a nonmarital birth.

Results suggest that the availability of subsidized housing is negatively associated with marriage relative to living alone. Eligibility criteria and means testing in subsidized housing may make marriage a costly choice. Housing prices are positively associated with marriage, cohabitation, and living with family members relative to living alone. Economies of scale may be particularly important for single‐earner households when housing prices increase. Failure to control for housing costs and subsidies leads to underestimates of the effects of welfare and unemployment rates on the living arrangements of unmarried mothers.     

IV-E or not IV-E,that is the question: comparisons of BSW Child Welfare Scholars and matched trainee confidence and retention

ABSTRACT

Our longitudinal study examined the effectiveness of BSW IVE Scholar training (n = 52) compared with a matched cohort (n = 57) of traditionally trained employees. The BSW IV-E Scholars felt significantly more prepared than their traditionally-trained coworkers. BSW IV-E Scholars were significantly more likely to be retained in the first five years of employment than the matched cohort trainees. The study lends strong support for the retention and preparation advantages of BSW Title IV-E training over traditional employee training. This is important given the significant investment of training dollars for IV-E at the Federal, state, and local levels.     

房屋拆迁中私人财产权利的法律保护

随着城市建设以及城镇化的加速 ,拆迁纠纷已经逐渐成为社会性问题。从我国房屋拆迁中存在的突出问题来看 ,矛盾集中在三个方面 :一是拆迁人滥用公共利益侵吞私人利益的现象普遍 ;二是房屋拆迁中的政府角色定位模糊 ,因滥用行政权力干预拆迁活动而引发的社会冲突严重 ;三是拆迁补偿严重不足 ,民怨很大。针对以上三个方面的问题 ,本文从合理保护房屋拆迁中财产权利的必要前提、保护财产权利的关键及根本途径三个方面进行论证 ,并提出自己的建议 ,以期对我国房屋拆迁法律法规的完善有所裨益