Negotiating universalism in India and Latin America: Fiscal decentralization,subnational politics and social outcomes

ABSTRACT

This is the introductory paper for a special issue which focuses on an exploration of how vertical inter-governmental political and fiscal bargains and horizontal variation in political, social and economic conditions across regions contribute to or undermine the provision of inclusive and sustainable social policies at the subnational level in Latin America and India. The papers incorporate both federal, as well as decentralized unitary states, pointing to common political tensions across unitary and federal settings despite the typically greater institutionalization of regional autonomy in federal countries. Jointly, the papers examine the territorial dimension of universalism and explore, in greater and empirical detail, the causal links between fiscal transfers, social policies and outcomes, highlighting the political dynamics that shape fiscal decentralization reforms and the welfare state. This introductory essay reviews existing scholarship, and highlights the contribution of the special issue to understanding these issues beyond OECD contexts.     

让公益广告在互动中打破习惯

在人类的不良习惯面前,一则公益广告往往显得单薄、短促,缺乏效力。公益广告想要改变受众长久以来养成的种种不良习惯,促使其发生公益行为,建议从两点着手：一是降低要求,从＂说服其改变＂到＂引导其改善;＂二是需要频繁、及时的提醒和引导,并且使受众得到信息的第一时间产生互动性的思考和行为,从而有效实现公益广告的目的。     

和谐语境下社会公益权研究——公益诉讼中社会中间层角色考量

在建设和谐社会的背景下,对公共利益的救济成为关注的焦点问题。公共利益是公益诉讼的利益源头,以利益出发,对公共利益进行法权凝练,进而建构社会公益权这种新型的权利,并以此为权利契机,对公益诉讼的主体进行分析,赋予社会中间层组织以原告资格,是对现有权利体系与诉讼制度的完善与修正。     

我国NGO参与社会福利为何困难重重——体制层面的分析

对于当今中国公众而言，NGO一词并不陌生。改革开放以来的三十余年中，我国各类NGO活跃在社会福利、公共服务、慈善事业等领域，成为社会福利社会化过程中的重要参与主体，也成了社会公众和媒体关注的焦点。然而，同国外相比，我国的NGO发展尚不成熟，其赖以生存制度环境依旧不稳定。我国NGO管理体制上的瓶颈在很大程度上限制了我国NGO的进一步发展。主要从体制层面分析我国NGO参与社会福利过程中的阻力，并寻求解决途径。     

完善军官福利保障法制的构想

现行军官福利保障制度存在制定明显滞后、效力不强、运行缺乏控制等问题,主要原因是重视政策、忽视法律的传统观念的影响,对和平时期军人社会保障立法问题重视不够,研究甚少.军官福利保障法制的完善,要依据党中央、中央军委关于加强军队质量建设的精神,遵循与国家经济改革和发展相适应、学习借鉴外军的有益经验和军官福利待遇从优的原则,通过建立健全法律保障体系和强有力的法律适用及监督机构,依法保证军官福利待遇的有效实现.     

关于制定我国《动物福利法》的思考

在倡导人与动物和谐共处的当今社会，许多国家颁布了动物福利法。西方发达国家关于动物福利法的理论和实践已经日趋成熟。目前我国动物福利状况不容乐观，国民的动物保护意识比较淡薄，虐待动物的事件时有发生。而且我国动物保护法体系存在不少缺陷，动物福利立法仍处于空白状态。中国成为WTO成员国后，动物福利问题很可能成为新的贸易壁垒。因此我们应当在充分考虑本国实际情况的基础上，大胆吸收和借鉴国外先进的立法经验，适时制定一部富有时代特色和民族精神的《动物福利法》。这样不但能提高国民保护环境和爱护动物的意识，而且能为我国经济、社会的可持续发展注入新的动力，以适应全球环境保护发展趋势的要求。     

略论社会福利服务组织建构的社区价值观

改革开放将我国导入了经济转执、社会转型、政治转制、文化转向的新的历史发展时期。在机遇和挑战面前，社会福利服务组织建构的安身立命之地，源头活水之泉只能在社区，舍此别无他途。这是因为：社区为社会福利服务组织的建构提供了广阔的场域价值、丰富的资源价值和灵活的沟通价值。确立社区价值观，是各级政府、社会团体和社区居民在社会福利服务组织建构中的一种理性思维、一种创新思维、一种引发丰硕成果的科学思维。     

Racial Disparities in Service Referrals for Families in the Child Welfare System

Among families in the child welfare system, family reunification depends largely upon the services to which families are referred. This study examines whether race/ethnicity influences the number and types of services to which families are referred. Findings suggest that compared to African American families, Hispanic families were more often referred to psychosocial services (e.g., mental health) than basic needs (e.g., housing). These findings indicate a need to reduce service referral disparities between ethnic groups.     

Building the Evidence Base for Intensive Family Preservation Services

This article examines the state of intensive family preservation services (IFPS) research. Using studies of IFPS in five states, this article seeks to establish whether IFPS can be regarded as an evidence-based practice, an increasingly important standard for publicly funded services. While reporting rates of repeat child maltreatment, the analysis uses placement rates as the main outcome measure and compares effect sizes using Cohen's arcsine transformation for data reported as proportions. Significant differences in rates of child out-of-home placement and repeat maltreatment were found in some studies, particularly for higher risk families. The findings also underscore the difficulty of identifying which families to serve (targeting), ensuring treatment fidelity, and employing rigorous and appropriate evaluation methods. Overall, additional research is needed to move IFPS from a promising practice to an evidence-based practice.     

The Future of Social Policy in Scotland: Will Further Devolved Powers Lead to Better Social Policies for Disabled People?

Scotland has laid claim to being ‘different’ from the rest of the UK with regards to disability policy. This article examines the evidence for that with regard to long‐term and social care, and discusses the possibilities opened up by the devolution of disability benefits. It asks whether Scotland will demonstrate policy divergence from the rest of the UK, and whether that is likely to be beneficial for disabled people. It argues that Scotland has the potential to create better social policies for disabled people, but faces significant challenges in doing so.