Reaching Out or Pulling Back: Macroeconomic Conditions and Public Support for Social Welfare Spending

In economic hard-times, do Americans call for increases in governmental assistance, or do they clamor for declines in government assistance? We address this question by identifying the impact of state-level macroeconomic conditions on public support for social welfare spending. We analyze individual-level data from the 1984–2000 National Election Studies, combined with state-level macroeconomic indicators of inflation, unemployment, and productivity. We find that state-level inflation, not state-level unemployment nor state-level productivity, consistently and consequentially shapes citizens’ support for social welfare. With rising inflation, Americans become more supportive of means-tested social welfare spending. Our analyses generally reaffirm the value Americans place on the social welfare safety net, especially during times of economic duress. When the going gets tough, Americans reach out, rather than pull back.     

Explaining Crime in Buenos Aires: The Roles of Inequality, Unemployment, and Structural Change

Theoretical and empirical ambiguities suggest that it may be wrong to claim that unemployment increases crime, always and everywhere. Multiple regression results for Greater Buenos Aires during 1985–1997 show that inequality helps to explain crime, but unemployment does not. Moreover, unemployment fails to explain inequality. The discussion also raises some governability issues.     

Why Do People Stigmatise the Poor at a Time of Rapidly Increasing Inequality,and What Can Be Done About It?

This paper starts out from a puzzle. During the past thirty years, incomes have grown more unequal, a small group at the top has captured a much greater share of resources and poverty has increased. Despite this, most people are markedly less likely to want government to redistribute income or tackle poverty and are less sympathetic towards those without jobs. The greater insecurity of many people's lives in the current crisis renders the issue more perplexing. This paper describes trends in inequality, poverty and unemployment; presents new data on attitudes, media discussion and political platforms; discusses theoretical approaches from social psychologists, political scientists, sociologists and other commentators; and considers how a more generous welfare state might be pursued.     

Charities and the 'New Deal': Compact relations?

Charities are playing a significant role in the implementation of the government's New Deal programme. From providing advice on local employment issues to administrative services to work placements, the voluntary sector has been working in public/private partnerships throughout England and Wales. However, despite the government's commitments in the Compact between it and the voluntary sector to support the independence and creativity of the sector, the New Deal for 18-24 year olds reinforces many of the negative sides to the 'contract culture'. This article will examine working relations between charities and the State post Compact, using charities'participation in New Deal as a case study. We will argue that participating charities face a series of potential legal pitfalls. They might also find that, instead of being fully funded through State funds, their participation in the delivery of New Deal is partially funded through their own charitable resources.     

Does local access to employment services reduce unemployment? A GIS analysis of One-Stop Career Centers

The paper uses Geographic Information System to investigate (1) the location of One-Stop Career Centers in Southern California, (2) their level of accessibility to unemployed workers of various demographic groups, (3) their proximity to employment opportunities, and (4) the effect of these spatial relations on Census tract unemployment. We build on the non-profit literature on accessibility to social service providers and on spatial mismatch research that emphasizes the gap between places of work and residence. We argue that One-Stops can play an important role in bridging this gap. We find that One-Stops are well positioned to serve the unemployed, although accessibility varies by race/ethnicity, age, and location. Access to One-Stops reduces local unemployment, particularly in neighborhoods with limited employment opportunities. This effect is larger for groups who experience limited mobility due to gender or race, such as black and female job seekers.

浅谈我国下岗、失业成因与对策

目前就业压力大的最根本原因是劳动力和生产资料发展不平衡,劳动力供求矛盾突出。解决的关键在政府,需统筹兼顾,强化宏观调控,就业形势方可得以改善。     

The quality of the legal system and labor market performance around the world

Using data on 75 countries for six years in the period 1995–2003, this paper analyzes empirically whether and to what extent the quality of the legal system affects the performance of the labor market. According to the regression results, a legal system characterized by a dependent judiciary, biased courts, a lack of intellectual property protection and a lack of integrity increases unemployment and lowers the employment level. The magnitude of the effect seems to be substantial, particularly among young people.

Employment Status,Social Capital,and Political Participation: A Comparison of Unemployed and Employed Youth in Geneva

Abstract: This paper examines the relationships between employment status, social capital, and the participation of young people in different kinds of political activities such as contacting, consumer, and protest activities. We focus on the role of social capital for political participation, addressing three related questions: Do unemployed and employed youth display different levels of social capital and political participation? Does social capital favor the political participation of unemployed and employed youth? Is social capital more important for unemployed youth than for employed youth? To address these questions we compare long‐term unemployed youth to regularly employed youth using original survey data. Our analysis suggests that the employment status has only a limited impact on political participation, affecting only consumer actions. In contrast, the social capital resulting from associational involvement is positively correlated to political participation. However, rather than countering the effect of exclusion from the labor market, it plays a similar role for unemployed youth and employed youth.     

中国失业：特征与对策

近年来,我国的失业问题日益凸现并构成对我国经济发展和社会稳定的尖锐挑战。我国当前失业具有城镇失业人口创历史新高,总量矛盾、结构矛盾与素质矛盾并存,“需求瓶颈”、“体制瓶颈”与“观念瓶颈”并存,隐性失业与隐性就业并存,经济高增长与城镇高失业并存等五大特征。缓解我国不断增长的就业压力,从根本上说来应实施经济发展与扩大就业并举的新战略和更为积极的就业政策。     

A dynamic analysis of partisan voting: The issue salience effect of unemployment in South Korea

This paper examines the electoral effects of the salience of unemployment issue. While increasing employment volatility has spawned exciting research, evidence of how unemployment affects vote choice is inconclusive. I refine partisan voting theory by focusing on issue salience of unemployment and the dynamics of voter choice. Voters are more likely to make a transition to support left parties when they identify unemployment as the most important and salient issue. The study also examines voter heterogeneity in the link between issue salience and the propensity for transition to the left. The effect of issue salience of unemployment is more pronounced among lower income groups than their counterparts. Analysis of a transition model using the 1997 and 2002 Korean presidential election surveys finds evidence supporting my arguments.