Social Sector Development Research Articles

Державне регулювання інституційних трансформацій соціального сектора через вимірювання результатів інвестицій впливу

Державне регулювання інституційних трансформацій соціального сектора через вимірювання результатів інвестицій впливу

The Importance of Financial Management Principles in the State Budget Execution

In the structure of the financial system of each state, one of the most important places is given to the budget, which characterizes the degree of development of budget relations that arise between government bodies and economic entities in the process of distributing gross domestic product. The budget as an instrument of macroeconomic regulation has an impact on the development of social sectors, the functioning and modernization of national defense and law enforcement activities, the development of national economic sectors and the welfare of the society. At the same time, the implementation of budgeted activities of supporting the sectors of the national economy and other activities depends not only on their consideration in drawing up the budget, but also on the quality of its execution.In this paper author determine the possibilities of using the financial management principles in public sector during all stages of state budget execution.

Morbidity Pattern and its Determinants among Tribal People in Kerala

While Kerala has been hailed for its development in social sectors, the available data show the remarkable finding that Kerala’s morbidity is the highest in India. Literature reveals two major streams of argument for this, one questioning the comparability of the reported rates of morbidity and the other admitting that the higher rates of morbidity actually represent the situation. The present study analyses the pattern of morbidity in Kerala, tries to analyse the morbidity pattern and finds out the reasons for highest morbidity in highest Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) group and lower morbidity in ST households. The paper argues that the prevalence of lifestyle diseases among highest MPCE group is one critical reason for the high morbidity rates in Kerala. It also proposes urgent interventions on behalf of the government that can effectively counter the high rates of infectious diseases among ST households.

Why Arunachal Pradesh’s Social Sector Development is Asymmetrical: A Cross-district Investigation

Regional inequality, in terms of cross-district variations, has attracted the attention of researchers and policy-makers alke, helping them to understand horizontal differences and provide alternatives in removing disparities. Several studies have indicated that such variations are an important reason behind the ethnic and political strife found in such regions—a problem that gets accentuated when these areas are dominated by the tribal and are simultaneously underdeveloped. Apart from historical and social factors and the endowment of natural resources, government policies and programmes have also contributed in creating unequal levels and trends in the socio-economic development of a region. Arunachal Pradesh, one of the least studied states in India and located in the north eastern part of the country, is in a transitional phase of its socio-economic development and has shown variations in the levels of development across districts. Given the quality of social capital available in the state, it seems that development is required not only to increase an adequate resource flow, but also to create an enabling environment to attract people towards realising the importance of social capital. For such an understanding, a mapping of cross-district variations in the development of the social sector in Arunachal Pradesh is vital. This study tries to assess the disparity in the social sector across Arunachal Pradesh’s districts by using the principal component analysis (PCA) method to rank districts. On the basis of ranks, the study attempts to analyse reasons behind the levels of disparity. In conclusion, on finding conceptual problems in traditional indicators of social sector development, some alternatives have been outlined.

Bayesian network on labour dissonance: a social sector development challenge to India

India's unorganized labour force contributes about one third of the total labour sector. The scenario is even worse in the Indian automotive industry which employs a little over 7% on a permanent basis. Problems get exaggerated due to the outdated labour laws, ironically established to support and protect workers. The disappointing areas in the labour contract act and labour laws have led to unfair wage practices and a hostile work environment, giving way to labour discord. This research paper discusses the key issues of labour dissonance in the Indian automobile industry using a Bayesian network analysis. Real-life case-study examples from the Indian automobile industry were considered to identify the rationale behind labour unrest. Bayesian analysis of a set of 250 responses helped us to understand the associations among key attributes of labour dissatisfaction.

Evaluation of Socio-economic Development in Western Uttar Pradesh

In the present study, western districts of Uttar Pradesh were under the study area and currently in developing stage and have undertaken several policy measures to enhance the levels of the development in agriculture, social and industrial sectors. This study attempted to capture the development of districts of western Uttar Pradesh. The secondary data on a number of indicators published by Uttar Pradesh government for the year 2011–12 have been used in the study. The principal component analysis, factor analysis and techniques adopted by Narain et al. (1991) have been used. The ranking of the districts in respect of performance in agriculture, Social and Industry have been obtained in this study. The Composite Indices (C.I.) of development in respect of 18 developmental indicators in which 6 indicators were directly concerned with agricultural development and the rest of 12 indicators describe the availability of social and industrial facilities for 26 districts of western Uttar Pradesh. District Hathras (C.I.=0.81) was showed a higher level of development in Agricultural development followed by the districts Badaun (C.I.=1.14) and Bareily (C.I.=1.16) while district Sambhal (C.I.=0.88) was found to be most developed district in social sector followed by Firozabad (C.I.=1.08) and Ghaziabad (C.I.=1.09) district. G.B. Nagar (C.I.=0.57) showed a higher level of development in Industrial sector followed by Ghaziabad (C.I.=0.75) and Firozabad (C.I.=0.76) district.

Growth without inclusion: the Gujarat ‘model’ for India’s development exposed

This paper is an extended review article to discuss the currently fashionable opinion among the neoliberal scholars as well as influential policy makers and advisers that the ‘Gujarat Model’ of growth is something that ought to be emulated by the rest of India in its quest for rapid economic transformation. A close and careful reading of the articles included in the volume brings out both the exclusionary and inequalizing nature of otherwise high overall economic growth in Gujarat and its less than admirable performance in human and social development indicators. Gujarat is not one of the worst performing states in India either by growth, poverty reduction or social or human development. But certainly it is not in the top league in any of these except aggregate economic growth. By a careful comparison of Gujarat and Kerala the paper also seeks to demolish the claim made by Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya that Gujarat has outperformed in Kerala not only in growth but also in social sector development.

DIAGNOSTICS OF PRODUCTIVE FORCES REPRODUCTION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL SOCIAL SECTOR

Today, in terms of economic restructuring the problem of further development of productive forces and the search of the ways of their qualitative transformation is acute. The transition to new economic conditions and progression of technological mode of production have significantly affected the trajectory of the development of regional social sector and led to a situation where economic growth should be seen in the light of reproduction potential. The aim of the article is by analyzing social practice of regional productive forces reproduction to develop theoretical and practical recommendations to ensure the quality of transformational changes that facilitate processes of the reproduction of regional productive forces, aimed at the creation of necessary conditions for the development of regional social sector, and the formation of effective structure of regional economies. Taking into account the characteristics of modern regional development, the solution of problems, facing regional social sector, can only be based on comprehensive scientific analysis of qualitative reproduction of productive forces, disclosure of versatility of the process aimed at the proportional development of all elements of regional system and updating of all forms of its organization. Features of the development of Ñåð³ÿ: Åêîíîì³÷í³ íàóêè Âèïóñê 39. ×àñòèíà II 31 productive forces, that characterize the degree of dynamism of natural and human resources, production, population and regional infrastructure, determine the results of operation of socio-economic system and its structure. That’s why reproductive approach to regional processes organization is a precondition for proportionality of the development of all factors of production, which causes the most rational structure of regional economy. In the regulation of social and economic processes that cause the development of regional social sector and regional structure formation one should determine such features of modern reproductive process: production cyclical nature, which requires state regulation of disparities; capital flow between economy sectors in the search for higher standards and mass of profit, concentration and integration of production; deepening of regional labor division under the influence of science and technology, etc. Thus, structural transformations in regional systems become instruments that allow to coordinate territorial interests with those of regional social sector and provide a comprehensive solution of all aspects of productive forces reproduction.

Развитие социальной инфраструктуры села и его влияние на экономические показатели аграрного производства

The article describes the features of the effect of the level of social rural infrastructure development on the level of agricultural production; cites the results of a combined study of indicators of agricultural production development and social infrastructure; reveals the relationship of agricultural production efficiency to the level of social infrastructure development; formulates the main conclusions as guidelines for the regulation of rural social sector development of the region in future.

Russian Export Strategy and Social Sector: Consequences of Resource-Oriented Exports on Population of Russia

This paper presents the analysis of the Russian resource-oriented export strategy. Focusing on the consequences on the population of Russia the relationship between the export strategy of Russia and the social sector is examined. Based on data between 1990 and 2012 the causal relationship between the Russian production and export of oil, price of oil at the world market, and dynamics of the social sector, including the GINI index, average wage, savings of the households, and the development of fuel and energy complex is analyzed. The results show that the export of raw materials can significantly improve the development of the Russian social sector under the condition of growing demand for the energy resources. The results suggest that the country with vast oil and gas reserves should target the policy of restricting the exports and stimulating its consumption within the economy. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s2p473

Impact of fiscal deficit on growth and inclusion

After 1970s India experienced with problem of fiscal deficit and the adverse fiscal condition cause to balance of payment crisis and internal instability. Therefore, India introduced new economic reform and fiscal consolidation reform to contain fiscal and trade deficit. In the initial stage of reform the problem of fiscal deficit brought under control and subsequent stage of reform fiscal position of nationn worsen. This fiscal situation makes India to embark ruled based fiscal policy and India adopted FRBMA 2003 rules to reduce Revenue and Fiscal Deficit. Unfortunately, this act was practice, as a deficit management tool for the government and deficits are considered to be the major factors affecting the growth process in the economy by contributing to inflation and increasing the debt burden leading to a greater resource drain on the exchequer in terms of interest payments. Hence, the fiscal target were set by FRBMA and both Union and State government inevitably reach target by 2003 fiscal rules. In order to reach FRBMA target, National and Sub-national government started reduce expenditure on social sector development. The social sector development is essential to reduce unsolved problem like Poverty and Unemployment, Regional Imbalance, unbalanced Sector Growth, Malnutrition, Gender Discrimination and Income Inequalities which are major challenge to achieve inclusive growth. Thus, this research paper seeks to make attempt to evaluate social sector expenditure after 2003 fiscal rules. It also tries to establish relation between social expenditure and human resource development. It suggest government to cut down expenditure on subsidies and interest payment to reduce non development revenue and capital expenditure and increase expenditure on social sector comprising education, health, medicine, housing and nutrition. The social sector development will enhance efficiency labour, per capita income and break vicious circle of poverty.

Пространственные особенности условий развития социальной инфраструктуры регионов Сибири

Social infrastructure is considered in the context of quality of life as a key living condition. The article shows that the problems of social development for the Siberian Federal District are severe and that the methods of government support are in need of modernization. We define basic theoretical positions and methodological prerequisites to study social infrastructure as a category of the regional economy. A traditional analysis of indicators in selected sectors of social infrastructure is augmented by a research of a new investment aspect of its development. We present how the spatial factor affects settlement systems and the territorial organization of local self-government in Siberian regions of Russia, as well as assess the related structural particularities of regional infrastructural objects (using the example of the education sector). We provide the quantitative characteristics of spatial living conditions and study region-specific features that the territorial organization of local self-government has, as exemplified by municipal areas and rural settlements. The article gives a comparative analysis of structural characteristics of regional infrastructural systems in the education sector. The results suggest that average capacities of preschool and comprehensive educational establishments in Siberian regions under examination are significantly lower than those in the southern regions. Our research has determined a degree of regional differentiation for investment expenditures on social sector development in Russia. Then we evaluate the performance of the Siberian Federal District against other regions. The calculations demonstrate that Siberia receives substantially less investment per capita to develop social sphere than the country at large. We draw a conclusion that the detected features of regional settlement systems increase the price of guaranteed social services for the population and complicate their delivery; they decrease the quality of the said services or abolish them. In order to find a solution, the current specific spatial conditions need to be adequately considered in regional policy making and intergovernmental fiscal relations.

Social Inequities and Exclusions in Kerala’s ‘Egalitarian’ Development

Social inequalities and exclusions can devastate people's lives, especially when they are far from the centers of power and control. This wreckage can be seen in many different parts of their lives, but particularly in their health. The health of any given country's population is primarily determined by politics, and public policies play a critical role. All over the world, countries with a history of egalitarian ideologies, and corresponding policies aimed at reducing social inequalities, have healthier populations. The Indian state of Kerala, which has a long-running radical political tradition and a history of social-reform movements in the early twentieth century, is acclaimed for its achievements in health and social-sector development, including low levels of mortality and fertility, and high levels of life expectancy and literacy—all despite its low-performing economy. Kerala has become a veritable mecca for other low-income nations in social development and health advancement.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Performance of Projects in Public Sector of Pakistan: Developing a Framework for Future Challenges.

The Pakistan is facing key challenges and issues in the development of social sector mainly in education, health, energy, security and the environment due to lack of policy framework, lack of governance, lack of technological advancement, unstable strategies, lack of leadership, poor project management, lack of innovation and inefficient utilization of resources. Efforts have been made by the government at different levels to improve the performance of the projects through various public sector development programs but no significant improvement is achieved in performance of projects. A framework is developed for implementation of coherent strategies through projects to facilitate the society for maximizing utilization's of scared resources and to minimizing the poverty, child labour and unemployment in Pakistan. The framework will definitely assist to improve the performance of project and contribute to uplift the strategic development of the country.

The study of best practice for developing social enterprise for people with disabilities

The study of social enterprise development model for people with disability aimed to establish a fundamental knowledge to apply the concept of social entrepreneurship to enhance the quality of life for the disabled as well as to provide them with the capacity building. Equally importantly was the development of social enterprise sector particularly for those with impairment in Thailand based on the local context and pattern appropriate together with research in order sustain the model for the benefit of people with disability in the country. This research investigated case studies of social enterprises for those with disability from various businesses including group of disabled agriculturalists who operated a Goat Farm in Rayong Province, The Center for Intellectually Disabled Innovation as well as Betimes Solution Co.,Ltd. The study implemented literature review, in-depth interview, questionnaire as well as observation. Summary of the study is presented below. 1. Models of social enterprise based on case studies were different. This could be classified by using the three major components including organizational mobilization, stakeholder engagement and profit management. The study revealed that group of disabled agriculturalists who operated a Goat Farm in Rayong Province could be categorized as a philanthropic model while Betimes Solution Co.,Ltd could be regarded as a commercial pattern. Center for Intellectually Disabled Innovation, on the other hand, comprised of a hybrid model. All of these signified the fact that social enterprise development model could be various. 2. Key social enterprise factors for the business engaged with disabled people based on the case studies could be ranked with three major components including competitive advantage to compete with other businesses and sustain themselves, social entrepreneurship to be able to achieve both financial and social mission effectively with skills, knowledge and confidence and lastly stakeholder engagement to manage the relationships with key partners and become accepted by all parties concerned.

Health System in India: Opportunities and Challenges for Enhancements

One of the basic vitalities of good living is quick access to essential services like health care. But many times it could mean a condition of life and death for an individual who is unable to get the access to these services. Thus an important part of social sector development is incomplete without adequate health care facilities. The quality of human health is the foundation upon which the realization of life goals and objectives of a persona, the community or nation as whole depends. It is both an end and means of development strategy. The relationship between health and development is mutually reinforcing- while health contributes to economic development, economic development, in turn, tends to improve the health status of the population in a country. India as a nation has been growing economically at a rapid pace particularly after the advent of New Economic Policy of 1991. However, this rapid economic development has not been accompanied by social development particularly health sector development. Health sector has been accorded very low priority in terms of allocation of resources. Public expenditure on health is less than 1 per cent of GDP in India. This research paper focuses on the current status of the Indian healthcare industry, the challenges faced plus the comparison of few selected Indian states based on health indicators. Furthermore comparison of India with some developed and developing countries is also employed in order get the clear picture of the health sector. In order to boost the development line, some opportunities in the health care industry are also discussed and necessary policy implications. Regarding in this connection India lags behind in regard of health improvement as compared to U.S.A, Canada, China, and Brazil, but contrary to other developing countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh the scenario is better with life expectancy, Mortality ratios, health care spending speak volumes about the healthcare status. When analyzed through the prism eye, within India there are large disparities amongst states in achieving health outcomes as well. Before liberalization the improvement was at a snail's pace, but after liberalization the whole picture changed because the key initiatives to improve the current healthcare standard a two prong strategy focusing on the infrastructure needs and the technology solution were implemented, which resulted in the healthy scenario of the healthcare industry. Healthcare sector, a leading weapon as the contributor to GDP (approx.8%) is thus the matter to be deeply looked into, so that golden harvest is reaped.

Defense Spending and National Security of Pakistan: A Policy Perspective

Defense spending of Pakistan remains high in order to sustain a credible deterrence, significant geopolitical position in Afghan wars and combat terrorism. This article analyzes the defense spending in light of perceived and real threats to Pakistan's security proclaimed as military security element of national security and examines its linkages with economic growth. By developing a theoretical framework to explore the different dimensions of national security, the article empirically investigates the relationship between defense spending and national security by assembling fifty structured interviews from armed forces officers, civil bureaucrats, and experts to analyze and bargain the gap between theory and practice and to carve a national counter terrorism policy. The article recommends that trust deficit, less trade openness, and high defense spending are all conflict enhancing elements. Pakistan should focus more on social sector development, initiate dialogue process on political and local level with Taliban and local stakeholders to stop agitations.

Impact of the Economic Reform Programme on the Quality of Human Life in India: A Study on the Health Indicators

This article examines the impact of the economic reform programme in enhancing the quality of human life in India. The methodology adopted is to examine the existence of structural changes between the three crucial health indicators—life expectancy at birth (LEB), Child Mortality rate (CMR) and Infant Mortality rate (IMR) before and after the implementation of the reform programme. The article also focuses on the level of influence of the expenditure on health by the government and the number of Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) available to provide medical treatment on the three health indicators. We have used the Chow test to examine the existence of structural changes and regression analysis to find out the level of influence of the independent variables. The analysis showed that the reform programme brought structural changes in CMR and IMR but not in LEB. The regression analysis reveals that the expenditure on health by the government had no impact whereas the number of RMPs available to provide medical treatment had some influence in improving the three health indicators. The article concludes that the reform programme in India had no significant impact in enhancing the quality of human life; it is concerned more on the fiscal, structural and trade adjustments rather than on social sector development.

Home care in Austria: the interplay of family orientation, cash-for-care and migrant care

This article discusses the development of the home care sector in Austria. It analyses what impacts the interplay of the traditional family orientation to care, a universal cash-for-care scheme (reaching about 5% of the population) and a growing migrant care sector have on formal home care in Austria. The article is based on an analysis of research papers, policy documents and statistical data covering the period from the introduction of the cash-for-care scheme in 1993 up to 2011. Some authors have argued that generous cash benefits with no direct link to service use - as in the case of Austria - limit the development of home care, particularly in countries with a traditionally strong family orientation towards long-term care. Additionally, a tradition of family care and an emphasis on cash benefits may be conducive to the employment of migrant carers in private households, as a potential substitute for both family care and formal care. Despite this context, Austria has seen a substantial increase in formal home care over the past two decades. This has been driven by clients using their increased purchasing power and by policy priorities emphasising the extension of home care. Migrant care work was regularised in 2007, and the analysis suggests that while migrant care has usually worked as a substitute for other care arrangements, migrant care can also become a more integral element of care schemes. The article concludes that family orientation, unconditional cash benefits and the use of migrant carers do not necessarily preclude the development of a strong social service sector. However, there is a risk that budgetary limitations will primarily affect social service development.

The contribution of grassroots businesses to post‐conflict development in Liberia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the contribution of grassroots (mostly informal) businesses to post‐conflict, socio‐economic development in Liberia.Design/methodology/approachThe research findings are based on quantitative data from a survey of 1,823 grassroots business owners from the central region of Liberia and qualitative data from 48 key informant interviews and 22 focus groups.FindingsGrassroots businesses ensured access to goods and services in remote towns and villages, a key component of post‐conflict development. Although they were usually profitable and had high loan repayment rates, inadequate loan opportunities undercut their contributions to private sector growth and capacity development.Originality/valueThis research points to the contribution of grassroots businesses to post‐conflict social and private sector development, a relatively unexplored area of research in Liberia. The study reveals how grassroots businesses provide needed goods, services, and livelihoods in inaccessible parts of Liberia. This research can be used by government and non‐governmental organization to contribute to improve the economic situation for grassroots businesses in Liberia.