Welfare Research Articles

Socio-economic evaluation of human-dog coexistence: A 40,000 years history.

The human-animal relationship and its benefits have been a popular issue in recent decades. This study focuses on the dog as a paradigmatic example of this complex bond. The relationship between human and dog evolved over thousands of years through the domestication process. During this period, climatic, cultural, geographical and social changes have had a direct impact on this bond. Dogs have a remarkable capacity to play a variety of roles that mirror the evolution of human societies. Subsequently, questions arise regarding the important and symbolic roles that canines played in ancient cultures, religions and mythological traditions. Specifically, how have these roles changed through history? This research aimed to explore the socio-economic aspects of the human-dog relationship, spanning from ancient civilizations to modern societies. Through a systematic search methodology, this investigation seeks to provide insights into the dynamics of the complex human-dog relationship, including historical backgrounds, socio-cultural dynamics, economic implications and associated challenges. Additionally, the present study addresses the environmental concerns that emerge alongside rising stray dog populations. This research emphasizes the importance of strategies to balance the benefits of this coexistence that promote human and animal welfare.

Whose Egg, Whose Sperm, Whose Household Registration? Reproductive Decisionmaking Among LGBT Parents in China

This article examines how LGBT individuals and couples in China make reproductive decisions in a sociopolitical context characterized by homophobia and an absence of LGBT familial rights and legal recognition. The existing literature on LGBTQ+ childbearing and family formation, based primarily in Euro-American countries, tends to focus on the central role of same-sex marriage legalization and features marriage as the core intimate bond that bestows parental and other familial rights. This article argues that China’s household registration (hukou) system is an equally, if not more, salient regulatory system that determines daily life opportunities, access to state-subsidized schooling and health care, life-long social welfare, and placement in a hierarchy of urban versus rural citizenship. LGBT intending parents in China make reproductive decisions with a child’s hukou in mind, treating genetic contributions, gestational labor, and legal parental status as flexible resources to achieve desired hukou outcomes. The hukou system encourages reproductive strategies that make and unmake LGBT kinship, securing family bonds that otherwise lack legal and social recognition while potentially risking parental precarity. The article suggests new directions for LGBT rights advocacy by focusing on the governing systems and statuses that determine access to key citizenship resources and family rights.

Research on the Mechanism of Digital Economys Impact on Regional Industrial Structure Upgrading: A Case Study of Shenzhen

The digital economy, as an integrated economy, has become the driving force behind economic growth in various regions, fueling economic transformation and upgrading and serving as the focal point of industrial competition. Shenzhen, as a major first-tier city and a pilot demonstration area for socialism with Chinese characteristics, is taken as an example in this study. By exploring the mechanisms through which the digital economy impacts the upgrading of regional industrial structures, this paper analyzes how the digital economy promotes regional industrial transformation and upgrading through technological innovation, industrial integration, and market competition. It also discusses the existing problems and challenges, and proposes corresponding policy recommendations in areas such as talent cultivation, improving social welfare, and supporting enterprises to better leverage the role of the digital economy in upgrading the regional industrial structure. These efforts aim to ensure the sustainable development of Shenzhens economy, making the new engine more powerful in leading development, creating jobs, supporting international competition, and driving Shenzhens economic and social progress toward high quality.

Would carbon tax policy promote real estate prices?

Real estate plays a pivotal role in carbon emissions. Carbon tax policy is a crucial measure for mitigating enterprises' carbon emissions. However, imposing a carbon tax on productive enterprises in the real estate industry to reduce emissions may increase their production costs, which could easily be passed on to buyers, thus inflating real estate prices and impeding policy effectiveness. To examine the impact and negative consequences of carbon tax policy applied to the real estate industry, we develop a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model encompassing building materials manufacturers, real estate firms, and the environmental regulatory government. Findings indicate that implementing the carbon tax policy significantly reduces carbon emissions in the real estate industry. However, the existence of a price transmission mechanism makes carbon tax policies susceptible to driving up real estate prices. Further welfare analysis shows that increasing carbon tax rates will result in social welfare losses, allowing the government to modify and refine its policy objectives.

The Impact of Tocilizumab Coverage on Health Equity for Inpatients with COVID-19 in the USA: A Distributional Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

We conducted a distributional cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate how coverage of tocilizumab for inpatients with COVID-19 from 2021 to present impacted health equity in the USA. A published, payer-perspective, distributional cost-effectiveness analysis for inpatient COVID-19 treatments was adapted to include information on baseline health disparities across 25 equity-relevant subgroups based on race and ethnicity (5 census-based groups), and county-level social vulnerability (5 geographic quintiles). The underlying cost-effectiveness analysis was updated to reflect patient characteristics at admission, standard of care outcomes, tocilizumab efficacy, and contemporary unit costs. The distributional cost-effectiveness analysis inputs for COVID-19 hospitalization and subgroup risk adjustments based on social vulnerability were derived from published estimates. Opportunity costs were estimated by converting total tocilizumab spend into quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), distributed equally across subgroups. Tocilizumab treatment was cost effective across all subgroups. Treatment resulted in larger relative QALY gains in more socially vulnerable subgroups than less socially vulnerable subgroups, given higher hospitalization rates and inpatient mortality. Using an opportunity cost threshold of US$150,000/QALY and an Atkinson index of 11, tocilizumab was estimated to have improved social welfare by increasing population health (53,252 QALYs gained) and reducing existing overall US health inequalities by 0.003% since 2021. Use of tocilizumab for COVID-19 since 2021 increased population health while improving health equity, as more patients with lower baseline health were eligible for treatment and received larger relative health gains. Future equitable access to tocilizumab for inpatients with COVID-19 is expected to lead to continued increases in population health and reductions in disparities.

Housing Cooperatives as a Grassroots Socio-Economic Movement and the Social Security of Poles

Housing Cooperatives as a Grassroots Socio-Economic Movement and the Social Security of Poles

Assessing the impact of farmers’ willingness to pay on different cultivated land attribute levels in China: an empirical analysis using the choice experiment method

Exploring farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for cultivated land protection and its influencing factors is key to promoting their enthusiasm for participating in cultivated land pollution governance. However, existing studies often overlook the differences in farmers’ preference for different levels of cultivated land attributes and the issue of intertemporal choice in farmers’ WTP, thus lowering the effectiveness of cultivated land protection policies. Using survey data from 646 small farmers in Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces of China, this study empirically analyzes the impact of time preference on farmers’ WTP for cultivated land attribute levels by utilizing the choice experiment method, measures the relative importance of different cultivated land attributes and attribute levels to farmers, and calculates farmers’ WTP for different cultivated land attribute levels. The results revealed that farmers are generally reluctant to pay for cultivated land protection. Time preference affects farmers’ WTP for different levels of cultivated land attributes, with future-biased preference increasing farmers’ WTP and present-biased preference inhibiting it. Furthermore, for farmers, the relative importance of cultivated land attributes is in the order of cultivated land quality, cultivated land surrounding landscape and ecological environment, cultivated land social security function, and cultivated land area. The most crucial cultivated land attribute level is the improved cultivated land quality, with an average WTP of 3290.625 CNY per hectare (approximately 459.117 USD). In contrast, the least important cultivated land attribute level is the unchanged cultivated land area, with an average WTP of 1001.250 CNY per hectare (approximately 139.697 USD). The economic benefits of cultivated land protection in the sampled provinces can reach 353.892 million CNY per year (approximately 49.376 million USD) annually, which is calculated based on vegetable planting area. Our results suggest that the government should diversify farmers’ sources of income while increasing the amount of income, thereby reducing barriers to farmers’ payment. Simultaneously, farmers’ time preferences should be considered to guide them toward expecting long-term benefits and encouraging their active participation in cultivated land pollution governance. Moreover, cultivated land protection policies should match the preference of farmers for cultivated land attributes and attribute levels, and a limited fiscal fund should be allocated to the cultivated land attributes (i.e., cultivated land quality) and attribute levels (i.e., improved cultivated land quality) preferred by farmers to improve policy efficiency. This study highlights the importance of encouraging farmers to actively participate in cultivated land pollution governance and improving the allocation efficiency of the government’s cultivated land protection fund.

Evaluation of the Ecosystem Services Value of Agricultural Industrial Parks under the Background of Tianfu Granary Construction - A Case Study of the Daoming and Longxing Districts in Chongzhou City

In the new era, China faces two major challenges of food security and ecological protection. The agricultural industrial parks constructed in the process of developing the Tianfu Granary play a significant role in China's food supply and ecological security as a special type of farmland ecosystem. Accurately calculating the value of ecosystem services in agricultural industrial parks is of great importance for achieving sustainable agricultural development and comprehensively realizing rural revitalization. This paper takes the Daoming and Longxing Agricultural Industrial Parks in Chongzhou City as the research subjects, constructs an evaluation index system for ecosystem service value, and assesses and calculates the supply, support, regulation, and cultural services of the agricultural industrial parks. The research findings show that the total value of ecosystem services reaches 260.64 million yuan, which is 4.65 times the value of the agricultural products supplied, and its significant ecosystem service value cannot be ignored. Among the ecosystem service values of the park, the cultural service value is the highest, followed by the social security service value. Based on the above conclusions, this paper discusses how to achieve high-standard construction of agricultural industrial parks, providing a scientific basis for the government and policymakers to make correct decisions in the rational use of resources, reduce and avoid short-term economic behaviors that damage ecosystem service functions, and promote sustainable agricultural development.

Health Implications of Widespread Micro- and Nanoplastic Exposure: Environmental Prevalence, Mechanisms, and Biological Impact on Humans.

The increasing awareness of the potential health risks associated with microplastics' (MPs) and nanoplastics' (NPs) presence in the environment has led to a significant rise in research focused on these particles over the past few years. This review focuses on the research on MPs'/NPs' presence and spread, pathways of exposure, toxicological effects on human health and legal framework related to MP/NP challenges. Several research projects have aimed to assess their potential harm to human health, focusing on different systems and organs. After exposure (independent of the pathway), these hazards reach the blood stream and concentrate in different organs. Further, they are responsible for harmful changes, having an immediate effect (pain, inflammation, or hormone imbalance) or lead to a long-term disease (e.g., infertility, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or cancer). Toxicological effects have been noticed at high concentrations of MPs, specifically polystyrene, the most widespread typical MP, but only short-term effects have been mostly studied. Significant quantities of consumed MPs have been discovered to have diverse detrimental effects, posing a threat to human welfare. The exact concentrations of microplastics that are inhaled and swallowed and then build up in the human body are still not known. Further investigation is necessary to evaluate the impact of MP/NP contamination at minimal concentrations and for prolonged durations.

Level of social security expenditures and economic growth rate based on econometric regression modelling: New evidence from OECD countries

This research article examines the relationship between the level of social welfare expenditure and economic growth rates, based on unbalanced panel data from 38 OECD countries covering the period from 1985 to 2022. Four hypotheses are formulated regarding the impact of social expenditure on economic growth rates. Through multiple iterations of regression model building, employing various combinations of dependent and independent variables, and conducting tests for stationarity and causality, compelling empirical evidence was obtained on the negative influence of social welfare spending on economic growth rates. The study takes into account both government and non-governmental expenditures on social welfare, a novelty in this field. This approach allows for a detailed examination of the effects of different components on economic growth and provides a more comprehensive understanding of the relationships. The findings indicate that countries with high levels of social welfare spending experience a slowdown in economic growth rates. This is associated with increasing demands on social security systems, their growing inclusivity, and the escalating required levels of financing, which are increasingly covered by debt sources. The research highlights the need to strike a balance between social expenditures and economic growth rates and proposes a set of measures to ensure economic growth outpaces the indexing of social expenditures. The abstract underscores the relevance of the study in light of the widespread recognition of the necessity to combat inequality, poverty, and destitution, and calls on OECD countries’ governments to pay increased attention to social policy in order to achieve sustainable and balanced economic growth.

Death from COVID-19 in contexts of social deprivation in Mexico.

Poverty is one of the macro factors that has been little studied in terms of its effect on death from COVID-19 since most studies have focused only on investigating whether the pandemic increased poverty or not. With that on mind, the present study aims to analyze how the social deprivations that comprise the measurement of municipal poverty in interaction with health comorbidities and sociodemographic characteristics, increased the probability of death from COVID-19. The study is cross-sectional and covers daily reports on the conditions of COVID-19 in the Mexican population for almost 2 years. Using data from the National Epidemiological Surveillance System and the National Council for Evaluation of the Social Development Policy (N = 5,387,981), we employ a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM), specifically a binomial generalized linear mixed model. The findings indicate that, besides comorbidities, sociodemographic traits, and clinical aspects, living in a municipality where one or more of the social deprivations exist increases the probability of death. Specifically, in those municipalities where there is deprivation in education, social security, and food, as well as deprivation due to access to health services and deprivation in household services, the probability of death was greater. Living in a municipality with one or more of the social deprivations that compose poverty generated a greater probability of death. Each one of them or together, shows that poverty is a substantial factor for a pandemic like COVID-19 to worsen contagion and death, becoming a circle from which it is difficult to escape.

Tests to determine employer-employee relationships in India: looking towards the future?

ABSTRACT The employer-employee relationship forms the foundation from which a host of social security benefits and labour rights emerge. Workers are traditionally classified as employees hired under a contract of service or independent contractors hired under a contract for service. Over the years, Indian courts have relied on the control, integration, and multi-factor tests to determine the correct nature of employment contracts. This article explores the evolution of these tests and examines whether the burden of proof in determining the existence of employer-employee relationships requires modification. It then dissects the efficacy of the current multi-factor test in emerging platforms and gig economies by looking at the standard form contract signed by a popular food delivery platform with its delivery partners in India. Finally, the article explores the ability of the newly enacted labour codes, particularly the Code on Social Security 2020, to address the classification conundrum and its consistency with precedents.

Confucian Familialism and the Crisis of Care

Abstract This paper critically examines Confucian proposals for social welfare espoused by contemporary Confucian moral and political theorists, who promote a familialist, residual welfare state in which welfare provision should be the family's primary responsibility and public assistance be a last resort only available to the poor without family support. By investigating the situation in South Korea, a country whose welfare system bears a striking resemblance to the Confucian ideal, I argue that the Confucian scheme is inherently flawed. It considers poverty to be a personal failure, idealizes the family as a single unity of common interest free from power hierarchies, and lacks knowledge about social reproduction. Their proposal in actuality humiliates and excludes disadvantaged and marginalized people from social protection, abdicates the state's responsibility for the well-being of citizens, and colludes with capitalism in free riding on women's unpaid labor.

A future beyond ourselves: Self-oriented prospection predicts increased intergenerational responsibility

Do differences in how people think about their own futures predict responsibility for the collective future welfare of humanity? Across a reanalysis of existing data, four primary studies, six supplemental studies, and an internal meta-analysis (NTotal = 11,261 US participants), we investigate how individual differences in self-oriented prospection relate to intergenerational responsibility, elucidating theoretical and practical implications for the psychologies of future-thinking and intergenerational ethics alike. We consistently observe an association between Future Self-Continuity (FSC; variation in the amount of perceived overlap between people's present and future self-concept) and Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC; individual differences in tendencies to consider how present actions impact one's own future life outcomes) with increased feelings of responsibility for, perceived efficacy to impact, and identification with future generations. Drawing upon insights from behavioral economics, Construal Level Theory, and research on moral expansiveness, our results begin to reconcile the literatures studying the adaptive functions of self-oriented prospection with disparate lines of inquiry into the individual differences that mitigate tendencies to prioritize present over future generations. Moreover, the present findings open new avenues for further research to explore potential practical benefits of self-oriented prospection for bolstering efforts to improve long-term collective welfare.

Legal Authority and Marital Identity: A Study on the Kalosara Tradition of the Tolaki People in Southeast Sulawesi

For the Tolaki indigenous people, a marriage is considered valid when it is conducted in accordance with the kalosara tradition. This signifies that the legitimacy of marriage among the Tolaki people of Southeast Sulawesi is not determined by adherence to Islamic law or state regulations, but by the observance of the kalosara customary practice. This study seeks to explore the kalosara tradition as the prevailing authority in the marriage law of the Tolaki community in Southeast Sulawesi, and to analyze the perspectives of Islamic law through the concepts of ‘urf and maṣlaḥa mursala in relation to this tradition. Employing a qualitative research method with an empirical-normative approach, data were gathered through interviews with traditional leaders, community figures, and religious authorities. The findings of the study indicate that the kalosara tradition in Tolaki community wedding ceremonies consists of three stages: seeking permission, the proposal, and the marriage contract. The Tolaki people regard a marriage as valid only if it adheres to the kalosara tradition, establishing customary law as the dominant form of marriage law within the community. From the perspective of ‘urf, the kalosara tradition is deemed acceptable, as it fulfills the criteria of al-‘urf al-ṣaḥīḥ (good custom). Moreover, the kalosara tradition contributes to social welfare within the Tolaki community of Southeast Sulawesi. This research is expected to make a significant global contribution to the development of studies on marriage law and tradition. Furthermore, it is deserving of recognition as a valuable academic resource addressing societal legal needs concerning the practice of marriage traditions.

Computing Capital Stocks in the German Social Security Records and Quantifying Their Role for Wage Inequality

Abstract We develop a method to impute capital stocks from investments for a sub-sample of firms in the German social security records and implement a machine-learning algorithm to predict capital stocks for the universe of firms. These capital stocks explain 40% of the variation in capital stocks of the Bureau van Dijk data. We make our data available for other researchers. We find that these capital stocks explain a sizeable fraction of wage inequality by extending the variance decomposition of Card et al. (2013), suggesting that rising firm heterogeneity in capital intensity may further amplify wage inequality. (JEL codes: C81, D24, and J31)

Simulation of Crowd Evacuation under Attack Considering Emotion Spreading

Abstract In recent years, attacks against crowded places such as campuses and theaters have frequently and negatively impacted social security and stability. In such an event, the crowd will be subjected to higher psychological stress, and their emotion will spread to others rapidly. This paper establishes the Attack-Evacuation Evacuation Simulation Model (AEES-SFM) based on the social force model to consider emotion spreading under attack. In this model, (1)Attack-Escape Derive Force was considered for the interaction between attackers and evacuees and (2) emotion spreading among the evacuees was considered to modify the value of psychological forces. To validate the simulation, several experiments were carried out in a university in China. Comparing the simulation and experimental results, it is found that the simulation results are similar to the experimental results when considering emotion spreading. Therefore, the AEES-SFM proved to be effective. By comparing the results of the evacuation simulation without emotion spread, the emotion spread model reduces the evacuation time and the number of casualties by about 30%, which is closer to the real experimental results. And the results are still applicable in the case of a 40-person evacuation. This paper provides theoretical support and practical guidance for campus response to violent attacks.

Spatial Pattern and Influence Mechanisms of Forest Land Quality under the Background of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality: A Case Study in Kaizhou District, Chongqing, China

Since the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality have been established, forest carbon sinks have garnered significant attention. As a fundamental component of forest carbon sinks, the quality of forest land significantly influences the carbon sink capacity of forests. This study utilized Kaizhou District, Chongqing City, a typical forest area as a case study, and used the correction method, factor method, CASA model, landscape ecology indexes, and canonical correlation analysis to evaluate the level of forest land quality and reveal the spatial distribution pattern and influencing mechanisms of forest land quality. The results showed that: (i) The quality index of public welfare forest land was distributed in [37.89, 148.15], and each quality level was diversified in space. The quality index of commodity forest land was distributed in [40.00, 92.67], and some high-quality forest land appeared in the transition zone of each region; (ii) The forest land quality index and the amount of net primary productivity passed the correlation test. Primary net productivity was higher on forest land with a high-quality index and lower on forest area with a low-quality index; (iii) public welfare forest land was mainly positively affected by community structure, average annual precipitation, average annual temperature, and soil moisture. Commodity forest land was mainly positively affected by average annual temperature, soil moisture, and slope aspect. However, landform had a significant negative impact on the two types of forest land. Given these findings, we also proposed a series of measures aimed at promoting the sustainable development of research on regional forest land.

Investigation of Traffic System with Traffic Restriction Scheme in the Presence of Automated and Human-Driven Vehicles

In the context of transportation development, the simultaneous emergence of automated vehicles (AVs) and human-driven vehicles (HDVs) can lead to varied traffic system performance. For the purpose of improving traffic systems, this paper proposes a traffic restriction scheme only for HDVs. We develop a variational inequality (VI) model to describe travel mode and route choices under this restriction scheme and design an algorithm to solve the model. The proposed model and algorithm are applied to a Sioux Falls network example to evaluate the effects of the traffic restriction scheme. Our findings indicate that the scheme improves overall social welfare, with a higher proportion of restricted travelers leading to greater social welfare as well as increased travel demand due to changes in capacity. However, some lower exogenous monetary factors lead to negative social welfare, as the presence of AVs may exacerbate road congestion. Additionally, advancements in technology are needed to adjust the weightings of travel time and congestion level estimates to further enhance social welfare. These results offer valuable insights for traffic demand management in traffic systems with a mix of AVs and HDVs.

Peran PERAN DINAS SOSIAL KABUPATEN PANDEGLANG DALAM PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT MELALUI PKH (PROGRAM KELUARGA HARAPAN) DI KELURAHAN KADUMERAK TAHUN 2022

Overty is a phenomenon and social problem and it is continuously studied and concern to the central government and regional governments. This study aims to find out the activities of the Pandeglang Regency Social Service in community empowerment through PKH (Program Keluarga Harapan) and to find out what efforts have been made by the Pandeglang Regency Social Service through PKH (Program Keluarga Harapan) in Kadumerak Village in 2022. Research methods used is a qualitative descriptive research method. The source of data in this qualitative research is to dig up information directly from sources of information that are considered related to community empowerment through PKH (Program keluarga harapan) in Kadumerak Village in 2022. As for the informant in this study is the Head of Social Protection and Security, Head of Social Welfare Section, PKH Facilitator, and KPM PKH Participant. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of PKH and the role of the Pandeglang District Social Service through PKH (Family Hope Program) in Kadumerak Village in 2022 is in accordance with its objectives, namely to provide health services, education and improve social welfare to very poor groups of people. The Pandeglang district social service experienced several obstacles, including data that was out of sync between KPM PKH participants and the original situation on the ground, and the length of time for updating data made it difficult for the Pandeglang District Social Service to enter data on new PKH participant candidates. Then there is a lack of public understanding regarding the PKH program. The efforts of the Pandeglang Regency Social Service in empowering the community through PKH (Family Hope Program) in 2022 are to improve the quality of information center services regarding PKH complaints and socialization by taking an outreach approach with the community regarding PKH (Family Hope Program). Keywords: Role of Social Services, Community Empowerment, Family Hope Program.