Social Policy Studies Research Articles

The Strange Case of British Earnings-Related Unemployment Benefit

ABSTRACTThe abolition in 1982 of the Earnings-Related Supplement (ERS) to unemployment benefit, which had been introduced in 1966, left the UK with no element of income support for the unemployed linked to previous earnings. The ERS scheme represents an important case study of economic and social policy but it has been little researched hitherto. The paper examines the history of ERS, showing how the original legislation and subsequent development produced a benefit that bore little relation to schemes in other countries. Unpublished administrative data on the receipt of ERS are used to help document the scheme's failings, and the paper closes by placing ERS within the context of the development of unemployment insurance in Britain.

Policy Implementation of Social Welfare in the 1980s.

With its highly centralized politi-cal institutions, Israel is typical of the unitary, nonfederal politi-cal systems in the world. On the other hand, with its growing em-phasis on federalism, the United States reveals the functions and dysfunctions of the pluralist sys-tem. In this provocative book, Frederick Lazin compares the two types of political systems to show how municipalities in Is-rael, as in the United States, ex-ert considerable influence on implementation of national do-mestic policies. He argues con-vincingly that unitary systems have many of the same diffi-culties that their federal coun-terparts have in implementing social welfare policies. This study provides a the-oretical basis for understanding how administrative institutional system and socioeconomic sta-tus variables affect the potential influence of municipalities and make implementation of policies so problematic. It develops a model for policy implementation in unitary systems which then serves as a framework of analy-sis for a series of case studies of social welfare, education, and health policy in Israel. Com-parisons are then made with the federal political system of the United States in which the na-tional government needs the cooperation of local authorities to implement its policies. Refer-ence is made to federal housing policies and programs for low-in-come Americans. Similarities as well as differences are noted be-tween the two systems in order to reach conclusions about pol-icy implementation regardless of type of political system. The book contributes both to the general literature on policy implementation as well as to the politics of unitary versus federal systems. It provides a unique and important analysis of prob-lems confronting both types of system in the area of policy im-plementation of social welfare programs, which remain impor-tant concerns in political sys-tems throughout the world.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Financing and Delivering Health Care: A Comparative Analysis of OECD Countries, Social Policy Studies No. 4, OECD, Paris, 1987. 101 pp. £6.00.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Financing and Delivering Health Care: A Comparative Analysis of OECD Countries, Social Policy Studies No. 4, OECD, Paris, 1987. 101 pp. £6.00.

Families and The State: An Historical Perspective on the Public Regulation of Private Conduct

This paper examines the history of the debate between advocates of the regulation and the deregulation of family life through a case study of English social policy for children in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It introduces the generational order as an issue worthy of consideration alongside that of the gender order. It considers the nature of the relationship between private and public spheres of social action and questions the adequacy of rigid formulations of this distinction. Successive attempts to develop technologies of intervention are discussed and the limitations imposed by liberal political theory are identified. It is argued, nevertheless, that the generational order is of such importance that some form of social regulation is inescapable.

Policy Entrepreneurs and Policy Divergence: John R. Commons and William Beveridge

British and American labor-market policies such as workmen's compensation, public employment offices, and unemployment insurance diverged markedly as they evolved after 1900. Most cross-national social policy studies compare such macropolitical variables as spending, culture, wealth, and political competition. This study takes an alternative micropolitical approach in order to detail the links between policy effort, program design, and macropolitical constraints. It compares two leading authorities on labor-market problems after 1900, John R. Commons in the United States and William Beveridge in Britain. Differences between American and British labor-market policy reflect differences between the strategies of Commons and Beveridge rather than their relative influence and effectiveness. These strategies reflect pragmatic adaptations to contrasting political cultures and structures. American federalism exerted effects that limited effort and narrowed the range of feasible policy options in the United States.

Comparing Social Policies: Some Problems of Method and the Case of Social Security Benefits in Australia, Britain and the USA

ABSTRACTThe cross-national works of development sociologists and of political scientists have sought to disentangle some of the determinants of welfare, whereas studies in comparative social policy have been mainly evaluative. These have laid themselves open to charges of being, variously, a-theoretical, unsystematic and narrowly focused on the state sector. However, a case is made here for the continuation of such studies with a clear focus on social policy rather than the mixed economy of welfare, using more explicit evaluative criteria and a range of methods. A small comparative study of social security benefit levels in Australia, Britain and the USA is used as an illustration of the potential in this approach and the problems of method involved.

Individual Towns and Regions - A. J. Kidd and K. W. Roberts (eds), City, Class and Culture: Studies in cultural production and social policy in Victorian Manchester. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985. Pbk £8.95. - Gary S. Messinger, Manchester in the Victorian Age: The Half-Known City. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985. Pbk £5.95.

Individual Towns and Regions - A. J. Kidd and K. W. Roberts (eds), City, Class and Culture: Studies in cultural production and social policy in Victorian Manchester. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985. Pbk £8.95. - Gary S. Messinger, Manchester in the Victorian Age: The Half-Known City. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985. Pbk £5.95.

Review: The State in Global Perspective, Politics, Geography and Social Stratification, Studies in Social Policy and Welfare 21. Responses to Poverty: Lessons from Europe, Police and Public Order in Europe, Housing Policy and Equality: A Comparative Study of Tenure Conversions and Their Effects, on Human Geography, Housing, States and Localities, Cambridge Human Geography. Crime, Space and Society, Capitalism and Public

Review: The State in Global Perspective, Politics, Geography and Social Stratification, Studies in Social Policy and Welfare 21. Responses to Poverty: Lessons from Europe, Police and Public Order in Europe, Housing Policy and Equality: A Comparative Study of Tenure Conversions and Their Effects, on Human Geography, Housing, States and Localities, Cambridge Human Geography. Crime, Space and Society, Capitalism and Public

COUNCIL HOUSE SALES: AN ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PURCHASE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC SECTOR HOUSING

Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale GeografieVolume 79, Issue 1 p. 39-49 COUNCIL HOUSE SALES: AN ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PURCHASE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC SECTOR HOUSING N. J. WILLIAMS, N. J. WILLIAMS *Department of Geography, University of Aberdeen, ScotlandSearch for more papers by this authorJ. B. SEWEL, J. B. SEWEL **Regional Centre for the Study of Economic and Social Policy, University of Aberdeen, ScotlandSearch for more papers by this authorF. E. TWINE, F. E. TWINE ***Department of Sociology, University of Aberdeen, ScotlandSearch for more papers by this author N. J. WILLIAMS, N. J. WILLIAMS *Department of Geography, University of Aberdeen, ScotlandSearch for more papers by this authorJ. B. SEWEL, J. B. SEWEL **Regional Centre for the Study of Economic and Social Policy, University of Aberdeen, ScotlandSearch for more papers by this authorF. E. TWINE, F. E. TWINE ***Department of Sociology, University of Aberdeen, ScotlandSearch for more papers by this author First published: February 1988 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9663.1988.tb00746.xCitations: 7AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume79, Issue1February 1988Pages 39-49 RelatedInformation

When Leadership Fails: Desegregation and Demoralization in the San Francisco Schools

The belief that desegregation in the public schools has been a failed and costly policy is widespread. Educational standards suffer and public support declines, it is said, when the schools are used as agencies of social reform. In this study of school desegregation in San Francisco, Doris Fine argues that although the schools' difficulties are real, they are due not to the policy of desegregation but to deficiencies of leadership and organization within the schools. Fine's central concern is institutional integrity and the demoralization that sets in when integrity is undermined. Some of the questions she considers are: How did San Francisco's public schools become a central arena for community conflict over issues of civil rights? What options did school leaders have? What happened when the political and educational controversy was brought to federal court? Did court orders help or hinder institutional reform? Most importantly, what adjustments in the leadership and internal dynamics of public schools were necessary for change to be effective? This study of social policy and institutional dynamics documents a painful episode in the history of public schools. It sheds light both on the nature of social change and on the critical role leadership plays in the reform of organizations.

Sexual Abuse at Charity House: A Case Study of Social Policies in Action

Sexual Abuse at Charity House: A Case Study of Social Policies in Action

Software Reviews : A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING

A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING is one of the few adventure games that could be used effectively at the introductory college level, particularly in courses on social systems, public policy, or future studies. Whereas most such games are based on "dungeons-and-dragons" scenarios and involve solving puzzles to acquire treasures, A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING is based on exploration in a setting vaguely reminiscent of 1984 or Brave New World. If used by a creative instructor, it could be an effective introduction to a course dealing with the unanticipated consequences of public policy.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOCIAL POLICY: CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

Three reasons exist for undertaking a comparative study of social policy: there is no other way of evaluating and increasing understanding of social policies; through its study, a wide range of policy options for tackling particular problems become known and understood; policy makers can learn lessons from others' experience with particular policies. Conceptual and methodological issues raised by comparative study are briefly studied. All study is in fact comparative. As a field of study becomes more theoretically explicit and sophisticated it becomes more explicit and self‐conscious about some important comparisons. The development of comparative social policy indicates a growing theoretical awareness of the need for certain types of important comparisons. In time it is expected to disappear as a separately designated aspect of “the study of social policy”. The study of the field of social policy brings the kind of knowledge produced by the so‐called social sciences into sharp relief.

Speaking Ill of the Dead: Institutionalised Responses to Deaths in Custody

writings in and around critical criminology during the late seventies. Central to these debates was the relationship between what Wright termed the world at the level of appearances2 and the broader political and economic frameworks which provide determining contexts within which individuals interact and react. Important to these developments was the exhaustive analysis of mugging as a moral panic by Hall et a13 within the contexts of the political-economic crisis of advanced capitalism and the ideological construction of law and order issues. Furthermore, there has been a real attempt, particularly in feminist analyses,4 to examine critically the rule and practice of the law and the state in terms of people's own accounts of how they experience and receive the state's interventions and to contrast these experiences against official accounts and appreciable shifts in the definition, enforcement and application of the law. What this direction in research embodies is the objective of establishing a synthesis between experiences manifest at the personal, social and structural levels. It responds to E.P.Thompson's call to root analyses of the rule of law and authoritarian shifts in the state and their operational consequences within a systematic examination of case histories.5 Further to this is Sivanandan's priority of turning cases into issues.6 Taken together these directions have created an initiative in critical research which has provided close monitoring of the police, prisons, mental institutions and the courts. Inevitably, given its explicitly critical nature, much of this work has been carried out without the formal co-operation of the state agencies, but * Centre for Studies in Crime and Social Policy, Edge Hill College of Higher Education, Ormskirk, Lancashire. This paper was first presented to the annual

Book Reviews

Journal Article Book Reviews Get access Planning to Care: Social Policy and the Quality of Life , Alex Robertson and Averil Osborn (eds.), Aldershot , Gower , Studies in Social Policy and Welfare XXII, 1985 , 152 pp. £16.50. Care—experiences of looking after disabled relatives , Anna Briggs and Judith Oliver (eds.), London , Routledge & Kegan Paul , 1985 , xviii+121 pp. £5.95. GILLIAN DALLEY GILLIAN DALLEY Researcher Department of Community Medicine, University CollegeLondon Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 15, Issue 6, 1985, Pages 670–671, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjsw.a055164 Published: 01 November 1985

Book Reviews

Book Reviews Get access Adoption, Identity and Social Policy—the Search for Distant Relatives , Erica Haimes and Noel Timms , Aldershot , Gower , Studies in Social Policy and Welfare XXIII, 1985 . 105 pp. £15.00 cased, £7.50 paper. DAVID FRVIN DAVID FRVIN Research Planning Officer Cumbria Social Services and South Cumbria Health Authority Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 15, Issue 6, 1985, Pages 663–665, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjsw.a055160 Published: 01 November 1985

Mental Patients and Social Networks (Book).

Sociology of Health & IllnessVolume 7, Issue 2 p. 284-285 Free Access Mental Patients and Social Networks (Book). Andrew F. Long, Andrew F. Long Department of Social Policy and Health Services Studies University of Leeds.Search for more papers by this author Andrew F. Long, Andrew F. Long Department of Social Policy and Health Services Studies University of Leeds.Search for more papers by this author First published: July 1985 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.ep10949898AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume7, Issue2July 1985Pages 284-285 RelatedInformation

Approaches To The Study Of Third World Social Policy

Abstract Comparative studies of social welfare have focused largely on Europe and North America neglecting the majority of the world's nation states that are collectively referred to as the Third World. Although this is often attributed to a supposed paucity of research in the field, a large number of studies of Third World society policy have been undertaken. But they are seldom referred to by comparative investigators and social policy enquiry is still characterized by the compartmentalization of Western and Third World research. In an attempt to foster the emergence of a global perspective, this paper reviews a number of studies of Third World social policy classifying them into descriptive, normative and analytical categories. Some problems of Third World social policy research are also considered.

Arbitrary access to care: the case for reforming Medicaid.

Prologue: The enactment of Medicaid in 1965 represented a continuation of federal categorical aid to the needy started three decades earlier under the Social Security Act. In this essay, Tom Joe sets out the complexities and inequities of the federal-state Medicaid program as he has grown to know them intimately over a long career of social welfare policy analysis. Joes career in public policy took shape in the 1960s when he worked as a consultant to the California Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee. He followed California Republicans Robert Finch, who was the first secretary of health, education and welfare in the Nixon administration, and John Veneman, the department's undersecretary, to Washington in 1969. Working with Veneman, Joe was one of the architects of President Nixon s welfare reform plan. After departing government in 1972 and working as a private management consultant for five years, Joe created The Center for the Study of Social Policy, a small Washington-based think tank that feeds ideas and information to federal and state policymakers and private interests on a continuing basis. Joe is an acknowledged expert on government health and welfare programs. Most recently, he directed an examination of the Medicaid program that was undertaken by nine current or former directors of state Medicaid agencies and underwritten by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The group recommended replacement of the Medicaid system with two basic programs: (l)a federally financed and administered National Primary Care Program and (2) a state-administered and federal-state financed Continuing Care Program that would provide a full range of health and social long-term services to dependent individuals with functional impairments. Judith Meltzer received her Master's degree at the University of Chicago and worked at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare Office of Planning and Evaluation as well as at Lewin and Associates before joining The Center for Social Policy as a senior research associate. Peter Yu is a research associate at the center.

THE MEANING OF SOCIAL POLICY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE

During the past decade we have witnessed renewed interest in the study and analysis of both social policy and social structure. Journalists, administrators, politicians, welfare personnel and social scientists have extensively been engaged in the interpretation and assessment of the impact of social policy on social structure and vice versa. It would appear that the return of liberal governments in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia had much to do with this time‐honoured revival. In the United States this activity can be largely attributed to the promise of the “Great Society” ‐ an attempt by the Johnson administration (1963–1968) to eliminate poverty, create employment, improve medical care and education and revitalise cities and rural areas. In the United Kingdom the Labour Governments of Wilson (1964–1970; 1974–1976) and Callaghan (1976–1979) held out similar promises for a more equitable society. Predictably the literature on social policy and social structure increased accordingly.