Social Welfare Arrangements Research Articles

Who Gives to Food Banks? A Study of Influences Affecting Donations to Food Banks by Individuals

ABSTRACT Food banks have become an essential part of the social welfare arrangements of many countries. Food bank managers need to know why some people give to food banks while others do not, as such knowledge will help them devise effective promotional campaigns. The current research applied Norm Activation Theory to examine the motivations and other factors that encourage individuals (as opposed to businesses) to donate foodstuff to food banks in the United Kingdom. Two major research questions were addressed: (1) how do food bank donors and non-donors perceive the attributes of food bank beneficiaries, and (2) what considerations determine the frequencies of donations? The study employed a structural topic model (STM) to analyze the responses of 544 members of the public to an open-ended question regarding the characteristics of typical food bank beneficiaries. Outcomes were then imported to a structural equation model (SEM) containing “frequency of food bank donation” as the dependent variable.

Managing social policy in the emerging welfare regime of governance: What Indonesia can learn from South Korea’s experience

Although Indonesia and South Korea have parallel narratives concerning their political-economic order that influenced social welfare arrangements, they have had different welfare outcomes. The main purpose of this study is to survey the possibility for Indonesia to adopt key features from Korea that can be applied to catch up in terms of its welfare outcome improvements. We argue that the key to the success of Korean social welfare development is closely related to the adaptive and responsive capacity of existing political institutions in responding to global changes, leading to a collaborative model of governance in welfare service.

Social Policy Responses to the Covid-19 Crisis in China in 2020.

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has catapulted China into a serious social and political crisis. This article focuses upon how Chinese social policy has responded to the Covid-19 crisis. It reveals that the Chinese welfare state has woven a comprehensive social safety net to mitigate the social suffering of Chinese society in the mid- and post-crisis periods. Different types of social policy programs have been combined and synthesized, including social insurance, social assistance, and social welfare arrangements. Facing the challenges of the new risks caused by the pandemic, the collaboration of the Chinese state and intermediary social welfare organizations has played a crucial role in providing both cash benefits and social services (benefits in kind). For the first time, social policy in China has acted as a major player for coping with the negative outcomes of a pandemic. This article concludes that the pandemic-related crisis has justified an interventionist approach and logic, driven by the state’s welfare system, which favors a model of “big government”. However, this model also requires justification and legitimation.

Social welfare versus transnational social protection regimes: the changing roles of church and state

ABSTRACTIn this article we argue that transnational social protection (TSP) is becoming the norm in the context of globalisation, heightened mobility and neoliberalism, but cannot be understood without addressing its religious components. TSP differs significantly from national welfare state regimes, which place the responsibility for providing social support firmly on the shoulders of the state. In contrast, TSP regimes involve multiple actors and opportunities in origin and receiving states and place most of the onus for social protection on individuals and families. This article investigates church and state interaction in the development of TSP across the Italian, Mexican and Filipino contexts. It advances scholarship in three key ways: first, it showcases how TSP is replacing state social welfare arrangements and brings to light those shifting church-state entanglements that are central to this shift; second, it highlights the historically rooted trajectories of church-state entanglements that these three cases have in common; and third, it shows that as TSP becomes a state tool in governing non-resident citizens, the church's critical stance in relation to state provisioning is central to TSP as a mode of migration government.

Medical crowdfunding in China: empirics and ethics

Medical crowdfunding has become a popular choice worldwide for people with unaffordable health needs. In low-income and middle-income countries with limited social welfare arrangements and a high incidence of catastrophic...

The Great Recession and the changing distribution of economic vulnerability by social class: The Irish case

Ireland represents a particularly interesting case study of the distributional impact of pronounced macroeconomic fluctuations. In this article, we use the Irish case to show that in contrast to periods of relative equilibrium, an understanding of the distributional consequences of economic turbulence requires going beyond conventional measures of income poverty or inequality. Here, we focus on a conception of ‘economic vulnerability’ that identifies a sub-set of the population as characterized by a distinctive multi-dimensional risk profile in relation to income poverty, material deprivation and economic stress. Our analysis reveals a doubling of levels of economic vulnerability in the post-recession period. However, the degree of polarization between vulnerable and non-vulnerable classes was significantly reduced. Economic vulnerability is highly stratified by social class for both periods. Over time, the higher salariat, the non-agricultural self-employed, the semi-unskilled manual and those who never worked gained relative to the remaining classes. This provides support for the notion of ‘middle-class squeeze’. This was also true in relation to household work intensity. The impact of the latter on economic vulnerability declined sharply, while it came to play an increasing role in mediating the consequences of membership of the non-agricultural middle classes. Responding to the political pressures likely to be associated with ‘middle-class squeeze’ while sustaining the social welfare arrangements that have traditionally protected the economically vulnerable presents formidable challenges in terms of maintaining social cohesion and political legitimacy.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE NEWS

Journal of Policy Analysis and ManagementVolume 32, Issue 4 p. 905-909 International Conference News INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE NEWS ASIAN SOCIAL PROTECTION IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Karen J. Baehler, Karen J. BaehlerSearch for more papers by this authorDouglas J. Besharov, Douglas J. BesharovSearch for more papers by this author Karen J. Baehler, Karen J. BaehlerSearch for more papers by this authorDouglas J. Besharov, Douglas J. BesharovSearch for more papers by this author First published: 07 August 2013 https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21722Read the full textAboutPDF 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 onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume32, Issue4Autumn 2013Pages 905-909 RelatedInformation

The Impact of Macro-Economic Circumstances and Social Protection Expenditure on Economic Deprivation in 25 European Countries, 2007–2011

In this study, we investigate to what extent macro-economic circumstances and social protection expenditure affect economic deprivation. We use three items from round five of the European Social Survey (2010–2011) to construct our latent outcome variable, which we label economic deprivation in the 3 years before 2010–2011. The results of our linear multilevel regression analyses indicate that in countries that perform worse economically, individual experiences of economic deprivation are more prevalent: the stronger the rise in the unemployment rate and the lower a country’s wealth, the more economic deprivation individuals experience. We also find that in countries with high levels of social protection, people experience less economic deprivation as compared to countries with low levels of social protection. In turn, adverse economic conditions in a country temper these positive outcomes of social welfare arrangements. Finally, our study reveals that the strength of the relationship between a low income and economic deprivation strongly varies according to the economic circumstances in a country and the generosity of the welfare state.

Cancer survivorship and employment: epidemiology

Survivorship following cancer diagnosis is increasing in prevalence; however, the research literature relating to the process of return to work is sparse. The limited literature suggests four groups of factors associated with return to work: (i) impact of cancer site, (ii) impact of treatment, (iii) occupational status and (iv) the roles of others. The extent to which these findings can be generalized to UK settings is limited as most research originates in countries with social welfare arrangements differing significantly from those in place in the UK. Therefore, there is a need for more evidence to inform better guidance for clinicians, survivors and work organizations about how to manage cancer in the workplace.

Regimes on Pillars: Alternative Welfare State Logics and Dynamics

Social welfare arrangements represent the conjunction of the twin logics of regimes and pillars. Regimes describe who receives the benefits and on what conditions; pillars describe who pays for and who provides the benefits. There are historical associations and ‘“natural” affinities’ between certain regimes and certain pillars. But there is also scope for novel combinations and recombinations. Many contemporary welfare state reforms are best conceptualized in terms of shifting the mix of pillars and blurring regimes.

Health and Social Care for Elderly People in Sweden: Implications for Policy in the United States

ABSTRACTThrough a descriptive and analytical account of recent trends in the care of elderly people in Sweden, a number of lessons are indicated for America and countries with similar health and social welfare arrangements. Clarity of objectives within a ‘normalising’ framework; sound organisational arrangements based on small local areas; effective knowledge of services by consumers and cost-effective provision are factors identified as significant.