Social Welfare Benefits Research Articles

The Rise and Fall of Japan’s New Far Right: How Anti-Korean Discourses Went Mainstream

Why has right-wing activism in Japan, despite its persistence throughout the postwar era, only gained significant traction recently? Focusing on the Zaitokukai, an anti-Korean movement in Japan, this article demonstrates how the new Far Right were able to popularize formerly stigmatized right-wing ideas. The Zaitokukai represents a political group distinct from the traditional right and reflective of new Far Right movements spreading worldwide. In Japan, concerns about the growing influence of South Korea and China in the 1980s as well as the decline of left-wing norms opened up a discursive opportunity for the new Far Right. By framing Korean postcolonial minorities as undeserving recipients of social welfare benefits, the Zaitokukai mobilized perceptions of threat that has continued to powerfully influence public perceptions of Koreans even following the group’s organizational decline. While past research has focused on the new Far Right’s political influence, this article stresses their roles as ideological entrepreneurs.

Disability Assessment in Geriatric Psychiatry and Social Welfare Measures in Geropsychiatry in India.

Background:Rising population of elder people and associated rise in health problems, frailty and disabilities have significant socioeconomic and health care implications. Mental health related disability contributes significantly in the global disability statistics and is an important health and quality of life indicator. Assessment of disabilities in elderly is essential part of routine evaluation, further it also helps the clinicians in identifying current functional status and choosing and monitoring therapeutic interventions and need for social welfare schemes.Methods:In order to understand the process of disability assessment in geriatric psychiatry and to gather information about social welfare schemes a literature review in Google Scholar and PubMed electronic database, and website of various ministries under Government of India was done, using developed key search terms for articles published up to February 2021. The identified eligible articles were reviewed for ideas and concepts, which were then integrated and categorized under broader themes. Finally, the broad categories were discussed briefly based on the above framework.Results:Review findings are summarized under the following headings: concept of ageing and disability, assessment of disability, process of certification, and social welfare schemes.Conclusions:The process of disability assessment comprises of comprehensive clinical evaluation, use of standardized rating instruments and disability certification wherever warranted or asked for. It is now being acknowledged worldwide by provisions of various social welfare benefits, that living with disability and increased care needs should be an integral part of definition of successful ageing.

The causal effects of education on welfare participation in the US

ABSTRACT This study provides new evidence on the long-term impact of education on welfare participation in the US. I exploit historical changes in child labor laws as an instrumental variable for education to estimate the causal effects of education on the probability of receiving social welfare benefits. I find large and statistically significant negative effects of education on welfare participation among persons who obtained additional education due to increased schooling requirements induced by child labor laws. The findings are robust across different sample selection and model specifications.

Remuneration and Job Performance of Teachers in Government Aided Secondary Schools in Western Uganda

The study investigated the relationship between remuneration and job performance of teachers in government-aided secondary schools in Western Uganda. Remuneration was studied in terms of basic pay, income security schemes, and bonuses and allowances. Teachers’ job performance was considered in terms of classroom teaching, management of students, discipline and regularity and interpersonal relations. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design using the quantitative approach on a sample of 333 teachers. Data were collected using both a questionnaire. Descriptive results revealed that job performance of teachers high and remuneration moderate. Inferential analysis showed that while income security schemes had a positive and significant influence on teachers' job performance, basic pay had a positive but insignificant influence on teachers' job performance, and bonuses and allowances had a negative insignificant influence on teachers' job performance. It was concluded that low remuneration to teachers impedes high job performance, especially when basic pay is low and there is a lack of bonuses and allowances. Existence of income security schemes increases the job performance of teachers. Therefore, it was recommended that stakeholders involved in the management of schools such as Government, headteachers, and Boards of governors, devise means of enhancing the remuneration of teachers. Teachers should be given bonuses for exceeding performance and allowances when they do extra work. The pension plan and social welfare benefits should also be made attractive to increase the job performance of teachers.

Barriers in Accessing Social Welfare Benefits for Families of Children With Intellectual and Developmental Disorders in Rural Karnataka: A Situation Analysis.

Background:Several government schemes exist for the welfare of families having children with intellectual and developmental disorders (IDDs) in India. However, these schemes are often not utilized. An understanding of the barriers to access these social welfare benefits, especially in rural areas of India, can aid in planning social action toward the implementation of these schemes.Methods:A situation analysis of the resources and potential barriers to access social welfare benefits for families of children with IDD was conducted in a rural community. Stakeholder interviews were conducted with families of children with IDD (n = 20), government officials responsible for implementing education at the state level (n = 5), local officials responsible for facilitating social welfare benefits (n = 5), and nongovernmental organization (NGO) working in the area of children with IDD (n = 3). Qualitative thematic analysis was used to understand the barriers to access social welfare benefits for the families of children with IDD.Results:Barriers encountered by families of children with IDD, local officials, and NGOs included lack of awareness about the available welfare schemes, unavailability of social welfare facilities in the local areas, lack of social auditing in the provision of social welfare schemes to the needy, and stringent process of application and regulation for financial aid under the National Trust schemes.Conclusion:There are multiple barriers to access social welfare benefits for families having children with IDD in rural Karnataka. There is a strong need to empower families, sensitize local officials, and advocate for social policies to effectively implement National Trust schemes in rural areas of Karnataka.

Incentive-Compatible Demand Response for Spatially Coupled Internet Data Centers in Electricity Markets

An incentive-compatible demand response (DR) strategy is proposed for engaging spatially-coupled Internet data center (IDC) and their spatial load regulation potentials in electricity markets. First, an optimal power flow (OPF) model which considers IDC (referred to as IOPF) is proposed to coordinate IDC DRs and power system operations, in which the formulated IDC load model is compatible with the conventional OPF model. Second, the IOPF-based locational marginal price (LMP) (referred to as ILMP) is derived, which is used to analyze the impact of spatially-coupled DR options on ILMPs and the IDC DR's clearing price. Third, IDC DR activation strategy is proposed as an extension of Net Benefit Test (NBT), where the risk of negative benefit to IDCs is derived. An IDC DR's activation strategy is proposed based on NBT to determine whether non-zero IDC DR dispatches in IOPF are cost-effective. Last, an extra benefit redistribution mechanism is proposed to achieve the incentive-compatibility between social welfare and IDC benefit. The proposed approach is based on the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves mechanism and the contribution factor theory, where the market's revenue adequacy is maintained, and benefits to IDCs and other customers are guaranteed. Simulation results verify the efficiency of the proposed method, implying that the proposed spatially-coupled DRs are compatible with and can enhance existing DR mechanisms.

Novel Donation Sharing Mechanisms Under Smart Energy Cyber-Physical-Social System and DLT to Contend the Energy Poverty Problem

The objective of this study is to introduce a new use case under smart energy cyber-physical-social system (CPSS) that brings together the competence of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and essence of peer-to-peer local energy markets. This use case involves donation sharing under a DLT-based charity system to support financially-disadvantaged citizens in covering their residential energy requirements in an anonymous and effective manner, as a means to contend the notorious energy poverty problem. Essential architecture and processes for such a sharing concept are discussed by adopting a layer-based representation of the smart energy CPSS. Fundamental step-by-step interactions among its functional layers for realizing prospective social welfare benefits are illustrated. Based on this framework, two distinct donation sharing mechanisms that work under a DLT-empowered local market setting are proposed. Operation of these donation sharing mechanisms are illustrated on a local energy market with resorting to a sample daily energy profile and a series of hybrid scenarios. Effect of donation sharing on accounts of market participants and charity system are detailed.

Can social welfare buy mass loyalty?

AbstractDo social welfare benefits enhance political legitimacy in nondemocracies? Conventional wisdom treats material interest as being the central mechanism underpinning widespread political attitudes, but social welfare is not always effective in garnering political support in nondemocracies. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that even though receiving social welfare benefits has significantly improved individuals' well‐being, their political support in different levels of government have not significantly grown. We demonstrate that the null effect of social welfare on political support can be partially explained by individuals' exposure to political violence before. Social welfare benefits yield a backsliding effect on local government support when individuals were exposed to high revolutionary intensity.

Vote with your rabbi: The electoral effects of religious institutions in Israel

How do religious parties mobilize local support and what impact does different political strategies have on neighborhoods? Previous literature focuses on the social welfare benefits distributed by religious parties. In this paper, I analyze how religious political parties in Israel generate grassroots support among voters by allying with Jewish religious institutions. Using original data, I examine the association between the timing of entry of religious institutions into neighborhoods and local voting patterns for Israeli national elections. I find that religious institutions are associated with a 4-percentage point increase in the local vote share for religious parties, where this effect is larger for religious institutions with connections to political parties. My results suggest that the primary mechanism driving these results are that these institutions influence the vote choice of existing residents by distributing tangible goods. In contrast, changes to the composition of the neighborhood through in-migration has a more limited effect on voting patterns. These findings highlight the impact of religious institutions on the social and political fabric of local communities.

We Need to Talk About Racism-In All of Its Forms-To Understand COVID-19 Disparities.

Purpose: Racism is an essential factor to understand racial health disparities in infection and mortality due to COVID-19 and must be thoroughly integrated into any successful public health response. But highlighting the effect of racism generally does not go far enough toward understanding racial/ethnic health disparities or advocating for change; we must interrogate the various forms of racism in the United States, including behaviors and practices that are not recognized by many as racism.Methods: In this article, we explore the prevalence and demographic distribution of various forms of racism in the United States and how these diverse racial ideologies are potentially associated with racialized responses to the COVID-19 crisis.Results: We find that among white Americans, more than a quarter express traditional racist attitudes, whereas more than half endorse more contemporary and implicit forms of racist ideology. Each of these types of racism helps us explain profound disparities related to COVID-19.Conclusions: Despite a robust literature documenting persistent patterns of racial disparities in the United States, a focus on the role that various forms of racism play in perpetuating these disparities is absent. These distinctions are essential to realizing health equity and countering disparities in COVID-19 and other health outcomes among people of color in the United States.

COVID-19: an opportunity for African governments to rethink social welfare benefits and protection.

The emergence of COVID-19 in December 2019 has highlighted several lessons about Public health emergencies. One important lesson is on the role of social welfare benefits and protection in the overall management of public health emergencies. The absence of a functional and digitalized social welfare system in Africa may render ineffective public health measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The social determinant of disease illustrates the nexus between poverty and health outcomes. Therefore, COVID-19 is an opportunity for African governments to rethink their stance on social welfare benefits and protection; and adopt mechanisms that protect the most vulnerable.

Adapted fathering for new times: refugee men's narratives on caring for home and children

ABSTRACT This study explores Middle Eastern men's narratives on how they adapt their fathering to new circumstances during resettlement in Sweden. It is based on individual interviews and diary notes collected over three years. Swedish policies encourage mothers as well as fathers to participate in paid labour and to be involved in household and child-care duties. Migrants who have been granted residency as refugees are entitled to extensive social welfare benefits, but they are also required to participate in language studies, accept trainee positions, and actively search for employment. The results of the present study suggest that the refugee fathers come to share daily chores and childcare with their spouse more equally than prior in their home countries. This new fatherhood is referred to in several ways: as a necessity to make family life work; as positive for the father–child relationship; and, as very time- and energy- consuming. Emerging masculinities and caring masculinities evolve in the analyses, and the results show comprehensive fathering, that is, fatherhood characterized by care, intimacy and love that are the result of hard, straining (reproductive) work that takes place with limited financial and/or cultural resources.

Tax or subsidy? Design and selection of regulatory policies for remanufacturing

This study investigates a regulatory policy design and selection problem for a social-welfare-maximizing regulator, whose policies influence the remanufacturing production of a profit-maximizing manufacturer. The decisions of the regulator and the manufacturer are characterized by a Stackelberg game model, where three regulatory policies, namely, a tax policy, a subsidy policy, and a tax-subsidy policy are considered. Analytical results show that regulatory policies cannot always promote remanufacturing, which goes against the original intention of the regulator who hopes to encourage remanufacturing via regulatory policies. Accordingly, we address regulatory policy design strategies to help the regulator make policy-making decisions on respective regulatory policies. We then propose a threshold-based regulatory policy selection strategy to aid the regulator in making policy-choice decisions between the three policies. Further analyses indicate that the quality of available cores and the environmental treatment cost essentially influence the policy selection decisions of the regulator. The selected policy helps the regulator achieve maximum social welfare with the best environmental performance in most cases. An interesting finding in this study is that when the subsidy policy is selected, it is superior to the tax policy in improving social welfare and economic benefit, but may lead to heavier environmental burdens.

Motivating innovation alliance’s environmental performance through eco-innovation investment in a supply chain

Although eco-innovation has been practiced in business for years, few studies have investigated eco-innovation decisions when both horizontal and vertical supply chain relationships exist. This paper fills this gap in the literature by analysing firms’ eco-innovation investment strategy in a supply chain with a buyer and two suppliers in the presence of knowledge spillovers and technology gaps among suppliers. To encourage improvements in the eco-innovation performance of suppliers, the buyer allocates a greater market share to the supplier with the lower wholesale price. Both suppliers decide whether to determine their eco-innovation levels unilaterally (Noncooperative innovation strategy) or coordinate in an innovation alliance (Innovation alliance strategy). To determine the relative efficiency of the two innovation schemes, we study a game theoretical model that captures the interactions among three parties. It is demonstrated that knowledge spillovers and technology gaps have a significant impact on suppliers’ eco-innovation levels, the economic benefits, and the total social welfare. We also identify the conditions under which an innovation alliance is better than noncooperative innovation from the perspectives of both the suppliers and social welfare. In particular, both suppliers choose to formalize an innovation alliance under a low-level technology gap, and social welfare benefits more under an innovation alliance than under noncooperative innovation.

Introduction

Introduction

Left is right and right is left? Partisan difference on social welfare and particularistic benefits in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan

AbstractThis paper investigates elite-level partisan differences along the socioeconomic dimension in three developed East Asian democracies – Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. On the one hand, the mainstream literature in welfare studies and party politics expects left- and right-leaning parties should vary significantly in utilizing social policy promises. On the other hand, the path dependency logic tells us that left–right difference should be found over particularistic benefits, such as agricultural subsidies or construction projects, considering that these were central means for right-leaning parties to maintain their power during the developmental state period in the three countries. Using an original bill-sponsorship data set between 1987 and 2012, we find that there has not been any substantial difference in the agenda setting of conventional social welfare bills between left- and right-wing government periods. However, a clear elective affinity can be observed between established right-wing parties and particularistic benefits. The paper shows that contextualizing key political actors' preferences can lead to a more systematic understanding of political dynamics behind the socioeconomic dimension in non-Anglo-European countries.

International classification of diseases/disorders diagnosis and International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health activity/participation limitation among psychiatric patients: a cross-sectional and exploratory study.

To explore the relationships between international classification of diseases/disorders (ICD)-10 diagnoses and International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) disability dimensions - activity and participation restriction among mental health service users. Three hundred sixty patients from different health services diagnosed with diverse mental disorders (ICD-10) participated in the study. Functioning restrictions were evaluated by use of the Mini-ICF-APP. Selected sociodemographic and clinical variables were also analysed. The Mini-ICF-APP scores correlated positively with the clinical impression of disease severity and negatively with general functioning. As independent factors determining the Mini-ICF-APP score, regression analysis suggests diagnosis and severity of disorder but also contextual factors such as general functioning and active occupation. Percentage and percentile distributions of activity and participation restrictions in diagnostic sections and categories revealed noticeable variability regardless of diagnosis-related differences. The diagnosis determines them neither in an ambiguous nor an absolute manner. There is a need to further explore the covariability between clinical diagnosis and ICF activity and participation restriction, particularly in regard the rationalization of social welfare benefits.

Green subsidy modes and pricing strategy in a capital-constrained supply chain

This paper investigates green credit (GC), manufacture subsidy (MS), and sales subsidy (SS) modes in a supply chain with a capital-constrained green manufacturer and attempts to find the win-win subsidy mode. We show that when the bank loan is infinite and the total subsidies of different modes are equal, GC can bring the highest returns with respect to green degree, market demand, social welfare, and environmental benefit. However, under the finite loan scenario, GC is the optimal choice for the government only when the credit line of the manufacturer is relatively high; otherwise, MS is the optimal subsidy mode.

Vulnerability in health and social capital: a qualitative analysis by levels of marginalization in Mexico

BackgroundSocial capital is employed as an asset when there is a lack of an efficient health-care system. However, this relationship is not homogeneous and can differ according to the characteristics of individuals and their context. In this paper, we aim to analyze the role of social capital in the solution of healthcare problems among individuals with different levels of marginalization and unequal access to health services.MethodsThis qualitative study examines the role of social capital in the demand for healthcare among Mexican individuals with different levels of marginalization. The research draws data from semi-structured interviews (N = 247) that were collected in four Mexican states with different social welfare benefits: Mexico City, Tamaulipas, the State of Mexico, and Oaxaca. The interviewees were selected using the snowball method and other eligibility criteria such as education, age, and gender.ResultsFindings suggest that social capital is a relevant factor in solving healthcare problems, depending on the level of marginalization. The role of social capital can be explained by the precariousness of medical service delivery, the poor health infrastructure, and the difficult access to health care in Mexico. Networks are the main resource to deal with health related issues, food, medicine, and out-of-the-pocket medical expenses in contexts of high levels of marginalization. In the middle level of marginalization, networks also help in raising funds for more-specialized medical services and higher quality hospitals. In the least-marginalized levels, social capital is used as companionship for sick individuals, while support networks act as emotional relief. At this level, most individuals have private health insurance, and many of them have major medical healthcare coverage.ConclusionsParticipants reported low levels of trust in the health care system because of the poor infrastructure and quality of medical service delivery. Although the main criticism is focused on public healthcare institutions, there is a lack of trust in private medical services as well. These facts are related to the access and quality of medical service delivery and turn social capital into a significant asset. Despite that social bonds or links are valuable resources that individuals can use to solve healthcare related issues, the use of social capital is not homogenous. Indeed, it can be influenced by several factors that were represented in this study through the municipal marginalization index.

Feasibility and acceptability of a novel community-based mental health intervention delivered by community volunteers in Maharashtra, India: the Atmiyata programme

BackgroundMany community-based intervention models for mental health and wellbeing have undergone robust experimental evaluation; however, there are limited accounts of the implementation of these evidence-based interventions in practice. Atmiyata piloted the implementation of a community-led intervention to identify and understand the challenges of delivering such an intervention. The goal of the pilot evaluation is to identify factors important for larger-scale implementation across an entire district in India. This paper presents the results of a feasibility and acceptability study of the Atmiyata intervention piloted in Nashik district, Maharashtra, India between 2013 and 2015.MethodsA mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the Atmiyata intervention. First, a pre-post survey conducted with 215 cases identified with a GHQ cut-off 6 using a 3-month interval. Cases enrolled into the study in one randomly selected month (May–June 2015). Secondly, a quasi-experimental, pre-post design was used to conduct a population-based survey in the intervention and control areas. A randomly selected sample (panel) of 827 women and 843 men age between 18 to 65 years were interviewed to assess the impact of the Atmiyata intervention on common mental disorders. Finally, using qualitative methods, 16 Champions interviewed to understand an implementation processes, barriers and facilitators.ResultsOf the 215 participants identified by the Champions as being distressed or having a common mental disorder (CMD), n = 202 (94.4%) had a GHQ score at either sub-threshold level for CMD or above at baseline. Champions accurately identified people with emotional distress and in need of psychological support. After a 6-session counselling provided by the Champions, the percentage of participants with a case-level GHQ score dropped from 63.8 to 36.8%. The second sub-intervention consisted of showing films on Champions’ mobile phones to raise community awareness regarding mental health. Films consisted of short scenario-based depictions of problems commonly experienced in villages (alcohol use and domestic violence). Champions facilitated access to social benefits for people with disability. Retention of Atmiyata Champions was high; 90.7% of the initial selected champions continued to work till the end of the project. Champions stated that they enjoyed their work and found it fulfilling to help others. This made them willing to work voluntarily, without pay. The semi-structured interviews with champions indicated that persons in the community experienced reduced symptoms and improved social, occupational and family functioning for problems such as depression, domestic violence, alcohol use, and severe mental illness.ConclusionsThis study shows that community-led interventions using volunteers from rural neighbourhoods can serve as a locally feasible and acceptable approach to facilitating access social welfare benefits, as well as reducing distress and symptoms of depression and anxiety in a low and middle-income country context. The intervention draws upon social capital in a community to engage and empower community members to address mental health problems. A robust evaluation methodology is needed to test the efficacy of such a model when it is implemented at scale.