Welfare Budget Research Articles

Predictors of older adults’ health behaviours to prevent COVID-19 transmission: a multilevel analysis

ObjectivesWhile older adults showed higher mortality during COVID-19 pandemic, protective behaviours (knowledge regarding coping with COVID-19 symptoms and preventive behaviours) were highlighted to be important to prevent the spread of...

Evaluating the Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) on Depressive Mood among Korean Older Adults Using Multilevel Analysis.

The harmful effects of particulate matter (PM) are amplified in older adults, who experience a decline in physiological function, reducing their ability to expel and detoxify inhaled PM. Moreover, older adults may be more vulnerable to fine particulate toxicity due to underlying medical conditions. We assessed the effects of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on depressive mood (DM) in adults aged > 65 yr using community-based data. In the 2017, Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS) data, data of PM2.5 and community factors were constructed based on participants who responded to DM in a sample of 67,802 individuals. To evaluate the effect of PM2.5 on DM among older adults, a multilevel regression model was constructed using individual-(KCHS) and community-level data (PM2.5, green area per capita, urban area, social welfare budget, health, and social business). For PM2.5, an independent variable, quartiles were used to classify regions according to concentration. A positive correlation was found between PM2.5 and DM of older adults. Compared to Q1, the odds ratio increased to 1.15 (95% CI 0.76-1.74) in Q2, 1.55 (95% CI 1.02-2.35) in Q3, and 1.60 (95% CI 1.16-2.20) in Q4. DM may increase in older individuals living in areas with high PM2.5. Systematic mental health management is required for older individuals residing in such areas.

Overseers of the Poor: Relief, Surveillance, and Control in the Early Republic Northeast

Abstract: Early Republic communities were represented by officers of the poor law operated almshouses, distributed relief, and collaborated with other local authorities to implement the state poor laws. The scale of poverty experienced in the early American republic, when the rates of destitution and level of need for high welfare budgets were a constant preoccupation of lawmakers and philanthropists, points to the importance of this singular figure of the overseer. Working within a highly mobile population adjusting to the nascent system of wage labor in this period, overseers tracked people experiencing poverty across community lines. Overseers of the Poor acted as agents of the state writ large, operating at local and municipal levels to implement the logics of state laws relating to citizenship and poverty.

농촌지역 기초자치단체의 자살분야 지역안전지수 향상 방안

This study aimed to examine the reality of local safety index with detailed result of analysis on the suicide sector which is shown as the most vulnerable indicator out of local safety index of Goesan-gun that is considered a representative local governments in rural area in Chungcheongbuk-do, and seek for solution to improve the foregoing. This study also intended to suggest a political measure to secure safety of the residents of Goesan-gun and improve the quality of life of local communities against suicide in the future by suggesting basic direction for spreading safety culture in local communities and promoting safety consciousness of local residents that need to be carried out for improvement of local safety index in suicide sector through the contents of research. Research result shows that it is necessary to revise the 「Ordinance on Prevention of Prevention of Suicide and Creation of Culture of Respect for Life」and expand support system for reducing suicide of the elderly to improve suicide sector local safety index and specific vulnerable indicators of Goesan-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do. As for specific measures, enhancement of economic support system such as expansion of support system for cashable welfare for the elderly and discover of subsidy support by Goesan-gun are also considered necessary. In addition, support system for independence of the elderly for supplementation of elderly employment and social activities must be enhanced by expanding resident participatory protection system for disadvantaged elderly and vulnerable social groups, and psychological support system for local residents shall also be reorganized by installing a suicide prevention as an affiliated institution. Additionally, the budget must be increased to the average level of local governments across the country by expanding social welfare and health service budget of Goesan-gun, and improvement of infrastructure and system for establishing a social safety net which is indispensible for preventing suicide of the elderly must also be carried out positively through the aforementioned.

Responsibility for impairment shapes the perceived deservingness of welfare claimants with disabilities

AbstractWhen do people support government assistance for people with disabilities? Disability welfare programs account for large shares of national welfare budgets, but little is known about public attitudes toward disabled welfare claimants. Drawing on psychological research in stereotype content, we argue that attitudes toward welfare for people with disabilities are likely to be more conditional than previously acknowledged. In two nationally representative, preregistered survey experiments in Wales (N = 3393) and Scotland (1707), we ask respondents to evaluate the deservingness of a fictitious disabled claimant to government assistance. We manipulate the claimant's outgroup status and the manner in which they acquired their impairment. We find that disabled claimants perceived as even somewhat responsible for their impairments are considered substantially less deserving of government assistance than those perceived not responsible, even when their needs for assistance are identical. Contrary to expectations, we find relatively modest and inconsistent outgroup penalties in perceived deservingness. Finally, we find large heterogeneous treatment effects among respondents holding to more authoritarian social values. These results challenge conventional wisdom regarding the universality of support for disability welfare and help explain why voters may not be inclined to punish politicians who propose cuts to programs for even stereotypically high‐deserving groups.

Crowding-out effect between income policies and public services budgets in OECD countries

Challenges such as globalization and the digital economy are affecting the labor market and causing social exclusion. Thus, the relevance of income policies, which are responsible for the citizens’ financial security, is understood. This study aimed to evaluate the budget expansion of income policies between 1970 and 2019 and verify if there is a crowding-out effect between their budget and public services from 2000 to 2019 in OECD countries. The theoretical framework addressed the welfare state, income policies, budget disputes and austerity, and the crowding-out and crowding-in (complementarity) effects. Methodologically, descriptive and graphical analyses, correlation analyses, Granger causality tests, and GMM system short panel regression were used. The results indicated an expansion of income policy budgets, emphasizing investments in social security and pension systems. Also, a mixed relationship was observed between the acceptance of the crowding-out hypothesis and income policies and public services, with a tendency to exclude public services for expansion in income policies. Limitations were observed due to the lack of some data from the broad database used.

Does economic self‐interest determine public attitudes toward immigrants? An econometric case study in Japan

AbstractWe examine two economic self‐interest hypotheses regarding the determinants of public attitudes toward immigrants: (1) the labor market hypothesis, which states that the employment and wage impacts of immigration determine the public attitudes, and (2) the welfare state hypothesis, which states that natives hold negative perceptions of immigrants due to concerns that they may strain the country's welfare budget. The first hypothesis predicts that natives' education will affect pro‐immigrant attitudes more positively when immigrants come from lower income countries. The second hypothesis predicts that natives' income affects the pro‐immigrant attitudes more negatively when immigrants come from lower income countries. We use the Japanese General Social Survey, which asks respondents' tolerance toward immigrants from different countries, allowing us to control for unobserved individual characteristics through a method akin to the fixed effect estimation. Our results indicate no difference in the effects of education and income on pro‐immigrant attitudes regardless of whether immigrants come from high‐ or low‐income countries. We conclude that economic self‐interest does not explain Japanese public attitudes toward immigrants. We discuss the policy implications about how to improve public attitudes toward immigrants.

Dynamics of Dismissal of Regional Heads in Lampung Province Perspective of Law and Fiqh Siyasah

This research aims to determine the impeachment or dismissal of regional heads in Lampung Province from the perspective of Law and Islamic jurisprudence. This problem is interesting to research. Since this province was founded, at least five regional heads have been dishonorably dismissed for committing Corruption, namely the Regent of South Lampung, the Regent of North Lampung, the Regent of Tanggamus, the Regent of Mesuji and the Regent of Central Lampung. This research uses a library study method, is descriptive-analytical, and uses primary and secondary legal data sources, which are then analyzed using the comparative method. This research concluded that the impeachment of regional heads in Lampung Province was carried out because they violated their oath of office, namely committing Corruption as regulated in Law Number 9 of 2015 concerning Regional Government, which is the second amendment to Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning regional government. Corruption in Indonesia is an extraordinary crime because it has a significant and widespread impact. Instead, the budget for regional development and people's welfare is taken for their interests. In Fiqh Siyasah, this issue is included in siyasah qadhaiyah. Every community must obey the laws and regulations. So, if a regional head violates the Law, he can be dishonorably dismissed for acting wickedly and unjustly. The corrupt behavior of regional heads includes sinful acts and forms of cruelty by leaders toward their people.

Delay the Pension Age or Adjust the Pension Benefit? Implications for Labor Supply and Individual Welfare in China

We develop and calibrate a life-cycle model of labor supply and consumption to quantify the implications of alternative pension reforms on labor supply, individual welfare, and government budget for Chinas basic old-age insurance program. We distinguish low-skilled and high-skilled individuals, who differ in their preferences, health and labor income dynamics, and medical expense processes. We use the calibrated model to evaluate three potential pension reforms: (i) increasing the pension eligibility age from 60 to 65, but keeping the current pension benefit formula unchanged; (ii) keeping the pension eligibility age at 60, but proportionally lowering pension benefits so that the pension program’s budget is the same as under Reform (i); and (iii) increasing the pension eligibility age to 65 and simultaneously increasing the pension benefits so that individuals of both skill types attain the same individual welfare levels as in the status quo. We find that relative to the baseline, both Reforms (i) and (ii) can substantially improve the budgets of the pension system, but at the cost of substantial individual welfare loss for both skill types. In contrast, we find that Reform (iii) can modestly improve the budget of the pension system while ensuring that both skill types are as well off as in the status quo. We find that Reforms (i) and (ii) slightly increase, but Reform (iii) slightly decreases, the overall labor supply.

Investigation of fetal ECG signal using textile-based electrodes

Fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring is a technique that can be considered vital tool assisting midwife. This technique is useful in the early recognition of fetal heart defects, stillbirth and prevention of a risky conditions in clinics during pregnancy. The complications due to these threats are currently kept at bay by the extensive use of cardiotocography in clinics. However, cardiotocography suffers from drawbacks such as the need to replace transducer skillfully or the fact that the use of this method is only limited to mother to be staying in clinics. The aim of this article is to present the development of a belt composed of yarns containing different percentages of stainless-steel fibers as conductive yarns. The use of this belt in association with signal processing technique enables the real-time monitoring of FHR by the mother in absence of medical staff. Thus, not only preventing the occurrence of life threatening complexities but also significantly relieving the burden on the social welfare budget. It was concluded that a smart belt containing the highest percentage of stainless-steel fiber offers successful recording of fetal electrocardiogram.

The Social and Community Consequences of the Opioid Epidemic

We provide a brief orientation to the articles that comprise this volume, which is an effort to understand the consequences of the opioid epidemic in a variety of societal and community domains. These domains include child welfare, living arrangements, education, food insecurity, housing, and public budgets, and they are often paid scant attention compared to research that focuses on the direct effects of opioid use. We give an overview of the articles that comprise this volume and discuss the ways in which they contribute new empirical insights on the consequences of the opioid crisis in the U.S. and Canada. We conclude with thoughts on the challenges inherent in this work, insights about how this volume of research might help us understand the broader reach of the epidemic, and how it helps in the development of prosocial public policies.

Direct Benefit Transfer: The Great Technological Move of India

DBT has been used to deliver over 450 schemes to over 900 million people. Since 2016, the government has deposited nearly 65% of the welfare and subsidy budget directly into beneficiaries' accounts. DBT will undoubtedly meet the government's and people's expectations, especially those of the poor and unfortunate. We hope that more schemes will be covered by DBT, and that the entire country and its people will receive benefits without delay or flaws. As a result, the government must make a concerted effort in various areas of planning to improve the lives of the poor and powerless in society. In this way, DBT helps create an environment where people can live long, healthy, and creative lives. This paper examines the role of Direct Benefit Transfer.

Direct Benefit Transfer: The Great Technological Move of India

DBT has been used to deliver over 450 schemes to over 900 million people. Since 2016, the government has deposited nearly 65% of the welfare and subsidy budget directly into beneficiaries' accounts. DBT will undoubtedly meet the government's and people's expectations, especially those of the poor and unfortunate. We hope that more schemes will be covered by DBT, and that the entire country and its people will receive benefits without delay or flaws. As a result, the government must make a concerted effort in various areas of planning to improve the lives of the poor and powerless in society. In this way, DBT helps create an environment where people can live long, healthy, and creative lives. This paper examines the role of Direct Benefit Transfer.

Inequality, public choice, and the welfare state

ABSTRACT How does a change in income inequality affect public support for welfare policies in modern democracy? Contrary to previous views on the linkage between the two, the relationship between income inequality and welfare expenditure is not monotonic; rather, depending on societal conditions, an increase in income inequality may cause the public to either support the expansion of welfare or withdraw such support. Recognizing the level of inequality based on subjective social position, this study aims to examine societal conditions in South Korea by analysing the association between regional income inequality and the welfare budget of local governments. This study concludes that South Korea is likely on this path of inequality at present, and that Koreans themselves may be contributing to the worsening of the welfare of their society.

Social Isolation and Suicidal Ideation of Older People: The Buffering Effects of Neighborhood Social Cohesion

This study aimed to examine the buffering effect of neighborhood social cohesion on the association of social isolation and suicidal ideation among Korean older people. The sample was older adults who were 65 years old or older and participated in the Korea Health Survey 2017 collected by the Center for Disease and Prevention (N=67,835). Social isolation was measured with three indicators: living-alone, contact isolation (less than weekly contact with family, friends, or neighbors), and participation isolation (less than monthly social organization attendance). Neighborhood social cohesion was measured with two indicators: trust in neighbors and the welfare budget ratio to represent social capital and social inclusion capabilities, respectively. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the dynamic relationships between social isolation, neighborhood social cohesion, and suicidal ideation. Results of the main effect indicated that social isolation is a significant risk factor for suicidal ideation and neighborhood social cohesion works as a protective factor against suicidal ideation. Results of cross-level interactions showed that the welfare budget ratio moderated the association between participation isolation and suicidal ideation (OR=0.960, p<.001). The negative effect of participation isolation was reduced as the welfare budget ratio of the neighborhood increased. Neighborhood social cohesion indicators did not moderate the association between the remaining types of social isolation and suicidal ideation. The evidence from this study highlights the importance of social welfare expenditures when building suicide prevention interventions and age-friendly communities.

Delay the Pension Age or Adjust the Pension Benefit? Implications for Labor Supply and Individual Welfare in China

We develop and calibrate a life-cycle model of labor supply and consumption to quantify the implications of alternative pension reforms on labor supply, individual welfare, and government budget for China’s basic old-age insurance program. We focus on urban males and distinguish low-skilled and high-skilled individuals, who differ in their preferences, health and labor income dynamics, and medical expense processes. We use the calibrated model to evaluate three potential pension reforms: (i) increasing the pension eligibility age from 60 to 65, but keeping the current pension benefit rule unchanged; (ii) keeping the pension eligibility age at 60, but proportionally lowering pension benefits so that the pension program’s budget is the same as under Reform (i); and (iii) increasing the pension eligibility age to 65 and simultaneously increasing the pension benefits so that individuals of both skill types attain the same individual welfare levels as in the status quo. We find that relative to the baseline, both Reforms (i) and (ii) can substantially improve the budgets of the pension system, but at the cost of substantial individual welfare loss for both skill types. In contrast, we find that Reform (iii) can modestly improve the budget of the pension system while ensuring that both skill types are as well off as in the status quo. We find that Reforms (i) and (ii) slightly increases, but Reform (iii) slightly decreases, the overall labor supply. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

Incorporating Space-Time Correlation of Population Densities into the Design of a Candidate Rail Transit Line over Years

In contrast to private cars, rail transit systems are a more effective way to deal with the emerging challenges in cities with high population densities, such as congestion, air pollution, and traffic emissions. Rail transit systems, however, are commonly costly, due to substantial investments in construction and maintenance. It is thus necessary to design the candidate rail transit systems carefully to ensure public transport accessibility and sustainability, with consideration of the space-time correlation of population densities. In this paper, the space-time correlations of population densities are incorporated into the design of a candidate rail transit line over years. A closed-formed mathematical programming model is proposed, with an optimisation objective of social welfare budget maximisation. The social welfare budget is defined as the summation of the expected social welfare and social welfare margins. The model decision variables include rail line length, rail station number, and project start time of the candidate rail transit line. The analytical solutions for the proposed rail design model are given explicitly for different scenarios with various constraints.

Connecting the use of Biofertilizers on Maize silage or Meadows with Progress in Milk Quality and Economy

A systematic use of biofertilizers can improve both the quality of a farming system and the parameters of milk. Some issues related to biofertilization experiments on six farms in the Po Valley (NW Italy) involved in the production of milk from dairy cattle fed maize silage or grazed on hay produced from permanent meadows are reported in this paper. Biofertilized maize was found to lower the live stem pH by about 2.3%, and NIR spectroscopy foreshadowing major changes in the composition. Overall, the plant silage was improved in quantity (+10%) but also in quality, as shown by the delayed maturity stage of the leaves (crop maturity index -4%), the lower indigestible NDF content (-7%), and the higher digestible carbohydrates and protein in the whole plants. Such favorable feeding conditions, together with the improved palatability of the feed ration, boosted the nutrient values of the protein (+4.6%) and fat contents (+5.7%) in the milk. Moreover, the functional properties of the milk were ameliorated, as testified by the higher levels of vitamin A (+27%) and vitamin E (+25%) and the reduced levels of saturated fatty acids (-6%), especially myristic (-18%) and stearic (-32%) acids, while the unsaturated acids increased by 15%. As far as economy aspects are concerned, the biofertilization of maize for silage has led to consistent rewards pertaining to the marginal price of the milk, which in turn has led to a value chain increase of about 9%, because of the fields cultivation, but mainly of the cow transformation in milk quality issues. On another farm, intensive maize was substituted with permanent biofertilized meadows, over a greening path, and a + 17% value chain increase was obtained that already derived mainly from the best price for milk quality parameters. Such an evolutionary leap toward a new vision of sustainable agriculture for the environment and for animals, in which a better quality of products, animal welfare and company budget are combined with soil biofertilization, can be considered a bonanza.

Study on the Determinants of Elderly Welfare Budget among 17 metropolises and provinces in Korea Using Fs/QCA

Study on the Determinants of Elderly Welfare Budget among 17 metropolises and provinces in Korea Using Fs/QCA

Delay the Pension Age or Adjust the Pension Benefit? Implications for Labor Supply and Individual Welfare in China

We develop and calibrate a life-cycle model of labor supply and consumption to quantify the implications of alternative pension reforms on labor supply, individual welfare, and government budget for China’s basic old-age insurance program. We focus on urban males and distinguish low-skilled and high-skilled individuals, who differ in their preferences, health and labor income dynamics, and medical expense processes. We use the calibrated model to evaluate three potential pension reforms: (i) increasing the pension eligibility age from 60 to 65, but keeping the current pension benefit rule unchanged; (ii) keeping the pension eligibility age at 60, but proportionally lowering pension benefits so that the pension program’s budget is the same as under Reform (i); and (iii) increasing the pension eligibility age to 65 and simultaneously increasing the pension benefits so that individuals of both skill types attain the same individual welfare levels as in the status quo. We find that relative to the baseline, both Reforms (i) and (ii) can substantially improve the budgets of the pension system, but at the cost of substantial individual welfare loss for both skill types. In contrast, we find that Reform (iii) can modestly improve the budget of the pension system while ensuring that both skill types are as well off as in the status quo. We find that Reforms (i) and (ii) slightly increases, but Reform (iii) slightly decreases, the overall labor supply.