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Ken Warren's central concern is the relative weakness of hierarchical arrangements for service delivery through state agencies when addressing poor outcomes for people with complex needs, for which standardised solutions are a poor fit. He says the case is made that these require the collaboration of multiple parties to implement tailored responses to needs, and refers to the evidence from the New Zealand Productivity Commission's report on social policy, the Welfare Expert Advisory Group and the review of Whänau Ora. For readers familiar with the Productivity Commission report the focus of interest is on the people in 'Quadrant D' (Productivity Commission, 2015, p.53). These people have multiple continuing and complex needs combined with low capacity to navigate and coordinate the services they need, either because of their circumstances or because of institutional characteristics of the services that make it hard for them to access them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the mismatch between multidimensional deprivation and monetary poverty in identifying the poor in Egypt and investigates their determinants empirically. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses the Alkire-Foster multidimensional poverty measurement method using data from Egypt's 2017/2018 Household Income, Expenditure and Consumption Survey (HIECS 2017/2018). Using a logistic regression model, the paper assesses the empirical relationship between multidimensional and monetary poverty and their determinants at the aggregate level and by dimension. Findings: The paper demonstrates a significant mismatch between multidimensional and monetary poverty measures, underscoring their complementary nature. Statistics indicate that both measures overlap in classifying 35.81% of Egyptians, whereas monetary poverty ignores 63.12% of multidimensionally poor in at least one dimension. Regression estimates show a significant moderate negative association between expenditure per capita and multidimensional poverty and its dimensions. Moreover, they show that household head's gender, age, education attainment, marital status, job proficiency, household size and location affect poverty mismatch and match in Egypt. Practical implications: This paper offers Egyptian policymakers the multidimensional poverty index that enables more efficient designing and targeting of poverty alleviation programs and assessing current poverty alleviation programs to modify them if needed. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine the mismatch between both poverty measures in Egypt, using the recent full data set of HIECS 2017/2018. This paper confirms that depending only on monetary measures can send inaccurate insights for crafting effective social policies. Also, it offers policymakers a comprehensive insight into the country's poverty landscape, which enable more efficient design, targeting of poverty alleviation programs and monitoring their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The public policy classification developed by Theodore Lowi is one of the most frequently referenced, utilized, and debated frameworks in political science. This paper delves into the question of whether the concepts of distributive, redistributive, regulatory, and constitutive policies can be applied to the context of Eastern Europe. To explore this issue, a subnational comparative research design was developed to examine six Croatian public policies (economic policy, social policy, education, gender equality, media, and culture). The primary method of data collection involved expert reports, akin to Lowi's original research approach. The characteristics of sampled sectors were summarized through open coding conducted at three levels, allowing for a comparison with Lowi's policy types. The findings indicate that the fundamental idea of this seminal taxonomy, which highlights the variation in links between policy and politics within a single country, remains relevant. Additionally, the analysis revealed that policy goals, policy instruments, non-state actors, and their relationships with state actors are fundamental features upon which classification should be based. Future research endeavors should aim to construct a robust methodological framework with clear indicators for selected features corresponding to each policy type. This would enhance the sophistication and empirical applicability of the theory, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of policymaking dynamics in diverse contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advocates for a deepening of the English Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) model as a mechanism for achieving better economic and social policy outcomes. It argues for greater alignment of financial resources with long-term goals, fostering co-creation and upholding democratic accountability. It explores the origins of the MCA model set within the context of wider UK devolution and successive waves of English government reform, identifies some key benefits of the MCA model such as scale, democratic legitimacy and potential for collaboration, before proposing some key areas for further development. The paper recommends a strategic focus on evolving the relationship between the MCA and public service reform, particularly in health, education and employment support. The story of North East devolution is presented as an important case study that provides lessons for the future trajectory of English devolution as a whole, while highlighting the necessity of continuous adaptation to achieve sustainable regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an introduction to a special issue on what sustains informality. The papers in the special issue contribute significantly to critical issues related to the nature of informal employment and its determinants, how informal firms can grow their business and productivity, and the effects of labor market regulations and social insurance policies on informality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper critically dissects the contemporary policy landscape and its ability to counter precarious work for construction workers in the Indian context. By focusing on the governance challenges faced by welfare institutions and the pre-existing fault lines exposed by the pandemic, the paper argues that social policies are languishing and inefficient to respond to the challenges of growing precarity. The paper uses Breman's conception of 'Footloose labour' to understand informality related to construction workers and Gilbert and Terrell's social policy analytical framework to understand the institutional response. The two major arguments that make the social policy languish are the inability of the policy to alter neoliberal employment relationships and the operational challenges that institutions face in implementing welfare schemes for many footloose labourers. Moreover, the situation is further exacerbated by inherent contradictions of the state which is entangled between promoting economic growth through neoliberal policies while consecutively ensuring labour welfare. If the Institutional challenges persist along with the persuasion of neoliberal reforms, footloose labour is only going to be further marginalized and pushed to limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Censuses serve as a reliable basis for policy formulation. However, a census' objectivity is challenged by its own mission of creating categories to make sense of the reality it is called to document. Simply put, a census is intrinsically political because it makes choices about what to show and how. This paper analyses the Census of Punjab for the years 1941, 1951, 1961 and 1971 to locate the concepts and practices the census used to document language. It tests the proposition that, as a category-maker, the census was a player in the politics of the subjectivity it was engaged in documenting—language politics. It finds that the census adapted its modus operandi to the circumstances, altering the definition of mother tongue and tabulation of mother tongue data in ways that supported or countered specific stakes involved in the politicisation of linguistic identity. The paper highlights that in Punjab, the census had a more actively political role in addition to the well-documented one of a tool mobilised by other actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper investigates the essential role of diplomatic think tanks in shaping Pakistan's foreign policy. Think tanks are non-profit and non-partisan research organizations that perform extensive research regarding issues such as social policy, political strategy, foreign affairs, economy, defense, technology and culture etc. The primary objective of this study is to assess the degree, scope and level of influence exerted by various diplomatic think tanks on the policy makers involved in formulating foreign policy of Pakistan. It examines in details the evolution of these entities, contextual factors influencing their effectiveness, and various strategies to enhance their impact. Over recent decades, Pakistani diplomatic think tanks have proliferated, offering timely analyses yet facing limitations in directly influencing policy outcomes. The study utilizes case studies of Pakistani diplomatic think tanks, comparative analysis with global counterparts, and secondary literature review, employing elitist, statist, pluralist, and institutional approaches. Diplomatic think tanks in Pakistan affect foreign policy-making by generating new ideas, providing expertise, facilitating debates, educating citizens, and contributing to conflict resolution. To bolster effectiveness, these think tanks should prioritize financial sustainability, forge partnerships, increase transparency, and engage a broader array of stakeholders in the policy process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with innate variations of sex characteristics (also known as intersex traits or disorders or differences of sex development) have any of a wide range of innate physical traits that differ from medical and social norms for female and male bodies. Responses to these physical differences create experiences and risks of stigmatisation, discrimination, violence, and harmful medical practices intended to promote social and familial integration and conformity with gender stereotypes. As is evident globally, the Australian policy response to the existence and needs of people with innate variations of sex characteristics has been largely incoherent, variously framing the population as having disordered sex development in need of "fixing", and a third sex/gender identity group in need of recognition, with only recent engagement by intersex community-controlled civil society organisations. This paper presents an overview of the context and goals of the intersex human rights movement in Australia. Australian intersex community organisations have sought to apply human rights norms and develop new infrastructure to address key health and human rights issues, and necessitating new ways of resolving policy incoherence. Together with human rights, mental health, and public health institutions, they have called for significant changes to medical models of care and reform to research and classification systems. Intersex community organising and resourcing have made a tangible difference. The Australian Capital Territory is the first jurisdiction in the country to move ahead with reforms to clinical practice, including a legislative prohibition of certain practices without personal informed consent, oversight of clinical decision-making, and investment in psychosocial support. A national community-controlled psychosocial support service has also commenced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Sozialreform is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The paper aims to analyse the meaning and extension of discretionary power of social service professionals within network-based interventions. Design/methodology/approach: Empirically, the paper is based on a case study of a network-based policy involving private and public organisations in the Northeast of Italy (Province of Trento). Findings: The paper identifies netocracy as a social policy logic distinct from bureaucracy and professionalism. What legitimises netocracy is neither authority nor expertise but cooperation, the activation of connections and involvement, considered "good" per se. In this framework, professionalism and discretion acquire new and problematic meanings compared to street-level bureaucracy processes. Research limitations/implications: Based on a case study, the research results cannot be generalised but pave the way to further comparative investigations. Practical implications: The paper reveals that the position of professionals in netocracy is to some extent trickier than that in a bureaucracy because netocracy seems to have the power to encapsulate them and make it less likely for them to deviate from expected courses of action. Originality/value: Combining different literature streams – street level bureaucracy, professionalism, network organisations and welfare governance – and building on an original case study, the paper contribute to understanding professionalism in welfare contexts increasingly characterised by the combination of bureaucratic, professional and network logics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The America Rescue Plan (ARP) transformed the Child Tax Credit (CTC) into a more generous, inclusive monthly payment from July through December 2021. However, the expansion has been terminated and the annual CTC has been reinstated. The United States is one of the few OECD countries that do not have a child allowance system and South Korea has recently adopted child allowance in 2018. This study aims to comprehensively review the existing literature and evidence on ARP-CTC in the United States and Universal Child Allowance (CA) in Korea. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers completed a database search between July 1, 2022 and July 20, 2022. For the United States, the search keywords were child tax credit OR expanded child tax credit OR CTC OR child allowance. For Korea, the search keyword was child allowance. Searches were conducted using 79 databases. A total of 36 US studies and 7 Korean studies met all the inclusion criteria and proceeded to the extraction process. A narrative thematic synthesis approach was employed to identify themes in the findings. The results were organized based on the characteristics of the studies and the post-intervention outcomes. Findings: Studies in the United States focused primarily on economic outcomes, including poverty and material hardship, reflecting the concern policymakers and researchers have about child poverty. On the other hand, Korean studies examined employment, economic well-being, psychological well-being and expenditures in a relatively balanced share. Overall, studies found that both ARP-Child Tax Credits and Universal Child Allowance reduced child poverty and improved material hardship. Also, studies in both countries suggested that both policies had positive impacts on parental psychological well-being. Originality/value: To the authors knowledge, this paper is the first to comprehensively review the impact of the US ARP-CTC in comparison with the Korean child allowance. Two studies reviewed and updated the literature on US ARP-CTC as a round-up paper. Moreover, the authors conduct cross-national comparative analyses between the United States and Korea. The contexts of the child allowance system in the two nations have both similarities and differences, thereby offering a unique opportunity for a comparative study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes shaming attempts in the European Parliament (EP) over a long period. Drawing on existing literature on shaming and stigmatization in International Relations, as well as on studies on blame avoidance (Public administration), this paper explores the extent to which (and how) shaming attempts were used in day-to-day European policymaking. The paper first shows how the word 'shame' has been employed by key policymakers in different policy areas. Data analyzed include EP speech acts (mainly debates) from 1994 to 2014. The second part of the paper consists of an interpretative and contextualizing qualitative analysis, exploring in-depth social and economic policy areas. This paper shows that, in these policy areas, shaming attempts have often served as an ideological tool, or have become entangled in turf wars between supranational institutions and Member States. The in-depth study also illustrates the circumstances under which shaming attempts have led to compliance, non-compliance or shame backlashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite decades of European social dialogue, little is known about the social policy preferences of EU employers' organizations (EEOs). Building on the literature on industrial relations and the role of business in welfare state development, this article explores the preferences of key EEOs (BusinessEurope, SGI Europe and SMEunited) in vocational education and training (VET), active and passive labour market policies, pensions and work–family reconciliation. Software-based qualitative content analysis of 75 position papers and 19 joint declarations, triangulated with four elite semi-structured interviews, is employed to assess employers' preferences along four national and two European dimensions. Largely in line with the power resources theory, EEOs favour cost containment and social investment, by strengthening labour market flexicurity and reducing skills mismatches through VET. Conflicting logics of membership and influence guide the actions of EEOs: members are wary of legislation impinging on national social policy traditions; yet, greater European assertiveness makes lobbying efforts unavoidable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of Ukraine towards European integration implies the existence of a high-quality and effective legal framework that guarantees the safeguarding of fundamental rights and liberties. Given this, it is necessary to clarify the essence of building a social state and the principles underlying it. The objective of the study was to investigate the main postulates of building a social state and their normative consolidation in national legislation. The following methods were used in the study of the issue: historical, system, modelling, analysis, and synthesis, comparative, statistical. The study’s findings were intended to ascertain how the idea of creating a social state developed on the territory of Ukraine and other states, and how this concept was reflected in modern countries. The paper examines the basic principles underlying the construction of a social state and their constitutional consolidation; which essential liberties and rights of an individual or citizen are protected by the way the idea of a social state operates, etc. Statistical data on life satisfaction indicators of people in different countries are also provided in light of different methods of social policy implementation. Various models and options for further building a social state on the territory of Ukraine are presented, considering the current situation associated with a full-scale war. The paper describes the experience of European countries in successfully reforming the social sphere, in particular, Denmark, Switzerland, etc. The authors also present a model of the social state of the future, taking into account the changing needs of society, digitalisation, well-being, etc. The outcomes can be applied to further enhance Ukraine’s social policy legislation by lawyers, sociologists, and scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social policy in the interwar Czechoslovakia focused on the development of social housing. In Bratislava the establishment of new institutions and the related arrival of the Czech middle class of civil servants induced social change in the city population and its housing conditions. This necessitated the construction of modern residential blocks, which stabilised the internal urban structure and urbanised the outer city. A significant contribution to that field would be attributed to construction entrepreneur Rudolf Frič. Although the Slovak historiography exclusively presents him as a builder of civil engineering structures, his portfolio was more complex. The aim of the paper is to identify and critically evaluate Frič's both architectural and construction work in the field of social housing in interwar Bratislava. The study focuses on projects of housing cooperatives, private rental blocks and partly on examples of city social housing. Cooperatives with the highest socio-economic relevance were set by the Bank of Czechoslovak Legions, for which Frič designed or constructed several buildings, such as the residential urban structure "Legiodomy", housing colony in Koliba or the polyfunctional buildings of Legiopojišťovna and LUXOR. Frič's construction portfolio also includes individual projects of rental houses for smaller cooperatives, both in the compact city centre and at the then urbanising outer city peripheries. A specific case was housing for members of the army, like the residential blocks for military veterans in Bratislava. A critical category was social housing for the poorest and unemployed represented by the City rental house with habitable kitchens and the smallest-size flats. Finally, the paper examines private houses, the rental residential block of Irma Hanke and Helena Hudečková and the Trojan & Švarc polyfunctional department. Frič, as a construction entrepreneur, designed rental houses for his own employees, which all reflect the influence of private investors on the social and urban changes of the then modernising Bratislava metropolis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overall living conditions improved significantly in Romania during 2010-2020, even though over the entire period Romania has been one of the countries with the highest income inequality, poverty and social exclusion rates among the EU member states. Many research and policy analyses pointed out the improvements in social outcomes, as success stories of the economic and social reforms in Romania, despite the poor results from a European comparative perspective. Yet, starting with 2015, the number of those warning about concerning disparities between rural and urban areas increased. However, no systematic analyses focused on the dynamics of these geographical disparities. Thus, the paper proposes an analysis of the dynamics of the disparities between rural communities and cities. It argues that high and consistently growing disparities in all welfare indicators between these two extreme residential types can be better understood, explained, and addressed by applying the concept of geographical polarization to sustainable welfare. The paper provides a broad overview of the determinants of the growing polarization of sustainable welfare. It argues that European and national strategies have been crucial in guiding the social reforms in Romania, but not enough to prevent substantial loss of opportunities. The fast-paced transition to a market economy and to European institutions sparked an uneven and opportunistic development of its social policy framework. Finally, the concept of polarization of sustainable welfare, intimately linked to that of inequality of opportunities, allows a change of narrative and, therefore, also a change in focus regarding the need for social intervention, from remedial re-distributive measures and policies to strategies of enhancing individual and collective capabilities to sustain welfare over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]