Social assistance programmes are crucial in alleviating poverty, reducing inequality, and addressing social exclusion. The efficacy of these programmes hinges on the precision and efficiency of their targeting methods. Governments, especially in developing countries, can enhance the impact of social assistance programmes and ensure equitable resource distribution by accurately identifying the right individuals or households. This paper proposes two approaches to targeting beneficiaries of social benefits in Tunisia, including cash transfers and healthcare programmes. The first approach, a Mixed Means Test, extends the Proxy Means Test model by integrating individual/household assessments with explicit geographical targeting methods. The second is a multidimensional targeting strategy that explicitly considers the various deprivations faced by the households. Utilising data from the 2015 National Survey on Household Budget, Consumption, and Standard of Living, our results indicate that the targeting performance of the Mixed Means Test surpasses existing programmes both nationally and regionally, notably minimising inclusion and exclusion errors in the poorest regions of Tunisia. However, the multidimensional targeting approach identifies a higher number of potential beneficiaries compared to the current selection process in Tunisia. Including these households in social programmes may be hindered by limited monetary resources and the country's financial constraints. To address this, the multidimensional targeting approach enables the categorisation of potential beneficiaries into three mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive groups based on their degree of deprivation.
{"title":"Alternative targeting methods for social assistance programs: Evidence from Tunisia","authors":"Khaled Nasri, Mohamed Amara, Imane Helmi","doi":"10.1111/spol.13016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.13016","url":null,"abstract":"Social assistance programmes are crucial in alleviating poverty, reducing inequality, and addressing social exclusion. The efficacy of these programmes hinges on the precision and efficiency of their targeting methods. Governments, especially in developing countries, can enhance the impact of social assistance programmes and ensure equitable resource distribution by accurately identifying the right individuals or households. This paper proposes two approaches to targeting beneficiaries of social benefits in Tunisia, including cash transfers and healthcare programmes. The first approach, a Mixed Means Test, extends the Proxy Means Test model by integrating individual/household assessments with explicit geographical targeting methods. The second is a multidimensional targeting strategy that explicitly considers the various deprivations faced by the households. Utilising data from the 2015 National Survey on Household Budget, Consumption, and Standard of Living, our results indicate that the targeting performance of the Mixed Means Test surpasses existing programmes both nationally and regionally, notably minimising inclusion and exclusion errors in the poorest regions of Tunisia. However, the multidimensional targeting approach identifies a higher number of potential beneficiaries compared to the current selection process in Tunisia. Including these households in social programmes may be hindered by limited monetary resources and the country's financial constraints. To address this, the multidimensional targeting approach enables the categorisation of potential beneficiaries into three mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive groups based on their degree of deprivation.","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":"41 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140425404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Portugal has been confronted with a succession of crises in recent years. This article explores the differences in the way that, in Portugal, the welfare regime tackled the Great Recession context (financial, euro, sovereign debt, structural adjustment crises) and COVID‐19 crisis through very different policy responses. The fact that the governments in office acted differently when faced with realities that were close in time but very distinct, generates a paired comparative scenario, without forgetting the interim period. Supported by a plural methodological approach that gathers information from various sources, the outcomes reveal important aspects about the policy direction of changes and in terms of socio‐economic indicators. First, policy responses have followed three dynamics in tension: Retrenchment, Mitigation, and Expansion. Second, the policies make a difference, producing distinct outcomes in terms of socioeconomic indicators (unemployment, inequality, poverty). Third, the responses to crises induced more “radical” measures (towards Retrenchment or Expansion), which are not consistent with interim situations. Finally, while the austeritarian response was part of the government in office's program, this was not the case during the pandemic, when the response was involuntary and unprogrammed. This means that, in being a provisional and dated response, there is a high risk that in the near future there will be a resumption of Mitigation or even Retrenchment policies.
{"title":"The politics of social policies in Portugal: Different responses in times of crises","authors":"Jorge Caleiras, Renato Miguel Carmo","doi":"10.1111/spol.13008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.13008","url":null,"abstract":"Portugal has been confronted with a succession of crises in recent years. This article explores the differences in the way that, in Portugal, the welfare regime tackled the Great Recession context (financial, euro, sovereign debt, structural adjustment crises) and COVID‐19 crisis through very different policy responses. The fact that the governments in office acted differently when faced with realities that were close in time but very distinct, generates a paired comparative scenario, without forgetting the interim period. Supported by a plural methodological approach that gathers information from various sources, the outcomes reveal important aspects about the policy direction of changes and in terms of socio‐economic indicators. First, policy responses have followed three dynamics in tension: Retrenchment, Mitigation, and Expansion. Second, the policies make a difference, producing distinct outcomes in terms of socioeconomic indicators (unemployment, inequality, poverty). Third, the responses to crises induced more “radical” measures (towards Retrenchment or Expansion), which are not consistent with interim situations. Finally, while the austeritarian response was part of the government in office's program, this was not the case during the pandemic, when the response was involuntary and unprogrammed. This means that, in being a provisional and dated response, there is a high risk that in the near future there will be a resumption of Mitigation or even Retrenchment policies.","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":"50 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139840291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Portugal has been confronted with a succession of crises in recent years. This article explores the differences in the way that, in Portugal, the welfare regime tackled the Great Recession context (financial, euro, sovereign debt, structural adjustment crises) and COVID‐19 crisis through very different policy responses. The fact that the governments in office acted differently when faced with realities that were close in time but very distinct, generates a paired comparative scenario, without forgetting the interim period. Supported by a plural methodological approach that gathers information from various sources, the outcomes reveal important aspects about the policy direction of changes and in terms of socio‐economic indicators. First, policy responses have followed three dynamics in tension: Retrenchment, Mitigation, and Expansion. Second, the policies make a difference, producing distinct outcomes in terms of socioeconomic indicators (unemployment, inequality, poverty). Third, the responses to crises induced more “radical” measures (towards Retrenchment or Expansion), which are not consistent with interim situations. Finally, while the austeritarian response was part of the government in office's program, this was not the case during the pandemic, when the response was involuntary and unprogrammed. This means that, in being a provisional and dated response, there is a high risk that in the near future there will be a resumption of Mitigation or even Retrenchment policies.
{"title":"The politics of social policies in Portugal: Different responses in times of crises","authors":"Jorge Caleiras, Renato Miguel Carmo","doi":"10.1111/spol.13008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.13008","url":null,"abstract":"Portugal has been confronted with a succession of crises in recent years. This article explores the differences in the way that, in Portugal, the welfare regime tackled the Great Recession context (financial, euro, sovereign debt, structural adjustment crises) and COVID‐19 crisis through very different policy responses. The fact that the governments in office acted differently when faced with realities that were close in time but very distinct, generates a paired comparative scenario, without forgetting the interim period. Supported by a plural methodological approach that gathers information from various sources, the outcomes reveal important aspects about the policy direction of changes and in terms of socio‐economic indicators. First, policy responses have followed three dynamics in tension: Retrenchment, Mitigation, and Expansion. Second, the policies make a difference, producing distinct outcomes in terms of socioeconomic indicators (unemployment, inequality, poverty). Third, the responses to crises induced more “radical” measures (towards Retrenchment or Expansion), which are not consistent with interim situations. Finally, while the austeritarian response was part of the government in office's program, this was not the case during the pandemic, when the response was involuntary and unprogrammed. This means that, in being a provisional and dated response, there is a high risk that in the near future there will be a resumption of Mitigation or even Retrenchment policies.","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":"57 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139780550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Social services in the welfare sector consist of women‐dominated jobs generally characterised by arduous working conditions, including exposure to client violence. Although there is a rather extensive research base on client violence in institutional social services, less is known about how client violence is handled in noninstitutional social services. Using longitudinal data obtained from the Swedish Work Environment Agency's register on work injuries caused by workplace violence, we examined the effects of organisational factors and employee characteristics on the reporting of client violence in noninstitutional social services. We found that most of the reports about work injuries caused by client violence are filed by public employers and that most reports concern occupational groups performing direct care services in clients' homes. Moreover, although most reports include female employees and incidents of physical violence, reports concerning male employees are comparatively more likely to include physical violence, and reports concerning female employees are comparatively more likely to include threats. Taken together, our findings point to a much‐needed improvement of health and safety measures for care workers in noninstitutional social services in Sweden.
{"title":"Effects of organisational factors and employee characteristics on employers' reporting of client violence in non‐institutional social services in Sweden","authors":"Helene Brodin, Emelie Shanks","doi":"10.1111/spol.13009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.13009","url":null,"abstract":"Social services in the welfare sector consist of women‐dominated jobs generally characterised by arduous working conditions, including exposure to client violence. Although there is a rather extensive research base on client violence in institutional social services, less is known about how client violence is handled in noninstitutional social services. Using longitudinal data obtained from the Swedish Work Environment Agency's register on work injuries caused by workplace violence, we examined the effects of organisational factors and employee characteristics on the reporting of client violence in noninstitutional social services. We found that most of the reports about work injuries caused by client violence are filed by public employers and that most reports concern occupational groups performing direct care services in clients' homes. Moreover, although most reports include female employees and incidents of physical violence, reports concerning male employees are comparatively more likely to include physical violence, and reports concerning female employees are comparatively more likely to include threats. Taken together, our findings point to a much‐needed improvement of health and safety measures for care workers in noninstitutional social services in Sweden.","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":"1985 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139807523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Social services in the welfare sector consist of women‐dominated jobs generally characterised by arduous working conditions, including exposure to client violence. Although there is a rather extensive research base on client violence in institutional social services, less is known about how client violence is handled in noninstitutional social services. Using longitudinal data obtained from the Swedish Work Environment Agency's register on work injuries caused by workplace violence, we examined the effects of organisational factors and employee characteristics on the reporting of client violence in noninstitutional social services. We found that most of the reports about work injuries caused by client violence are filed by public employers and that most reports concern occupational groups performing direct care services in clients' homes. Moreover, although most reports include female employees and incidents of physical violence, reports concerning male employees are comparatively more likely to include physical violence, and reports concerning female employees are comparatively more likely to include threats. Taken together, our findings point to a much‐needed improvement of health and safety measures for care workers in noninstitutional social services in Sweden.
{"title":"Effects of organisational factors and employee characteristics on employers' reporting of client violence in non‐institutional social services in Sweden","authors":"Helene Brodin, Emelie Shanks","doi":"10.1111/spol.13009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.13009","url":null,"abstract":"Social services in the welfare sector consist of women‐dominated jobs generally characterised by arduous working conditions, including exposure to client violence. Although there is a rather extensive research base on client violence in institutional social services, less is known about how client violence is handled in noninstitutional social services. Using longitudinal data obtained from the Swedish Work Environment Agency's register on work injuries caused by workplace violence, we examined the effects of organisational factors and employee characteristics on the reporting of client violence in noninstitutional social services. We found that most of the reports about work injuries caused by client violence are filed by public employers and that most reports concern occupational groups performing direct care services in clients' homes. Moreover, although most reports include female employees and incidents of physical violence, reports concerning male employees are comparatively more likely to include physical violence, and reports concerning female employees are comparatively more likely to include threats. Taken together, our findings point to a much‐needed improvement of health and safety measures for care workers in noninstitutional social services in Sweden.","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139867401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Elgar companion to gender and global migration: Beyond Western research. By NataliaRibas‐Mateos, SaskiaSassen (Eds.), Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. 2022. ISBN: 978‐1‐80220‐125‐3; hardback","authors":"Marco Palillo","doi":"10.1111/spol.12993","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12993","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":"123 38","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139605453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"National health services of Western Europe: Challenges, reforms and future perspectives. By GuidoGiarelli, MikeSaks (Eds.), London: Routledge. 2024. £130.00; hardback. ISBN: 9780367689599","authors":"Tom Hoctor","doi":"10.1111/spol.12994","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12994","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":" 74","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139138308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Social protection has grown in importance in framing the relationship between citizens and states across much of Africa. Botswana's conservative welfare regime relies heavily on local officials – many of whom are trained social workers – to exercise discretion in assessing the needs of poor people and registering them on social protection programmes. Interviews with local officials reveal that they attribute poverty and destitution primarily to the deficient attitudes and behaviour of poor people. These are in turn seen as the consequence of social protection policies that disempower people by fostering ‘dependence’ on state provision. Local officials prefer programmes that ‘empower’ poor people. Whilst they recognise that the state has responsibilities towards the poor, they implement policies that reinforce and reproduce the status of poor citizens as often undeserving claimants on public charity.
{"title":"The implementation of social protection in a conservative African welfare regime: The values and beliefs of local state officials in Botswana","authors":"J. Seekings","doi":"10.1111/spol.12961","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12961","url":null,"abstract":"Social protection has grown in importance in framing the relationship between citizens and states across much of Africa. Botswana's conservative welfare regime relies heavily on local officials – many of whom are trained social workers – to exercise discretion in assessing the needs of poor people and registering them on social protection programmes. Interviews with local officials reveal that they attribute poverty and destitution primarily to the deficient attitudes and behaviour of poor people. These are in turn seen as the consequence of social protection policies that disempower people by fostering ‘dependence’ on state provision. Local officials prefer programmes that ‘empower’ poor people. Whilst they recognise that the state has responsibilities towards the poor, they implement policies that reinforce and reproduce the status of poor citizens as often undeserving claimants on public charity.","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128739859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
It is frequently assumed that social protection can play a key role in positively transforming state‐citizen relations in the global South. We examine the evidence with a focus on recipients and non‐recipients, both citizens and non‐citizens. Based on a systematic literature review, we identify three levels of analysis: activity, perceptions and expectations. A common thread through these levels is the bifurcated and hierarchical nature of relationships between social protection recipients on the one side and the state and non‐recipients on the other. Thus, the cross‐section of evidence does not conclusively support the oft‐assumed transformative potentials of social protection. Arguably, theoretical frameworks on activities, perceptions and expectations allow us to explore further the differentiated relationships shaped by social protection.
{"title":"Social protection and state‐citizen relations: A review of the literature","authors":"Marianne S. Ulriksen, S. Plagerson","doi":"10.1111/spol.12959","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12959","url":null,"abstract":"It is frequently assumed that social protection can play a key role in positively transforming state‐citizen relations in the global South. We examine the evidence with a focus on recipients and non‐recipients, both citizens and non‐citizens. Based on a systematic literature review, we identify three levels of analysis: activity, perceptions and expectations. A common thread through these levels is the bifurcated and hierarchical nature of relationships between social protection recipients on the one side and the state and non‐recipients on the other. Thus, the cross‐section of evidence does not conclusively support the oft‐assumed transformative potentials of social protection. Arguably, theoretical frameworks on activities, perceptions and expectations allow us to explore further the differentiated relationships shaped by social protection.","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127709453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
While a growing body of work investigates the social rights of immigrants, there is a notable lack of comparative research on the topic that includes countries in the Global South. In this paper we argue that existing approaches often lack reproducibility, comparability, and adaptability beyond the cases that they focus on. To remedy this shortcoming, we propose a three‐dimensional conceptualization of immigrant social rights that takes into account differences between legal categories of migrants, between types of welfare benefits, and between types of restrictions. Applying this conceptualization, we offer the Immigrant Social Rights Dataset (ImmigSR), a set of quantitative comparative measures of de jure immigrant social rights covering 39 countries in Europe, Latin America, North America, Oceania and Southeast Asia for the years 1980–2018. Our analyses show commonalities as well as differences between world regions. Rights are more inclusive in the Global North than in the Global South. There is however a slight trend towards convergence, with rights retrenchment in the North and expansions in the South. Across all regions, temporary migrant workers and asylum seekers are the groups that are granted the least comprehensive set of rights. Depending on the dimension that is taken into focus, there are however also more nuanced intra‐regional differences. The findings confirm the usefulness of a multi‐dimensional conceptual approach to measuring immigrant social rights in a diverse set of cases.
{"title":"Social protection for mobile populations? A global perspective on immigrant social rights","authors":"Friederike Römer, Jakob Henninger, Eloisa Harris","doi":"10.1111/spol.12955","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12955","url":null,"abstract":"While a growing body of work investigates the social rights of immigrants, there is a notable lack of comparative research on the topic that includes countries in the Global South. In this paper we argue that existing approaches often lack reproducibility, comparability, and adaptability beyond the cases that they focus on. To remedy this shortcoming, we propose a three‐dimensional conceptualization of immigrant social rights that takes into account differences between legal categories of migrants, between types of welfare benefits, and between types of restrictions. Applying this conceptualization, we offer the Immigrant Social Rights Dataset (ImmigSR), a set of quantitative comparative measures of de jure immigrant social rights covering 39 countries in Europe, Latin America, North America, Oceania and Southeast Asia for the years 1980–2018. Our analyses show commonalities as well as differences between world regions. Rights are more inclusive in the Global North than in the Global South. There is however a slight trend towards convergence, with rights retrenchment in the North and expansions in the South. Across all regions, temporary migrant workers and asylum seekers are the groups that are granted the least comprehensive set of rights. Depending on the dimension that is taken into focus, there are however also more nuanced intra‐regional differences. The findings confirm the usefulness of a multi‐dimensional conceptual approach to measuring immigrant social rights in a diverse set of cases.","PeriodicalId":271904,"journal":{"name":"Social Policy & Administration","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"120917516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：