Pub Date : 2022-02-09DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2022.2036625
L. Bifulco, S. Neri
Abstract At the time of its inception, in 1978, prevention and primary care were set as fundamental pillars of the Italian National Health Service (NHS), emphasizing the collective and social dimension of health. These principles were progressively neglected over the following four decades. Marketization, managed competition and managerialization privileged the individualized, highly specialized healthcare services mainly provided in hospitals, to the detriment of local outpatient and primary care services. After 2008–09, austerity policies exacerbated this situation determining under-financing as well as structural and staff shortages, while increasing tensions arose between the central government and Regions in the decentralized NHS. In 2020–21, the pandemic highlighted these critical issues. The need to develop a universal and strong outpatient, primary and community care system became evident in order to ensure the appropriateness and quality of foundational health services. This requires the State to play a more prominent role in the NHS governance.
{"title":"The Italian National Health Service: Universalism, Marketization and the Fading of Territorialization","authors":"L. Bifulco, S. Neri","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2022.2036625","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2022.2036625","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract At the time of its inception, in 1978, prevention and primary care were set as fundamental pillars of the Italian National Health Service (NHS), emphasizing the collective and social dimension of health. These principles were progressively neglected over the following four decades. Marketization, managed competition and managerialization privileged the individualized, highly specialized healthcare services mainly provided in hospitals, to the detriment of local outpatient and primary care services. After 2008–09, austerity policies exacerbated this situation determining under-financing as well as structural and staff shortages, while increasing tensions arose between the central government and Regions in the decentralized NHS. In 2020–21, the pandemic highlighted these critical issues. The need to develop a universal and strong outpatient, primary and community care system became evident in order to ensure the appropriateness and quality of foundational health services. This requires the State to play a more prominent role in the NHS governance.","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48472138","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}
Pub Date : 2022-01-30DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2022.2032255
Daniel Silander
{"title":"The European Commission on Sustainable Development. A New Normative Power in Its Making?","authors":"Daniel Silander","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2022.2032255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2022.2032255","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46126088","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}
Pub Date : 2022-01-24DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2022.2031248
Larry Liu
Abstract The rise of populist authoritarianism is a substantial reversal of the liberal democratic path in Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary. What explains Hungary’s authoritarian turn toward Orbánism and what are the components of Orbánism that consolidate its claim to power? This paper uses a Polányian perspective and argues that the populist authoritarian turn occurred in the context of the social dislocation of the post-socialist transition period in the 1990s and 2000s. Viktor Orbán and Fidesz’ populist authoritarianism filled a political vacuum by offering a new re-embedding strategy for the population, which included material (full employment, family policy, remittances) and ideological (ethnic nationalism, xenophobia, Christian conservatism) policies. However, Orbánism has contradictory implications, because (1) material embedding takes the form of a punitive and highly conditional workfare regime, and (2) the regime simultaneously advances “disembedding” features including pro-oligarchic, pro-foreign investor, pro-rich, anti-union and anti-welfare policies. As a result, Orbán’s power consolidation is premised on political authoritarianism to prevent any expected discontent from threatening the regime.
{"title":"Re-Embedding and Disembedding in Post-Socialist Hungary: An Analysis of Orbanism from a Polanyian Perspective","authors":"Larry Liu","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2022.2031248","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2022.2031248","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The rise of populist authoritarianism is a substantial reversal of the liberal democratic path in Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary. What explains Hungary’s authoritarian turn toward Orbánism and what are the components of Orbánism that consolidate its claim to power? This paper uses a Polányian perspective and argues that the populist authoritarian turn occurred in the context of the social dislocation of the post-socialist transition period in the 1990s and 2000s. Viktor Orbán and Fidesz’ populist authoritarianism filled a political vacuum by offering a new re-embedding strategy for the population, which included material (full employment, family policy, remittances) and ideological (ethnic nationalism, xenophobia, Christian conservatism) policies. However, Orbánism has contradictory implications, because (1) material embedding takes the form of a punitive and highly conditional workfare regime, and (2) the regime simultaneously advances “disembedding” features including pro-oligarchic, pro-foreign investor, pro-rich, anti-union and anti-welfare policies. As a result, Orbán’s power consolidation is premised on political authoritarianism to prevent any expected discontent from threatening the regime.","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45580113","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}
Pub Date : 2021-12-06DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2021.2011763
Jon Reiersen
Abstract How informed are individuals about the income distribution in their own country? This article presents survey data showing that Norwegians tend to overestimate the level of inequality in Norway. This contrasts with survey data from the United States (US), presented in Norton and Ariely , showing that Americans vastly underestimate inequality in their own country. These findings are interpreted by emphasizing the effect existing differences in income have on peoples’ psychological capacity to observe income differences. Norwegians are also asked how they ideally would like income to be distributed. They construct an ideal income distribution that is surprisingly close to the actual (egalitarian) distribution in Norway. Americans also construct an ideal distribution that more closely resembles the distribution of income in Norway than in the US. Respondents’ preferences for small income differences are discussed with reference to recent findings in experimental and neurobiological research.
{"title":"Too Much Redistribution, Too Little or Just Right?","authors":"Jon Reiersen","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2021.2011763","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2021.2011763","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract How informed are individuals about the income distribution in their own country? This article presents survey data showing that Norwegians tend to overestimate the level of inequality in Norway. This contrasts with survey data from the United States (US), presented in Norton and Ariely , showing that Americans vastly underestimate inequality in their own country. These findings are interpreted by emphasizing the effect existing differences in income have on peoples’ psychological capacity to observe income differences. Norwegians are also asked how they ideally would like income to be distributed. They construct an ideal income distribution that is surprisingly close to the actual (egalitarian) distribution in Norway. Americans also construct an ideal distribution that more closely resembles the distribution of income in Norway than in the US. Respondents’ preferences for small income differences are discussed with reference to recent findings in experimental and neurobiological research.","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48059775","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}
Pub Date : 2021-11-13DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2021.1999842
T. Gavrilyeva, A. Naberezhnaya, Filipp Nikiforov
Abstract The distinctive feature of absolute poverty in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), as a region of the North and the Arctic, is its persistence over a long time (2003–2019). The growth of industrial production resulting from the extensive development of natural resources does not affect the income of Yakutia’s population. Using a database containing measurements of social well-being and living standards in 1990–2019, linear regression models of poverty in Russia and Yakutia were built. Based on quantitative and comparative analyses, endogenous poverty factors were identified in Yakutia. These are high cost of living and demographic patterns: high birth rate and dependency ratio and a significant share of the rural population. Ineffective social policy, when a large proportion of social support is provided to people who do not need it, also contributes to the sustainability of poverty. Both the federal government and the government of Yakutia have sufficient resources to solve the problem of absolute poverty. This requires a new social model, a more equitable redistribution of income, and the alleviation of inequality not only among social groups, but also from a regional perspective.
{"title":"Poverty in the Russian Arctic: The Case of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)","authors":"T. Gavrilyeva, A. Naberezhnaya, Filipp Nikiforov","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2021.1999842","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2021.1999842","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The distinctive feature of absolute poverty in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), as a region of the North and the Arctic, is its persistence over a long time (2003–2019). The growth of industrial production resulting from the extensive development of natural resources does not affect the income of Yakutia’s population. Using a database containing measurements of social well-being and living standards in 1990–2019, linear regression models of poverty in Russia and Yakutia were built. Based on quantitative and comparative analyses, endogenous poverty factors were identified in Yakutia. These are high cost of living and demographic patterns: high birth rate and dependency ratio and a significant share of the rural population. Ineffective social policy, when a large proportion of social support is provided to people who do not need it, also contributes to the sustainability of poverty. Both the federal government and the government of Yakutia have sufficient resources to solve the problem of absolute poverty. This requires a new social model, a more equitable redistribution of income, and the alleviation of inequality not only among social groups, but also from a regional perspective.","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47585462","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}
Pub Date : 2021-11-05DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2021.1999297
P. Dutta, G. Goswami, Hemanta Barman
Abstract Assam, a north-eastern state in India contributes the largest share in India’s total tea production. However, the workers in the tea gardens of the state are considered as one of the poor and marginalised sections of the population. The workers’ community has limited access to anti-poverty social security programmes and other social welfare schemes including formal financial services. Using primary data, this study examines the extent of financial inclusion among the tea garden workers in Assam. We study financial inclusion in terms of access to a bank account, credit and insurance. Our results reveal that financial inclusion among the workers has deepened considerably but not in all dimensions. We find education as an important determinant of financial inclusion among the tea garden workers in Assam. To make the process of financial inclusion among the tea garden workers more expeditious and comprehensive, specific initiatives towards delivering government-sponsored schemes are needed.
{"title":"Financial Inclusion among Backward Communities: A Study of the Tea Garden Workers in Assam, India","authors":"P. Dutta, G. Goswami, Hemanta Barman","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2021.1999297","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2021.1999297","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Assam, a north-eastern state in India contributes the largest share in India’s total tea production. However, the workers in the tea gardens of the state are considered as one of the poor and marginalised sections of the population. The workers’ community has limited access to anti-poverty social security programmes and other social welfare schemes including formal financial services. Using primary data, this study examines the extent of financial inclusion among the tea garden workers in Assam. We study financial inclusion in terms of access to a bank account, credit and insurance. Our results reveal that financial inclusion among the workers has deepened considerably but not in all dimensions. We find education as an important determinant of financial inclusion among the tea garden workers in Assam. To make the process of financial inclusion among the tea garden workers more expeditious and comprehensive, specific initiatives towards delivering government-sponsored schemes are needed.","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44131557","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}
Pub Date : 2021-11-03DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2021.1997781
Iris Buder, Jacob Jennings
Abstract Economic stratification lies at the heart of persistent inequities, which have been considerably amplified under COVID-19. To tackle these persistent inequities, a social economics approach and common goods focused policy for at-risk groups are required. Using this approach, this article highlights various past macroeconomic and health policy decisions that have created the conditions for the social and spatial distribution of COVID-19 infections, deaths, and other deleterious outcomes. Additionally, the linkages between health and socioeconomic status are explored, shedding light on the current and likely gaps present given the Covid19 global pandemic. One cannot look at the COVID-19 crisis in a vacuum, but rather how the crisis reflects deeply rooted institutional, structural, and systemic social stratification. This article contributes to the existing literature by analysing it through the lens of occupational prestige. The recognition of social economics and the growing stratification of Americans is necessary to enact healthier policies for all, but especially marginalized communities.
{"title":"Pandemics, Socioeconomic Gaps, and Macroeconomic Policy: The Ugly Truth Highlighted by COVID-19","authors":"Iris Buder, Jacob Jennings","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2021.1997781","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2021.1997781","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Economic stratification lies at the heart of persistent inequities, which have been considerably amplified under COVID-19. To tackle these persistent inequities, a social economics approach and common goods focused policy for at-risk groups are required. Using this approach, this article highlights various past macroeconomic and health policy decisions that have created the conditions for the social and spatial distribution of COVID-19 infections, deaths, and other deleterious outcomes. Additionally, the linkages between health and socioeconomic status are explored, shedding light on the current and likely gaps present given the Covid19 global pandemic. One cannot look at the COVID-19 crisis in a vacuum, but rather how the crisis reflects deeply rooted institutional, structural, and systemic social stratification. This article contributes to the existing literature by analysing it through the lens of occupational prestige. The recognition of social economics and the growing stratification of Americans is necessary to enact healthier policies for all, but especially marginalized communities.","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44321916","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}
Pub Date : 2021-10-15DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2021.1977970
F. Andoh, R. Nkrumah
Abstract Much of the argument against value-added tax (VAT) is that it is regressive and therefore burdens the poor, relative to the rich. In this paper, we examine the distribution of Ghana’s VAT burden as well as benefits from VAT exemptions across different categories of households, paying attention to how these distributions vary over time and across different socioeconomic characteristics. We use data from the last four waves of the Ghana Living Standard Surveys (GLSS) to compute the VAT liability and benefits from exemptions for each household. We find that the VAT regime has evolved from being progressive to regressive, thus hurting the poor more than it does the rich. We further find a rise in the burden on females in poorer households, the least educated and the unemployed. Finally, we find the current exemption regime to benefit richer households more, relative to poorer households.
{"title":"Distributional Aspects of Ghana’s Value-Added Tax","authors":"F. Andoh, R. Nkrumah","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2021.1977970","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2021.1977970","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Much of the argument against value-added tax (VAT) is that it is regressive and therefore burdens the poor, relative to the rich. In this paper, we examine the distribution of Ghana’s VAT burden as well as benefits from VAT exemptions across different categories of households, paying attention to how these distributions vary over time and across different socioeconomic characteristics. We use data from the last four waves of the Ghana Living Standard Surveys (GLSS) to compute the VAT liability and benefits from exemptions for each household. We find that the VAT regime has evolved from being progressive to regressive, thus hurting the poor more than it does the rich. We further find a rise in the burden on females in poorer households, the least educated and the unemployed. Finally, we find the current exemption regime to benefit richer households more, relative to poorer households.","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44050985","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}
Pub Date : 2021-09-20DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2021.1944260
Chi Khanh Nguyen, Anh Quang Nguyen, Nhu Quynh Nguyen, T. Nguyen, Anh Chu, L. T. M. Nguyen
Abstract This paper aims to examine whether cash holding can enhance the financial stability of firms under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We utilize quarterly data of 285 Vietnamese listed firms from quarter 1-2011 to quarter 3-2020 for our analyses. The results reveal that cash holding has a positive effect on financial stability during the pandemic crisis. Additionally, cash holdings of two quarters ahead also have significant impact on firms' financial stability. We also find that cash holding is particularly crucial for firms that are more vulnerable to the pandemic, for examples firms headquartered in big cities, firms from Consumer Discretionary, Material, Energy industry, large firms, and firms with a history of high sale growth. Altogether, our study highlights the importance of holding cash and early planning for cash holding as an effective risk management method for firms, especially for those that are more vulnerable to an economic shock.
{"title":"Cash Holding and Financial Stability during a Crisis: A Case Study of Vietnamese Firms in Covid-19 Pandemic","authors":"Chi Khanh Nguyen, Anh Quang Nguyen, Nhu Quynh Nguyen, T. Nguyen, Anh Chu, L. T. M. Nguyen","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2021.1944260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2021.1944260","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper aims to examine whether cash holding can enhance the financial stability of firms under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We utilize quarterly data of 285 Vietnamese listed firms from quarter 1-2011 to quarter 3-2020 for our analyses. The results reveal that cash holding has a positive effect on financial stability during the pandemic crisis. Additionally, cash holdings of two quarters ahead also have significant impact on firms' financial stability. We also find that cash holding is particularly crucial for firms that are more vulnerable to the pandemic, for examples firms headquartered in big cities, firms from Consumer Discretionary, Material, Energy industry, large firms, and firms with a history of high sale growth. Altogether, our study highlights the importance of holding cash and early planning for cash holding as an effective risk management method for firms, especially for those that are more vulnerable to an economic shock.","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49605735","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}
Pub Date : 2021-08-28DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2021.1968468
G. Giarelli
Abstract The article proposes the concept of ‘health macro-region’ as a comprehensive contextual framework for comparative analysis of European health systems beyond the conventional ‘methodological nationalism’ in comparative research based on national analyses. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in five European health macro-regions is then examined by an analysis of the epidemiological data to assess whether there have been significant differences in the incidence of the pandemic, assuming some structural connections with the responses given by the different health care systems. The significant inter-regional variations detected confirm the heuristic validity of the concept of ‘health macro-region’ but, at the same time, reveal equally significant intra-regional variations highlighted by the coefficients of variation.
{"title":"The European Health Systems Facing the Covid-19 Outbreak: A Macro-Regional Approach","authors":"G. Giarelli","doi":"10.1080/07360932.2021.1968468","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2021.1968468","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The article proposes the concept of ‘health macro-region’ as a comprehensive contextual framework for comparative analysis of European health systems beyond the conventional ‘methodological nationalism’ in comparative research based on national analyses. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in five European health macro-regions is then examined by an analysis of the epidemiological data to assess whether there have been significant differences in the incidence of the pandemic, assuming some structural connections with the responses given by the different health care systems. The significant inter-regional variations detected confirm the heuristic validity of the concept of ‘health macro-region’ but, at the same time, reveal equally significant intra-regional variations highlighted by the coefficients of variation.","PeriodicalId":42478,"journal":{"name":"Forum for Social Economics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41571972","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}