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How do parents decide what goods, experiences, and activities they can afford for their children during times of economic insecurity? This article draws on 72 in-depth interviews with U.S. professional middle-class families in which one parent is unemployed. Extending the concept of relational work, this study illuminates how the microfoundation of economic decisions is gendered. Families where fathers are unemployed take the approach of relational preservation: they seek to maintain a high threshold of expenditures on children and view curtailing child-related spending as a threat to their class status. These families see reducing expenditures on children as a parental, and especially paternal, failure. Families where mothers are unemployed take an approach of relational downscaling, lowering the threshold for essential expenditures on children. These families are reluctant to spend less on children's education, but they do not view decreasing spending on other items, such as consumer goods, as threatening their class status. Gendering relational work reveals how inequalities within families are reproduced through meaning-making around expenditures on children, and it clarifies a key source of variation in parental economic decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide is an increasing mental health issue worldwide and has explanatory bases in many cultures. The reported rates of suicide can often be underestimated because in many societies and countries, the act of suicide is considered to be illegal and punishable by law. Cultural factors such as gender role, religion, sexual orientation, poverty, unemployment, economic downturn and other factors can play a significant role in contributing to the incidence rates of suicide and its explanation. In clinical assessments and management, it is critical to be cognisant of cultural factors and the role that culture can play in suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Involuntary retirement transitions have a variety of negative consequences for individuals and society as they can lead to poorer health or lower wellbeing. Therefore, it is of high relevance to better understand the factors influencing the voluntariness of retirement transitions. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify the known determinants of the voluntariness of retirement. Our final review includes 14 studies that empirically investigate this topic. Differentiated by micro-, meso- and macro-levels, we present the identified factors and discuss different ways of operationalizing voluntary or involuntary retirement. We found that most studies analyse individual factors. There is a gap in research on influencing factors at the company level as well as the welfare state level. In addition, it is of interest to examine whether and to what extent pension and labour market policy reforms have led to changes over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an analysis of two sets of writing in the British Medical Journal from the 1980s, this article explores relationships between unemployment and health. "Unemployment in My Practice," published in 1981, was a series of nine short essays by general practitioners from across the United Kingdom. This was followed by "Occupationless Health" in 1985, made up of fourteen essays, composed by the assistant editor of the journal, Dr. Richard Smith. Both series demonstrate how deeply frustrating it was for doctors to confront mass unemployment in light of the policy decisions of the Thatcher government. They present a call to medical practitioners to be aware of the health dimensions of unemployment and a growing sensitivity to the lives of working-class patients. Rich with perceptions about the relationships among work, gender, class, age, and health, these essays argue that unemployment was not just an economic problem, but one doctors needed to monitor. Doctors found their professional identities shaped in new ways by their broader economic and cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to analyze the effect of regional planning on social welfare in Sabang Islands and mainland Aceh Tengah of Aceh Province. From the statistical results, a mathematical model was obtained for Sabang City: Y = 0.742 + 0.409 X2, while for Central Aceh it was: Y = 2,667–0.167 X2. It is used to interprete the variables that have influence on the HDI of archipelagic cities in Aceh Province as well as that of the plains. Apart from health variable, the other variables constantly have negative effects on the HDI of the Islands. It can be interpreted that the average contribution of other variables outside the model have negative effect on the HDI of the province. This is evidenced by the GRDP (Gross Regional Domestic Product) economic structure and GRDP growth rate based on the business sector of Sabang City. The most dominant is the construction companies that absorb 31% and 8.5% human resources. This indicates that the HDI of Sabang City, which is the administration area of the Islands, is 75.77; while the mainland of Central Aceh even without compulsory basic service variables has a positive constant value. Though lack of basic service variables can negatively affect its HDI. This is because its economic structure is based on the business sector and the rate of PDRB which affects the large-scale trade and transportation sector. However, the mainland region of Central Aceh is very industrious, does not depend on government programs and service and has high mobility and accessibility to businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The close link between human resources for health and the performance of health systems calls for a comprehensive study of the labor market. This paper proposes a performance metric for the nursing labor market, measures its magnitude and analyzes its predictors over the last 15 years.Design and Methods: A repeated cross-sectional analysis using data from the quarterly population-based National Survey of Occupation and Employment 2005-2019 (ENOE in Spanish). An aggregate total of 19,311 Mexican nurses (population N = 4,816,930) was analyzed. Nursing labor market performance was defined as the level of non-precarious employment of nurses in the health sector. After describing the sociodemographic, labor and contextual characteristics of the nurses surveyed, we identified the key correlates of market performance using repeated cross-sectional multiple logistic regression analysis. We then estimated the adjusted prevalence of market performance according to the survey period and socioeconomic region of residence.Results: The exogenous indicators analyzed shed light on various aspects of the market structure. Unemployment remained stable at 5% during the period examined, but underemployment rose by 26% and precarious employment, our endogenous indicator, also grew significantly. On the whole, our indicators revealed a notable deterioration in the structure of the nursing labor market; they varied by age and sex as well as between public and private institutions. Although the steepest deterioration occurred in the private sector, we observed an increase in precarious jobs among public institutions formerly protective of employment conditions.Conclusions: The deterioration of the labor market jeopardizes the ability of nursing professionals to participate in the market as well as to obtain secure jobs once they do enter. The Mexican Health System suffers from a chronic dearth of nurses, reducing its capacity to achieve its core objectives including enhanced coverage and increased effectiveness. Nursing workforce planning requires a context where the conditions in which the market currently operates, and its potential deterioration are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Britain's Household Benefit Cap restricts the amount of benefit income unemployed households can receive. In this article, it is examined using material held at the UK's National Archives recording debates about a proposal to introduce a similar policy – a benefit limit – in the first Thatcher Conservative government elected in 1979. It was rejected, but the Household Benefit Cap was introduced three decades later. The article locates debates about, and the practice of restricting benefit income, in perennial social security concerns with the financial incentive to do waged work. The article argues that while there are material differences that help explain the different policy outcomes in 1980 and 2010, they can primarily be explained by changing ideas about the roles of social security policy, including the development of the 'incentive paradigm' concerned with manipulating behaviour; a loss of concern with the hardship that would come with the introduction of a benefit restriction and a view that institutions other than the state are better placed to address poverty and buttress work incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks at the relationship between unemployment, religious disintegration and suicide in Alberta during 1997–2015. Religious disintegration is operationalized as the percentage of population with no religious affiliation. Economic theory predicts suicides increase when unemployment rates are high and decline when unemployment rates are low. Sociological theory calls for suicides to vary inversely with the degree of religious integration in society. Multivariate analysis supports both economic and sociological interpretations. In Alberta, periods of rising unemployment (recessions) produce more suicides, and increased levels of religious disintegration are positively associated with the incidence of voluntary deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decades of commitment to the basic principles of the Danish welfare state have been discarded with a new social policy reducing the benefits for people already at the bottom of the income ladder. The political intention is to increase job search via economic incentives that increase the gap between benefit income and market income. Using a panel dataset with benefit recipients, we show that the intended job search effect did not materialise to any significant extent; rather, the affected people became poorer because the vast majority of individuals could not respond to the economic incentives in the intended manner. Joblessness was not due to lack of incentives. This study confirms the importance of employability and self-efficacy, but it shows that health is an underlying variable that explains both of these factors and the recipients' difficulties in getting a job. The results have two major social policy implications. Access to early retirement schemes should be easier for recipients who have serious health problems and therefore cannot respond to economic incentives, and there should be an increased focus on how to help the recipients without major health problems to develop self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a network approach, we investigate the determinants of intra-EU migration flows between all 28 EU member states in the years 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2013. Our descriptive analysis of the networks of intra-EU migration flows shows that the EU migration space is dominated by two core destination countries (Germany and United Kingdom). The results of our cross-sectional exponential random graph models (ERGM) reveal that the status of Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) as core destination countries remains a robust characteristic of the network of intra-EU migration flows over time, even when controlling for GDP, unemployment rates or shared geographical borders between destination and source countries. Furthermore, our results point to the differentiated effects of national economic performance on outgoing and ingoing flows: GDP per capita mainly affects intra-EU inflows, while unemployment rates tend to influence outmigration. Lastly, regulatory linkages – measured with the accession to the EU of source countries and the opening of the labour market of destination countries – exert a moderate effect on intra-EU migration flows when taking into account the national economic performances of source and destination countries, the core status of Germany and the United Kingdom, and the shared borders between destination and source countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to articles published within the issue is presented on topics including the important characteristics of primary care, the implications of the U.S. underinvestment in its public health infrastructure and how it made the country susceptible to the spread of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), and another on the trends in public health funding in the U.S.

This study engages theories of economic freedom and neoliberalism as alternative ways of understanding workers' perceived job and labor market insecurity. The results of hierarchical ordered logit and linear models of multiple rounds/waves of European Social Survey and European Working Conditions Survey data between 2002 and 2016 reveal some support for one hypothesis derived from each set of theories in basic models: As theories of economic freedom anticipate, the levels of worker insecurity are generally lower in countries that are currently more "economically free"; as theories of neoliberalism anticipate, the levels of insecurity are higher in countries that have increased levels of economic freedom, or "neoliberalization," in about the past five years, but this relationship is limited to pre-2010 survey data. Altogether, the findings, including of more complex models, suggest these theories account for worker insecurity in Europe, but neoliberalization's effects are selective, unemployment also matters, and synthesis is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is disagreement on the specific mechanism through which the economic recession increased suicides in Greece. Unemployment is considered by many authors to be the determining factor but the data are inconclusive and often negative, especially concerning the temporal relationship between onset of increase in unemployment and increase in suicides AIMS: The aim of this paper was to clarify the specific role of unemployment as well as of other socioeconomic variables on specific age-by-gender groups concerning the increase in suicides.Methods: Data of the Hellenic Statistical Authority ELSTAT (www.Statistics: gr) were analyzed with Linear Regression Analysis and Bonferroni correction for multiple testing RESULTS: Unemployment correlates with suicide rates only in males aged 20-24, 50-54 and 60-64 years (p < 0.001). Unemployment could held responsible for an additional 148 male deaths during the period 2009-2015, which accounts for 5.3% of the total (29 additional deaths per year). The changes in all the socioeconomic conditions could held responsible for 317 cases of suicide or 9.4% of total CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study suggest that there was a 33% increase in deaths by suicide in Greece during the early years of recession (2009-2015); one third could be directly attributed to unemployment, one third to other consequences of recession while another third is of unknown origin. The effect of unemployment is specifically restricted to males at the beginning of their working career (20-24 years old) and to middle aged (45-49 and 55-59 years old). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Greece no study has ever been conducted on the prevalence of problem gambling. Therefore, a cross-sectional survey was carried out amid the recession aiming to (1) estimate past year prevalence of problem gambling, (2) explore socio-economic and demographic differences among gamblers and non gamblers, (3) explore socio-economic and demographic differences among gamblers who started gambling prior and during the downturn and (4) identify its risk factors with a special interest in the influence of the recession. To this end, data emanating from a telephone and patron survey were combined. A random and representative sample of 3.404 people participated in the telephone survey and 2.400 in the patron survey. The interview schedule was the same in both studies. The presence of problem gambling was assessed with the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. Information on participants' socio-economic and demographic characteristics as well as their ways of dealing financially with the crisis were collected. Findings indicated that 2.4% of respondents met criteria for problem gambling. Male gender, minority status, living with family of origin, low educational level and low to zero income were found to constitute the risk factors of the disorder. Moreover, having started gambling during the recession increased the odds of suffering from problem gambling; however this finding was gender-specific. Thus, people end up in problem gambling through various pathways, with these trajectories being different for men and women. Any intervention should address the complexity of the issue and be tailored by gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of local labour market conditions and pupil educational attainment as primary determinants of the post-compulsory schooling decision. Design/methodology/approach: Through the specification of a nested logit model, the restrictive independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) assumption inherent in the multinomial logit (MNL) model is relaxed across multiple unordered outcomes. Findings: The analysis shows that the factors influencing schooling decisions differ for males and females. For females, on average, the key drivers of the schooling decision are expected wage returns based on youth educational attainment, attitudes to school and parental aspirations, rather than local labour market conditions. For males, higher local unemployment rates encourage greater investment in education. Originality/value: The contribution of this paper to the existing literature is threefold. First, a nested logit model is proposed as an alternative to a MNL. The former can formally incorporate the structured and sequential decision-making process that youths may engage with in relation to the post-compulsory schooling decision, as well as relaxing the restrictive IIA assumption inherent in the MNL across multiple unordered outcomes, an issue the authors discuss in more detail in the Methodology section below. Second, the analysis is based on extremely rich socio-economic data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England, matched to local labour market data and administrative data from the National Pupil Database and Pupil Level Annual School Census, which provide a broad set of unusually high-quality measures of prior attainment. The authors argue that such high-quality data and an appropriate model specification allows identification of the determinants of the post-compulsory decision in a more detailed manner than many previous analyses. Third, the data have the scale necessary to consider whether the determinants of post-compulsory schooling decisions vary by gender, a particularly important issue given the differential education participation rates of males and females (e.g. in this cohort, females are about 10 percentage points more likely to go on to higher education in the UK than males), and the gendered choices of occupation (see, e.g. Bertrand, 2011). The work will, therefore, provide recent empirical evidence from England on gender differences in the determinants of education choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do political leaders politicise welfare state "reform pressures", e.g. unemployment, ageing or globalisation, in election campaigns? Competing expectations range from no politicization at all to a clear and unbiased coupling between pressures and intended policy responses. Eighteen speeches held by prime ministerial candidates at election-year party congresses in Germany, Norway and Sweden (2000–2010) reveal an unfinished and biased problem-solution coupling. On the one hand, even in these affluent countries pressures are frequently politicised. On the other hand, leaders either cherry-pick less painful policy solutions, or refrain altogether from debating them. So, while citizens learn that the welfare state is pressured, they are not exposed to the full range of policies they increasingly have reason to expect after elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the association between changes in contextual economic factors on childhood obesity in the US. Methods: We combined data from 2003, 2007, and 2011/2012 National Surveys of Children's Health for 129,781 children aged 10–17 with 27 state-level variables capturing general economic conditions, labor supply, and the monetary or time costs of calorie intake, physical activity, and cigarette smoking. We employed regression models controlling for demographic factors and state and year fixed effects. We also examined heterogeneity in economic effects by household income. Results: Obesity risk increased with workforce proportion in blue-collar occupations, urban sprawl, female labor force participation, and number of convenience stores but declined with median household income, smoking ban in restaurants, and full service restaurants per capita. Most effects were specific to low income households, except for density of supercenters/warehouse clubs which was significantly associated with higher overweight/obesity risk only in higher income households. Conclusions for Practice: Changes in state-level economic factors related to labor supply and monetary or time cost of calorie intake may affect childhood obesity especially for children in low-income households. Policymakers should consider these effects when designing programs aimed at reducing childhood obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses aggregate panel data on French départements to investigate the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and mortality from 1982 to 2014. We find no consistent relationship between macroeconomic conditions and all-cause mortality in France. The results are robust across different specifications, over time, and across different geographic levels. However, we find that heterogeneity across age groups and mortality causes matters. Furthermore, in areas with a low average educational level, a large population, and a high share of migrants, mortality is significantly countercyclical. Similar to the case in the United States, the relationship between the unemployment rate and mortality seems to have moved from slightly procyclical to slightly countercyclical over the period of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Hospitalisation for specific conditions considered to be 'ambulatory-care sensitive' (ACS) could signify problems with primary or outpatient care access. The aims of this study are to quantify and explore potential causes for geographical variation across emergency hospital admissions for relevant ACS conditions in older adults in Ireland. Methods The number of emergency hospital admissions among adults aged 65+ with a diagnosis of an ACS condition between 2012-2016 were extracted from Ireland's Hospital Inpatient Enquiry system according to condition, sex, age-group, residence area and year. Conditions included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), diabetes complications, angina (excluding therapeutic procedures), pyelonephritis and urinary tract infections (UTI), dehydration and pneumonia. Age-sex standardised discharge rates (SDRs) were calculated for 21 areas. Systematic components of variance (SCV) quantified variation. Regression analyses were conducted between SDRs and year, unemployment rate, % urban population, General Practitioner (GP) supply, and % short emergency hospital stays. Results In total, 147,722 emergency hospital admissions (50 per 1,000 eligible population; 49% male) were included. COPD was the most common condition (31%), followed by pneumonia (22%), pyelonephritis/UTI (21%) and CHF (16%). CHF showed low geographic variation (SCV=2-3). COPD, diabetes, pyelonephritis/UTI and pneumonia showed high variation (SCV=4-12). Angina and dehydration showed very high variation (SCV=12-50). In multivariable analysis, higher unemployment was associated with higher SDRs for COPD. Lower GP supply was associated with higher SDRs for CHF, diabetes and pneumonia. Rurality was associated with SDRs for angina. Conclusion The rate of emergency admissions for ACS conditions studied is in line with research in the United States, although COPD and angina account for a higher proportion of admissions in our study. There is significant geographical variation in ACS admission rates among older adults in Ireland. Further research should explore local factors influencing emergency admission, particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged areas and those with lower GP supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to contribute to the growing literature on resilience by focusing on coping with hardship during the Great Recession, drawing upon primary data gathered through household and key informant interviews in nine European countries. As the resilience approach highlights agency, the paper examines the nature of household responses to hardship during this period on the basis of the 'structure-agency problem'. An important contribution of this paper is to identify different forms of agency and discuss their implications. More specifically, we conceptualise three different types of agency in coping with hardship: absorptive, adaptive and transformative. Analysis of the findings indicates that structural constraints remain prominent. Most coping mechanisms fall under the category of absorptive and adaptive agency characterised here as burden-bearing actions that 'conform' to changing circumstances rather than shaping those circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article charts the history and trajectory of neoliberalism provided in Foucault's 1979 lectures on 'The Birth of Biopolitics'. In these fascinating contributions, first published in English translation ten years ago, Foucault identifies German and American forms of neoliberalism, defined in opposition to both the Beveridge reforms and Roosevelt's New Deal. In seeking to comprehend Foucault's articulation of neoliberalism it is important to locate it in the context of contemporary debates on the future of socialism and the reconfiguration of social policy. Despite theoretical problems with his account, the lecture series continues to aid our understanding of the contemporary evolution of social policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The German Hartz IV reform has been a far-reaching labour market reform which reduced unemployment benefit generosity. The encompassing economic evaluation tends to confirm that the reform was an initial spark for the improvement of German labour market performance. At the same time, welfare state scholars have recently expressed concerns that such reforms may have far-reaching and detrimental political effects. In this article, I contribute to this discussion and analyse the political effects of Hartz IV including decreasing satisfaction with democracy, decreasing political participation and an increase of protest voting and political polarization. To identify the effect of the reform, I rely on bi-weekly representative survey data and exploit the announcement of the Hartz reforms as natural experiment. Comparing political attitudes of persons interviewed immediately before and after the announcement in regression analyses confirms that there was a sharp drop in satisfaction with democracy and the intention to participate in the next election, as well as increasing affinity to non-established and left-wing parties. Supplementary analyses show that the effect is stronger for unemployed workers who are more directly affected by the reform. These results are robust to different model specifications and estimation techniques. Moreover, placebo tests for past and previous years refute the concern that the effect is driven by other factors such as calendar time effects. These findings indicate that the political consequences of welfare state retrenchment go far beyond electoral punishment. This is possibly more relevant today than ever before as the current increase of populist parties substantially impedes the functioning of political systems in modern democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mothers who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are at increased risk for experiencing workplace instability in the form of absence from paid employment and job loss. In a cross-sectional study, we investigate if experiences of IPV inhibit work stability among low-income women as well as if the receipt of child care subsidies has a moderating effect on the relationship. Using data from the Illinois Families Study, we tested the relationships between IPV, work outcomes, and recipient of child care subsidies in a series of multivariate regressions. Findings indicate IPV is associated with reduced hours worked among low-income mothers and increased unemployment among low-income mothers. However, both of these relationships are moderated by receipt of child care subsidies suggesting that mothers who experience IPV can maintain employment at the same level as women not experiencing IPV with receipt of child care subsidies. Our findings indicate the importance of receiving child care subsidies among low-income mothers and support subsidy accessibility to survivors of IPV. Results of our study are limited in regard to the age of the data, the cross-sectional use of the data, and the lack of a control group that was not receiving any type of government assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Life expectancy increased in industrialized countries, but inequalities in health and mortality by socioeconomic position (SEP) still persist. Several studies have documented educational inequalities, yet the association between health and employment status remains unclear. However, this is an important issue considering the instability of the labour market and the fact that unemployment now also touches ‘non-traditional groups’ (e.g. the high-educated). This study will 1) probe into the association between unemployment and cause-specific mortality; 2) look into the possible protective effect of sociodemographic variables; 3) assess the association between unemployment, SEP, gender and cause-specific mortality. Material and methods: Individually linked data of the Belgian census (2001) and Register data on emigration and cause-specific mortality during 2001–2011 are used. The study population contains the Belgian population eligible for employment at census, based on age (25–59 years) and being in good health. Both absolute and relative measures of all-cause and cause-specific mortality by employment status have been calculated, stratified by gender and adjusted for sociodemographic and socioeconomic indicators. Results: Unemployed men and women were at a higher risk for all-cause and cause-specific mortality compared with their employed counterparts. The excess mortality among unemployed Belgians was particularly high for endocrine and digestive diseases, mental disorders, and falls, and more pronounced among men than among women. Other indicators of SEP did only slightly decrease the mortality disadvantage of being unemployed. Discussion: The findings stress the need for actions to ameliorate the health status of unemployed people, especially for the most vulnerable groups in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to review evidence of the negative consequences of international economic sanctions on population health in Iran and pathways via which the sanctions affect health. This is a narrative review. Data from the World Bank and the Central Bank of Iran were gathered to clarify economic consequences of sanctions. Moreover, the literature was reviewed for published data on health consequences of economic sanctions in Iran and economic crisis in other parts of the world. Finally, some mechanisms via which economic sanctions could affect health were reviewed. Iran experienced 11.8% reduction in gross domestic production growth in 2012 compared with 2011, besides 40% inflation and 200% depreciation of Iranian currency. Ultimately, it resulted in increased living costs and unemployment. One year after termination of sanctions, Iran's gross domestic production growth increased by 14.1% in 2016. Data revealed that mental health has been affected during sanctions. Moreover, access to essential and lifesaving medication has been compromised, similar to other countries during economic recession. Economic sanctions have had negative consequences on population health in Iran by impairing social determinants of health and access to medication and care. These sanctions widen economic inequality and health gap. • Public health expenditure and healthcare services drop during economic recessions, worldwide. • Economic sanctions compromise social determinants of health. • These sanctions widen economic inequality and health gap. • Population health has been impaired by the economic sanctions, especially among vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Possible adverse economic impacts of sweetened drink taxes are a key concern for numerous stakeholders. This study examined changes in unemployment benefit claims filings in Philadelphia compared to its neighboring counties two years prior to and 14 months post implementation of a 1.5 cents per ounce excise tax on sugar- and artificially-sweetened beverages. Methods: Data were obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor. Interrupted time series analysis was used to determine if there was a change in new monthly unemployment claims filings post-tax implementation in Philadelphia compared to surrounding counties in supermarkets, select potentially affected industries, and in total claims filings across all industries combined. Results: Results showed there were no statistically significant changes to unemployment claims in Philadelphia compared to neighboring counties for supermarkets (ß = -9.45, 95% CI = -98.11, 79.22), soft drink manufacturers (ß = -0.13, 95% CI = -9.13, 8.88), across other potentially affected industries (ß = 9.16, 95% CI = -488.29, 506.60), or across all industries (ß = -445.85, 95% CI = -4272.39, 3380.68) following implementation of the beverage tax. Unemployment declined similarly in Philadelphia compared to surrounding counties. Conclusions: Public reports of increased unemployment within the first year following the implementation of the Philadelphia beverage tax are not supported by this analysis. Future work should examine employment outcomes and include longer follow-up periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding diverse labor market trajectories around vocational rehabilitation provides important insight into potential effectiveness of rehabilitation efforts. We examined factors associated with work participation trajectories before and after vocational rehabilitation. Methods: Using nationwide Finnish register data of 7180 vocational rehabilitees, we constructed latent trajectory groups of work participation two years before and two years after their rehabilitation episode starting in 2008–2010. We plotted changes in labor market statuses in these groups and examined other associated factors using multinomial logistic regression. Results: We identified four trajectories based on work participation levels before and after vocational rehabilitation. The “High–Resumed” group (35.6%) typically returned to full duties. The “High–to–Negligible” group (20.7%) typically transitioned to full disability retirement or unemployment. Among the “Medium–Resumed” (25.5%) and “Longstanding Negligible” (18.3%) groups, work disability and unemployment were common before rehabilitation, but afterwards those assigned to the former group often returned to full or partial duties. Overall, older age, male gender, living in areas with lower employment rates, having lower education, being employed in the private sector, and having mental diagnoses were associated with the other three trajectories than the most favorable “High-Resumed” trajectory. Furthermore, certain industrial sectors, job exposures, and less common diagnoses further separated specific trajectories. Conclusions: Work participation trajectories around vocational rehabilitation are diverse, only partly dependent on initial levels of work participation, and determined by various individual and work-related factors. Future nationwide studies should assess the effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation taking into consideration both individual and work-related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Beijing municipal government launched a Free Drug Program (FDP) in 2013 to reduce the financial burden of schizophrenia patients. Objectives: To assess the cost-effectiveness of a FDP designed for schizophrenia patients in Beijing, China. Methods: In all, 2007 schizophrenia patients enrolled in an FDP (FDP group) and 2001 schizophrenia patients who were not enrolled (non-FDP group) were randomly selected for a cross-sectional survey in August 2015. The study sought to develop a cost-effectiveness model to assess the FDP from the societal perspective in Beijing, China. Scenario analyses explored the potential strategies to further improve the cost-effectiveness of the FDP. Results: The FDP group was associated with lower socioeconomic status and more advanced disease than the non-FDP group (unemployment rate: 48.8% vs 37.3%, p < .001; disability rate: 91.2% vs 64.1%, p < .001; overall comorbidity rate: 34.9% vs 28.8%, p < .001). The two groups exhibited similar disease severity and quality of life. However, the FDP group was associated with significantly lower direct medical costs (coefficient –.342, p = .003) and indirect costs (coefficient –.473, p < .001) than the non-FDP group. The base case incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per gained quality-adjusted life year (QALY) for the FDP group relative to the non-FDP group was 1.480 times of 2015 China's gross domestic product per capita. Home drug delivery and long-lasting injection treatment could reduce the ICER for the FDP group relative to the non-FDP group by 57.8% and 29.8%, respectively. Conclusion: The FDP was attractive to schizophrenia patients with lower socioeconomic status and more advanced disease. The cost-effectiveness of the FDP was acceptable and could be further improved by home drug delivery and long-lasting injection treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is associated with numerous poor health outcomes. Youth unemployment in Tanzania is approximately 13.7%, and concentrates in urban areas. These youth lack relevant job skills and access to financial capital. Microfinance continues to be implemented globally to address poverty, and increasingly has been linked to health interventions. Men less frequently are recipients of microfinance loans. We offered microcredit to young men in an area of Dar es Salaam with high poverty as part of a randomised controlled-trial to assess the efficacy of a microfinance and health leadership intervention in preventing STI acquisition. We used mixed methods to understand predictors of successful loan repayment. Our qualitative sub-study showed that leader influence, prior business experience, personal motivation, and planning facilitated repayment. Using a modified Poisson approach, our quantitative analysis showed that successful repayment was associated with business experience, education, increasing number of children, community of residence, percentage of network members trained in business, and repayment success of peer leaders. Our results suggest that enforcing group accountability and repayment rules, offering ongoing training, and using successful entrepreneurs as role models could increase repayment success in similar populations. These strategies could provide financial opportunity for men while minimising risk for microfinance institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Spain, the issue of unemployment or precarious employment worsen with globalization, leading to an expansion of the so-called working poor in the labour market. According to previous literature, the economic poverty that is characteristic of this group may accompany poverty competency. In particular, the working poor resort to informal and poorly developed job-search strategies. This study addresses the job search methods used by people at risk of poverty and social exclusion. It provides evidence on the subject and serves as a basis for the adaptation of socio-labour intermediation programmes to this group. The hypothesis of this study is that people at high risk will predominantly use informal strategies that require a low level of job-search skills. A survey-based correlational study is conducted using a questionnaire completed by 279 people participating in socio-labour intermediation programmes developed by the Action against Hunger Foundation (AaHF) in Spain. Information on poverty indicators and on job-search strategies is collected. Data are analysed through cluster analysis, which distinguish two groups of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion (high risk and low risk), followed by a comparison of means (t-test) with a subsequent calculation of effect size using Cohen's d. Results show statistically significant differences with a medium effect size (between 0.45 and 0.50) for the typology of job-search strategies used, confirming the initial hypothesis. These results offer relevant information that should be considered when developing programmes aimed at improving social and labour issues for people at risk of poverty and social exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The translation perspective explores the travel of policy ideas, programmes and practices across international boundaries, focusing on the process through which interpretative agents introduce and adjust borrowed policy items to a new policy context. Current research emphasises the significance of local networks' support for translation's efficacy. However, we know little about how such networks are maintained and stabilized over time or how changing configurations and capacities may affect translation's prospects. This paper explores the case of Israel's attempted institutionalisation of workfare – an enduring international policy fashion – from 1998 to the present day. We follow the stabilization and destabilization of the local translation network across different levels and sites of policy design and implementation, analysing emerging conflicts and agreements at each site. We use the metaphor 'episodes of translation' to explore translation's value as a concept accounting for local policy change. In order for translation-led policy change to maintain legitimacy and actualisation in contested domains, ongoing engagement of existing and emerging policy actors is essential. This case demonstrates how when networks become destabilized, translation-led policy change may come to a halt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of the paper is to quantify effects of socioeconomic factors on Alzheimer's Disease Mortality in the Slovak Republic. We applied potential gains in life expectancy (PGLE) method to measure the impact of elimination of Alzheimer's disease on life expectance in Slovak regions. PGLE is based on life table adjustment according to elimination of mortality caused by specific diagnosis. Our dataset consists of all deceased from Slovak Republic from 2001 to 2015. We analyse the impact of unemployment rate, GDP per capita, average wage, and education on life expectance in Slovak regions. To estimate that impact, ordinary least squares (OLS) is applied. According to our model, gross domestic product, average wage, and education influence mortality caused by Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This paper provides the socio-economic context of the MIGHEAL study, the results of which are presented in this special issue. The aim of the MIGHEAL study was to compare the physical and mental health of the native and migrant populations of Greece in the wake of the economic crisis that commenced in 2008. Methods The background of the migrant population of Greece is described, drawing on population censuses of Greece and data on residence permits held by foreigners. Then the migrant and native populations are compared with respect to several socio-economic outcomes, using Eurostat data on unemployment and the risk of poverty. Results The settled migrant population of Greece is largely of Central and Eastern European origin, resulting from the massive migrant inflowsthat started at the beginning of the 1990s after the collapse of socialist regimes in the area. Before the economic crisis, migrant unemployment was lower than that of natives, but after its onset, the unemployment of migrants surpassed that of natives. Prior to the crisis, migrants were already subject to greater risk of poverty than natives, but the gap widened considerably subsequent to the crisis. Conclusion The Greek institutional framework has restricted access to citizenship for both first- and second-generation migrants while conditions for permit renewal are onerous, rendering citizenship an important factor differentiating socio-economic outcomes. The different outcomes observed among the native and migrant populations after the onset of the Greek economic crisis create concerns regarding health inequalities between the two populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Assess the effect of chronic comorbidities on hours and earnings recovery following a carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) claim. Methods: The hours and earnings profiles of Washington State workers' compensation claimants with CTS and controls, upper extremity fractures (UEF) claimants, were collected by linking to unemployment insurance data during 2007 to 2014. Chronic comorbidity status was determined from workers' compensation bills. Results: More (43%) CTS claimants had diagnosed chronic comorbidities than UEF (24%). CTS claimants and claimants with multiple chronic comorbidities had significantly higher odds of not working post injury and poorer hours and earnings recovery compared with UEF claimants and those with no chronic comorbidities. Conclusions: This research suggests that chronic conditions should be considered as barriers to return to work among injured workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International trade has increased over time, both in volume and as a share of gross domestic product, and international trade agreements have proliferated. This rise in trade has many potential impacts on health outcomes. Trade raises living standards, allowing for greater spending on education and medical care, which improves health. However, trade may worsen intranational inequality, leading to increased stress and adverse impacts on mortality. Labor markets are affected by international trade, and the resulting changes in unemployment, working hours, and injury rates have an impact on health outcomes. Trade may induce adverse environmental impacts, such as increased pollution, leading to worsened health. Reductions in prices as a result of changes to trade policy may increase the consumption of unhealthy goods, including tobacco and processed foods, thus worsening the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases. Trade agreements may affect the ability of governments to legislate health-improving policies. Overall, international trade and trade agreements may have both positive and negative effects on health outcomes; government policy may be used to ameliorate any adverse effects of trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in the social epidemiological literature indicate that health inequalities between the employed and the unemployed are widening in many advanced capitalist countries. At present, we know relatively little about why these inequalities are worsening. Drawing on nationally-representative data from the largest health survey in Canada, we explored this question by analyzing changes in self-rated health inequalities between employed and unemployed Canadians from 2000 to 2014. Using a regression-based method that decomposes a given inequality into its component sources, we investigated the extent to which risk factors that account for unemployment-related health inequalities at a single point in time can also explain the extent and direction of change in these unemployment-related health inequalities over time. Our results indicate that relative and absolute health inequalities between employed and unemployed Canadians widened over the study period. Between 2000 and 2014, the prevalence of poor self-rated health among unemployed Canadians increased from 10.8% to 14.6%, while rates among employed Canadians were stable at around 6%. Our findings suggest that the demographic, socioeconomic, and proximal risk factors that are routinely used to explain unemployment-related health inequalities may not be as powerful for explaining how and why these inequalities change over time. In the case of unemployment-related health inequalities in Canada, these risk factors explain neither the increasing prevalence of poor self-rated health among the unemployed nor the growing gap between the unemployed and their employed counterparts. We provide several possible explanations for these puzzling findings. We conclude by suggesting that widening health inequalities may be driven by macrosocial trends (e.g. widening income inequality and declining social safety nets) which have changed the meaning and context of unemployment, as well as its associated risk factors, in ways that are not easy to capture using routinely available survey data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private giving represents more than three fourths of all U.S. charitable donations, about 2% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Private giving is a significant factor in funding the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy, which accounts for more than 10% of total GDP. Despite the abundance of data available through tax forms and other sources, it is unclear which factors influence private donation, and a reliable predictive mechanism remains elusive. This study aims to develop predictive models to accurately estimate future charitable giving based on a set of potentially influential factors. We have selected several factors, including unemployment rate, household income, poverty level, population, sex, age, ethnicity, education level, and number of vehicles per household. This study sheds light on the relationship between donation and these variables. We use Stepwise Regression to identify the most influential variables among the available variables, based on which predictive models are developed. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and machine learning techniques, including Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) are used to develop the predictive models. The results suggest that population, education level, and the amount of charitable giving in the previous year are the most significant, independent variables. We propose three predictive models (MLR, ANN, and SVR) and validate them using 10-fold cross-validation method, then evaluate the performance using 9 different measuring criteria. All three models are capable of predicting the amount of future donations in a given region with good accuracy. Based on the evaluation criteria, using a test data set, ANN outperforms SVR and MLR in predicting the amount of charitable giving in the following year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In October 2005, Florida relaxed restrictions on the use of lethal force in self-defense with the Florida stand your ground law (SYG). We examined whether and how the impact of the Florida SYG varied based on the demographic and economic conditions of each of its counties. Using data from the Florida Universal Crime Reports on homicides and firearm homicides from 1999 to 2014, we found that the impact differed significantly by county urbanization, unemployment, and pre-law homicide rates. The largest increases in homicide and firearm homicide occurred in proportionally safer, richer, and less ethnically diverse suburban counties. These findings reveal that the law may have had the opposite effect than intended, and more strongly impacted counties considered safe, suburban and economically successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current and following two issues of the journal is a selection of official documents on mass protests in China compiled and published by the Ministry of Public Security in June, 2000. In the meantime, the Bureau had built up its protest management infrastructure, creating its rapid response capability to ensure that at least one agent would arrive in the protest site within three minutes when trouble was first reported, and several hundred agents would arrive on scene in ten minutes. In the most serious incident, the government dispatched a contingent of 860 party cadres, local public security agents and armed police. [Extracted from the article]

This paper attempts to identify the economic underpinnings of the support for acts of violent extremism (VE). We explore some demographic and economic characteristics of individuals who express support for acts of violent extremism (VE) by using an extensive cross-country multi-year survey dataset ranging from 2007 to 2014. A growing body of empirical research has focused on examining the various socio-economic underpinnings of violent extremism. The results have been inconclusive, at times contradictory and often based on limited set of case studies or smaller single time period cross-section datasets. In this study we use information on a little over forty-eight thousand individuals in 12 countries to evaluate the connections between socio-economic status and support for extremism. While the impact of the socio-economic characteristics on support for violence remains inconclusive in this analysis, we do find interesting and significant results when we interact individual economic status variables with the overall economic growth of the country. Unemployment status and having lower levels of education have significant impacts on the likelihood of support for VE when interacted with country level growth rate. We conclude that inequality or a feeling of being left out-being unemployed, in higher growth countries might be the key to understanding the economic underpinnings of violent extremism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes clinical characteristics of poor and uninsured patients living with hepatitis C virus (HCV) who received care from a multidisciplinary HCV clinic, reports treatment completion and cure rates, and estimates the cost of HCV medications provided at no cost to uninsured patients. A retrospective chart review was performed and identified 69 uninsured HCV patients who received medical care at Mercy Health Center, a small non-profit community clinic, between January 2008 and March 2015. Three-fourths of the patients were unemployed, a third had multiple HCV exposures, nearly half acquired HCV due to illicit drug use, and more than half had active psychiatric disorders. Of those who received HCV treatment, 81% completed treatment and 85% were achieved virological cure. The multidisciplinary community clinic provided > $1.4 million of HCV antivirals at no cost to uninsured patients. Findings suggest a multidisciplinary community clinic comprised of a social worker, pharmacist, gastroenterologist, nurse, nurse practitioner, psychologist, and dietitian can help patients achieve HCV treatment completion and cure rates comparable to traditional physician-led clinics, and successfully manage uninsured and underserved HCV patients—who are often regarded as “difficult-to-treat” patients. Public health social workers and other health professionals are encouraged to advocate for treatment and care of poor and uninsured patients living with HCV in health agencies and health systems, otherwise population-wide reductions in HCV morbidity and mortality will not be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We analyze the influence of the dramatic changes in the Spanish labor market during the crisis on the perceived health of the Spanish population.Methods: We use the longitudinal Living Conditions Survey database and multilevel longitudinal logistic models between 2007 and 2011, before and during the economic crisis in one of the European countries most affected by its consequences.Results: Unemployment (OR 1.75; p < 0.001), job insecurity (OR 1.38; p < 0.001), and being part of a household with severe material deprivation (OR 1.87; p = 0.004) increase the risk of having worsened perceived health. Available income, on the other hand, is a protective factor (OR 0.72; p < 0.001). Public expenditure policies have little impact on the perceived health. Labor market reforms reducing the degree of job insecurity and unemployment, together with income transfers to those at greater risk of social deprivation, can be more effective in improving the health of the population than the increase of aggregated social or health care expenditure.Conclusions: This study provides evidence of the influence that unemployment, job insecurity, and poverty exert on the perceived health of individuals, with data collected in Spain after the onset of the financial crisis. In addition, after analyzing public social expenditure, only expenditure on FPS seems to influence self-reported health, although to a very limited degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the empirical association of oil prices with economic activity in developed open economy namely: The United States by using the wavelet transform framework. This methodology enables the decomposition of time-series at different time-frequencies. In this study, we have used maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform, wavelet covariance, wavelet correlation, continuous wavelet power spectrum, wavelet coherence spectrum and wavelet based Granger causality approaches to analyze the relationship between oil prices and economic activity. The present study uses month frequency data for the period of 1979M 1 -2013M 7 . The results indicate that oil prices have positive impact on economic activity and the feedback effect exists between oil prices and economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic recessions have been linked to adult health, but few studies have examined how recessions influence the health of young children. This study examined the impact of life transitions linked to the recent financial crisis on the health of young children in Ireland. Data came from the Growing Up in Ireland Infant Cohort Study (n = 11,134), which assessed children before (2008), during (2011), and after (2013) the Great Recession that followed the financial crisis of 2008 and incorporated questions on the impacts of the financial crisis on families. Using fixed-effects models to control for confounding, we found that a reduction in welfare benefits during the recession was associated with a significant increase in the risks of asthma (β = 0.014, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.004, 0.023) and atopy (β = 0.014, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.027). While parental job loss was not associated with child health, a reduction in working hours was associated with increased reports of child health problems (β = 0.024, 95% CI: 0.004, 0.043), as were difficulties affording basic necessities (β = 0.019, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.038). Results suggest that failing to protect vulnerable families and children during economic recessions may have long-lasting implications for child health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to examine India's transformation from a colonial to a modern economy on the basis of the macro-economic changes that have occurred over the last century. This is important because it will help us to understand the associated growth performance and its impact on sectoral changes and employment in the wider context of developing economies such as India. The methodology to be followed here is derived from the aims of the study and comparisons of international statistics that provide the means by which to address the research questions and the objectives of this paper. The study found that during the colonial period, the Indian economy became subservient rather than sovereign in terms of policy matters. As a result, economic development was hampered by the removal of "surplus", along with very high land rents and tribute charges. A densely populated country like India was drawn into the orbit of exploitation in the mid-18th century. Soon after independence in 1947, the Indian government took a number of initiatives to enhance industrial and agricultural development, but the biggest failure was that it did not make any real impression on the country's huge unemployment problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugees in the Netherlands are expected to integrate in society and find employment. Despite years of education, Syrian refugees who graduated in medicine (SRGMs') struggle to enter the Dutch medical field. To ensure patient safety, physicians with a medical degree obtained outside Europe are obliged to finish an 'assessment procedure' (AP) and might be forced to redo clinical internships, before being allowed to practice medicine. In this research, SRGMs' experiences were analysed using Bourdieu's capital theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 SRGMs. In Syria, they acquired much capital as physicians, in the shape of financial means (economic capital), connections (social capital), medical degrees and skills (cultural capital), and status (symbolic capital). Their medical skills often provide the only capital that remains when arriving in the Netherlands, but it loses value as they have to prove their competence first in the AP. This is a long and arduous process. The mean duration, for those who had yet finished the AP, from arrival to employment was 4.5 years (n = 5, range 2.7–5.8 years). SRGMs experience difficulties in these AP years because they are forced to study from home and feel excluded from medical practice. They are unable to regain their economic, social and symbolic capital, whilst struggling to get their cultural capital acknowledged. Mentally this is challenging and when they do finish, this capital gap leaves them at a disadvantage when applying for competitive job applications. Once employed, SRGMs need time to adjust but are finally rebuilding their capital and integrating in Dutch society. Both SRGMs and Dutch society benefit when SRGMs' integration in the Dutch medical field improves. Although certain challenges for SRGMs seem inevitable, by offering a clinical internship before the assessment of SRGMs' skills, their capital acquisition might improve which would facilitate their integration. • Experiences of Syrian refugees who graduated in medicine (SRGMs) in the Netherlands. • In-depth analysis of the full integration process, using Bourdieu's capital theory. • SRGMs struggle to regain social, economic, cultural and symbolic capital. • Unnecessary hurdles in the assessment procedure they must undergo. • Suggestions for improvement include offering early clinical internships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framed by historical materialism, this study of labour in post-conflict settings contends that the Balkan peace has been disfigured by a political economy of precarity. Former Yugoslav territories experienced chronic unemployment and precarity, moulded by distinctive cultures and identities, though labour had already been pummelled by the impacts of global integration before violent conflict. Peace meant reordering of pre-war and wartime political economies, which failed to stimulate officially audited employment in order to privilege private capital accumulation. Whilst workers have exerted agency to cope with and resist this, the exercise of labour rights shrank markedly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]