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Piketty's Capital (2014) primarily describes and analyses changes in the distribution of wealth and annual incomes. This paper focuses on his policy proposals that make up Part Four of the book. Piketty defends the 'social state' but he discusses it largely in terms of distribution and redistribution between tax units. This neglects the important role of social policy in promoting recognition and redistribution of income and opportunities that is related to gender, race, disability and sexual orientation. Nor does Piketty consider inequalities in health which effect life-time incomes, nor the impact of housing policies on house prices and the distribution of wealth. It is argued that Piketty's approach to social security is simplistic and plays down the complexity of competing policy goals. On taxation, Piketty defends progressive taxation and proposes a global capital levy. The latter proposal runs into formidable problems in seeking global taxation in a world of nation states. Rather than seeking a policy that is, for the foreseeable future, wholly politically impractical, a case is made for less idealistic but more practical and urgent tax coordination between nations to address the widespread avoidance of taxation that large corporations and the very wealthy are now permitted - taxation on which the future of the social state depends. The importance of human and social capital, which are largely set aside by Piketty, are discussed. Finally,it is argued that his approach to policy is to describe trends and propose amelioration of growing inequality rather than to identify causes of the trends and propose policies that might address the causes. Nevertheless, the importance of his work in bringing issues of inequality to the fore, especially among economists, is recognized and applauded., (© London School of Economics and Political Science 2014.)

The author uses the assertions of Anne and Paul Erlich regarding population growth as a basis for his analysis of whether the field of sociobiology offers hope that humans can control reproduction effectively. He notes that "sociobiology is rather pessimistic about this since it is the essence of human nature to reproduce and multiply. In spite of this there are reasons to believe that humankind is able to achieve...a declining birth rate, and this thesis...takes account of the genetic or natural and the cultural make-up of human beings." (SUMMARY IN ENG), (excerpt)

The article serves as an introduction to the special section "Vulnerability: An Interdisciplinary Trialogue," which brings together three researchers who have made important contributions to the field of vulnerability studies from different perspectives and in different disciplines: Elodie Boublil, Kate Brown, and Erinn Gilson. At the outset, the article discusses some characteristic features of the current discourse on vulnerability, in particular the question of why the concept of vulnerability is not only very popular but is also often used in such a diverse and vague manner. In addition to an increased multidisciplinary interest, transdisciplinary conflicts over fundamental epistemological, ontological, and methodological positions are identified as an essential factor; furthermore, the plurality and vagueness of the notion are attributed to an increasing "duplication" of vulnerability as an academic concept on the one hand and as an element of cultural semantics and political discourse on the other. The special section discusses this peculiar mixture of popularity, plurality, and vagueness of the vulnerability concept in an interdisciplinary, reflexive, and critical manner. The introduction outlines key aspects of the three contributions to the trialogue and highlights some convergences and common themes. At the end, the three authors are also briefly introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Substantial heterogeneity in effects of social policies on health across subgroups may be common, but has not been systematically characterized. Using a sample of 55 contemporary studies on health effects of social policies, we recorded how often heterogeneous treatment effects (HTEs) were assessed, for what subgroups (e.g., male, female), and the subgroup-specific effect estimates expressed as Standardized Mean Differences (SMDs). For each study, outcome, and dimension (e.g., gender), we fit a random-effects meta-analysis. We characterized the magnitude of heterogeneity in policy effects using the standard deviation of the subgroup-specific effect estimates (τ). Among the 44% of studies reporting subgroup-specific estimates, policy effects were generally small ( 0.1 SMDs. For 26% of study-outcome-dimensions, the magnitude of τ indicated that effects of opposite signs were plausible across subgroups. Heterogeneity was more common in policy effects not specified a priori. Our findings suggest social policies commonly have heterogeneous effects on health of different populations; these HTEs may substantially impact disparities. Studies of social policies and health should routinely evaluate HTEs.

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

This is a study of an action research project conducted in one of the biggest university departments for sociology in a Central Eastern European capital during the first half of the 2000s. The paper shows that researchers' images of society have a strong impact on social scientific methodology, scientific explanations and narratives. I offer an example of how realist approaches to science and technology studies can be used in a field study and discuss the benefits and limitations of such an endeavor, which I define as an interpretive and explanatory social scientific work. The analysis shows ways in which latent knowledge structures influenced the wording of a questionnaire used in the research, the types of data that were gathered, and how the data were interpreted. These knowledge structures include notions concerning local policy discussions, different social policy traditions, and images of a Roma minority struggling with the effects of structural poverty and prejudices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent can individuals be kept responsible for the disadvantages they experience? This is undoubtedly one of the most fundamental questions that have led to a historical cleavage between egalitarian perspectives that underline roles of structural inequalities leading to disadvantages and anti-egalitarian/libertarian perspectives that tend to keep individuals themselves responsible for their own living conditions. Taking a mediating position between these perspectives, a relatively new normative framework, viz. luck egalitarianism, has recently provided an analytical answer to this question. Building upon an authentic conceptual framework in which two distinct forms of luck are defined, it claims that individuals cannot be kept responsible for their disadvantaged conditions so long as these conditions have appeared as consequences of factors that are beyond their own control, such as luck, which inescapably brings forth a normative idea that individuals should take responsibility of disadvantages that are consequences of their own choices/decisions. This paper discusses that evaluative aspects of individuals' choices/decisions within the given configuration of luck egalitarianism's analytical framework are excessively ambiguous, which can easily lead it to turn into a perspective morally justifying quite a number of disadvantages. Drawing on various hypothetical cases and empirical findings, it suggests that luck egalitarianism should recognize sociological formation of individuals' choices/decisions in modern stratified societies to overcome such jeopardy. Following this, it addresses two positive implications of such recognition as (1) saving luck egalitarianism from being a means of right-wing exclusionary political positions and (2) opening up a space to incorporate egalitarian social policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hundred years is not a very long time in the journey of any discipline. Yet, sociology in India seems to have covered a considerable distance in a comparatively short time as the country witnessed unprecedented incidents in the 19th and 20th centuries of colonial rule, the rise of nationalism leading to India's independence and subsequent efforts at development and nation-building. The works of the British administrators, orientalists, missionaries, and Western scholars earlier, and of the Indian pioneers and other sociologists soon after provided fertile ground for the establishment of sociology in India. The first department of sociology and civics was started in 1919 at Bombay University and since then there has been no looking back as the subject has been established well in the country, academically, and professionally. Besides the role of educational institutions and government bodies, the Indian Sociological Society (ISS) set up in 1951 provided a platform for scholars from across the country and outside to discuss, debate, share and write about contemporary issues. As the context of Indian society changed, the subject matter, methods, theoretical perspectives and debates around the discipline also went through a transformation. This article is an attempt at mapping the trajectory of 100 years of sociology in India and discerning its status as an academic discipline, as well as its relevance for policy-making, and for society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Society must constantly adapt to face all the challenges of the business environment, under the influence of the changing economic and legal context. Whenever the measures taken to adapt the company to new economic conditions concern elements of the company provided for in the memorandum of association, the memorandum of association must be amended in accordance with the formalities laid down by law. In the light of developments in information technology, members may also be able to attend general meetings remotely, subject to certain conditions, in particular in order to ensure that participants can be identified using video equipment (videoconferencing via websites dedicated exclusively to this purpose). In this way, the resolutions adopted by remotely organised general meetings retain their character as collective legal acts, an expression of the company's will subsumed under the social interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food policies in Argentina have gained prominence in social policies agenda in Argentina since 1983. THe persistant problem of hunger affects the technicians and professionals who have managed and implemented food policies. The way people perceive and feel the social world regulates management practices. In order to design and implement food programs in Argentina, it is necessary to investigate people's perception of the world. This contributes to understand the connection between social policies and structures. This paper aims to identify emotions of technicians and professionals associated with the design, management and implementation of food policies. This is a qualitative study with an in-depth interviews to technicians and professionals who have managed and implemented food policies in General Pueyrredon between 1983-2020. The main results show emotions such as frustration, anger and resignation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public policies for children and young people are analyzed. Effects generated by the process of dismissal of young people from the Brazilian Institutional Reception System on their eighteenth birthday are investigated. As a rule, the vulnerability of young people in Brazil is ignored and there is a lack of public policies to provide eventual help at their dismissal from the system and to contribute towards self-sustenance. Methodology comprises qualitative empirical research based on literature review on the respective theme and analysis of documents related to Institutional Reception Services. Current article will be a contribution to legal sociology and towards the creation of new perspectives for the development of state protection for young people dismissed by the system. It will guarantee fundamental rights such as housing, food, work and others. The absence and ineffectiveness of projects, resources and social public policies offered to young people to guarantee fundamental rights victimize Brazilian society within an impoverished socio-juridicalpolitical system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to synthesize the knowledge published in the International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy since its inaugural issue to current issue, i.e. from 1981 to 2021, using a structured and systematic review technique. Design/methodology/approach: In order to achieve the objective of this paper, the authors have analysed the bibliometric metadata of 1,583 research documents published during the last four decades in International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy by employing a structural and quantitative literature review technique, i.e. bibliometric. Particularly, the authors used performance analysis and network analysis (intellectual and social network analysis). Findings: Findings reveal the performance metrics, i.e. productivity and citation performance of various constituencies of IJSSP such as authors, institutes, research articles etc. In addition, the authors constituted certain knowledge networks such as keywords co-occurrence, strategic map and social network. Research limitations/implications: Present systematic and objective review reveals the evolution and pattern of research publication in IJSSP, and this will help in predicting and setting the future course of knowledge creation such as emphasis on a particular theory or framework, reexamining the established assumptions and so on. Practical implications: In the wake of changing social policy dynamics, the present systematic synthesis helps in understanding the possible emerging areas of concerns both for practitioners and policymakers. Originality/value: The present study is a first attempt that considers the entire research corpus of the journal and synthesizes it objectively and systematically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Welfare provision is often conceived through the lens of decommodification and analysed in (re)distributive terms. This article argues that a distributive approach does not sufficiently capture the complexity of 21st century welfare state dynamics. It proposes re-conceptualizing provision as a mix of three policy functions: raising and maintaining human capital stock; easing the flow of gendered life-course and labour-market transitions; guaranteeing social safety-net buffers. This analytical perspective allows theorizing life-course multiplier effects and policy (non-)complementarities, both at the level of individual objective and subjective well-being and in terms of aggregate employment, poverty and fiscal sustainability. This perspective also enables us to extend the temporal horizon of welfare politics beyond short-term electoral logics for explaining welfare reform. The article underscores how methodological pluralism remains key for understanding contemporary welfare states, and for grasping welfare outcomes and institutional change in a research endeavour that involves both generalization and contextualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Sociology: Bulletin of the Yerevan State University / Banber Erevani Hamalsarani. Sots'iologia is the property of Publishing House of Yerevan State University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)