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WHEREAS MANY JURISDICTIONS, NOTABLY THE UNITED STATES, HAVE SEEN massive increases in the use of imprisonment in recent decades, Canada's incarceration rate has remained relatively stable (Doob and Webster 2006). [...]

Consensus is now emerging that the United States should move away from its heavy reliance on mass incarceration, which has ramped up over the past 40 years, ending in more [...]

As the United States considers ways to improve how it incarcerates people in prisons and jails--and particularly how to reduce the number of people incarcerated--it is first necessary to recognize [...]

This article is a comparative, exploratory multicase study examining the relationship between domestic politics and national policies in the energy sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Libya. Key research questions are: What are the key factors shaping this relationship in each of these countries and what are the main obstacles to better policy-making processes and outcomes? To understand each country's context, a short overview of the energy profile and the political structure in terms of its legislative, political, and administrative institutions is provided. The study then identifies several challenges that fall under five major categories: political, policy-related, administrative, strategic, and economic challenges. While this study does not focus on the impact the interplay may have on the prospects of democracy in each country, it particularly considers its repercussions in the light of the upheavals in the Middle East and North African region. Keywords: Energy Policy, Middle East and North African Region, Arab Spring, Libya, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Less-Developed Democracies, Comparative Analysis, Multicase Study. Este articulo constituye un multicaso de estudio comparativo que explora la relacion entre politica domestica y politicas nacionales en el sector energetico en Arabia Saudita, Libano y Libia. Las preguntas clave de investigation son: ?cuales son los factores clave que moldean esta relacion en cada una de las tres naciones? y ?cuales son los principales obstaculos al mejoramiento proceso de hechura de politicas y resultados? El estudio procede posteriormente a identificar varios desafios que clasificamos en cinco categorias: politicos, relacionados con politicas, administrativos, estrategicos, y economicos. Este estudio no se enfoca en el impacto que podria tener el interjuego de tales desafios sobre las posibilidades de la democracia en cada nacion y por tanto en la calidad de la hechura de politicas. No obstante, si considera tal impacto a la luz de los cambios politicos recientes que ha experimentado la region del Medio Oriente y Africa del Norte., The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the Gulf States in particular, has 40 percent of the world's natural gas reserve and 61 percent of its oil reserves making [...]

Despite spending billions and billions of dollars each year, the United States is simply not making rapid enough progress in addressing a range of social problems. Many children are poorly [...]

INTRODUCTION When Canada became a Member of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1990, most of Latin America was at a crossroad in a post-cold war transition from authoritarian [...]

THIS IS THE THIRD AND FINAL EDITED DOCUMENT in a series relating to the development of the Churchill Park 'Garden Suburb' in St. John's, Newfoundland in the 1940s. The first [...]

The science of adolescent brain development is making its way into the national conversation. As an early researcher in the field, I regularly receive calls from journalists asking how the [...]

This paper argues that the structured dependency thesis must be extended to incorporate political power. It outlines a political framework of analysis with which to identify who gains and who loses from social policy. I argue that public policy for older people is a product not only of social structures but also of political decision-making. The Schneider and Ingram (1993) 'target populations' model is used to investigate how the social construction of groups as dependent equates with lower levels of influence on policy making. In United Kingdom and European research, older people are identified as politically quiescent, but conversely in the United States seniors are viewed as one of the most influential and cohesive interest groups in the political culture. Why are American seniors perceived as politically powerful, while older people in Europe are viewed as dependent and politically weak? This paper applies the 'target populations' model to senior policy in the Republic of Ireland to investigate how theoretical work in the United States may be used to identify the significance of senior power in policy development. I conclude that research must recognise the connections between power, politics and social constructions to investigate how state policies can influence the likelihood that seniors will resist structured dependency using political means. KEY WORDS--political economy, policy, structured dependency, political power, social construction. doi:10.1017/S0144686X09990110

This article discusses reforms of the design of the organisational arena for policy implementation and service provision in European welfare states, focusing on the policy areas of income protection and activation. First, it discusses and compares recent reform programmes in four countries: the UK, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. The comparison shows that these reforms share some common characteristics: the establishment of one-stop agencies, decentralisation, the introduction of quasi-markets for the provision of activation services, a reduction of the role and influence of social partners and the use of new public management instruments in managing public agencies. Secondly, the article argues that these reforms are not merely reflecting new ways of thinking about organising the public sector and providing public services, but should also be interpreted as responses to policy administration and implementation problems arising in the process of making welfare states more activating. doi: 10.1017/S0047279409990389

Over two decades ago, China launched the spectacular Reform and Open Up Policy to promote economic growth, and enforced the One Child per Family Policy to reduce the population density. [...]

This article recounts the methodological story of a qualitative research project that investigated the work of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain and the news media's deconstruction of the Commission's report--the Parekh Report--which was published on 11 October 2000. Our project (1) used a multi-method fieldwork approach, combining textual analysis of news media coverage and the extensive documentary archives of the Commission, along with semi-structured interviews with Commissioners and other figures involved in the publication of the Report. The article attempts to offer a reflexive account of the experiences of interviewing a particular public policy-making elite and examines how a particular 'public trauma'--that is, the damaging political fall-out of extremely negative news media coverage of the Parekh Report--inflected our research encounters. We argue that the openness with which many of the participants spoke about this traumatic experience suggests that the production of policy documents can constitute highly emotional labour for participants. We extend this argument by examining how this openness also reveals the instabilities and uncertainties of power within the research interviewee/interviewer relationship. In this way the article seeks to contribute to debates about the problems of defining the category 'elites' in both public policy and social research worlds.

Recent Mental Health Acts provide evidence of diverging UK(1) and Scottish government policy styles. The UK legislative process lasted almost ten years following attempts by ministers to impose decisions and an unprecedented level of sustained opposition from interest groups. In contrast, the consultation process in Scotland was consensual, producing high levels of stakeholder 'ownership'. This article considers two narratives on the generalisability of this experience. The first suggests that it confirms a 'majoritarian' British policy style, based on the centralisation of power afforded by a first-past-the-post electoral system (Lijphart, 1999). Diverging styles are likely because widespread hopes for consensus politics in the devolved territories have been underpinned by proportional representation. The second suggests that most policy-making is consensual, based on the diffusion of power across policy sectors and the 'logic of consultation' between governments and interest groups (Jordan and Richardson, 1982). The legislative process deviated temporarily from the 'normal' British policy style which is more apparent when we consider mental health policy as a whole. Overall, the evidence points to more than one picture of British styles; it suggests that broad conclusions on 'majoritarian' systems must be qualified by detailed empirical investigation.

Literature examining political framing generally focuses on the way that shared framing leads to cohesive actions and policy outcomes. Using a case study of San Francisco's homeless policy field, this article shows that shared framings among the majority of actors in the policy field did not lead to cooperative alliance among those actors nor to coherent policy based on their shared framing. To understand why shared framing failed, I examine the complex interaction between frames, influence, and material resources. While the center and the left of the policy field shared common diagnostic framings and solution-oriented prognostic framings of homelessness, the right possessed far superior material resources and political influence compared to the left. The center and left divided over different tactical prognostic framings about how to politically relate to the resources and influence of the right. These internal dynamics of the field were further amplified by the field's local institutional and national policy-making contexts. This article adds to understandings of how to map political fields, how ideas shape policy outcomes, and how meaning and materiality interact in the process of politics. Keywords: framing, policy, fields, networks, homelessness.

Byline: Robert A. Cummins (1), Anna A. L. D. Lau (2), David Mellor (1), Mark A. Stokes (1) Keywords: Population happiness; Homeostasis; Subjective wellbeing; Public policy; Government responsibility Abstract: This article considers the issue of facilitating policies that enhance population happiness. An impediment to such action is the failure of most policy makers to understand that subjective wellbeing can be measured and understood within the framework of science. Additionally, they fail to realize that enhancing the subjective wellbeing of populations enhances not only the functioning of individuals but that of the population as a whole. A framework for understanding calls on the Theory of Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis and data from the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index. This Index has been used to monitor the subjective wellbeing of the Australian population over the 6-year period 2001--2006. The article begins by a description of the subjective wellbeing construct and the theory that it is homeostatically managed. The operation of homeostasis makes very determined predictions as to the kinds of relationships that should be found in association with various environmental challenges and resources. These predictions will be examined in the light of the data from our surveys and the benefits of population happiness will be discussed. Finally, consideration will be given as to and how such understanding may be conveyed to politicians, in order to assist the development of policies aimed at enhancing the level of happiness in society. Author Affiliation: (1) School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3125, Australia (2) Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Horn, Kowloon, Hong Kong Article History: Registration Date: 08/09/2008 Received Date: 15/04/2008 Accepted Date: 18/04/2008 Online Date: 25/09/2008

This article achieves two objectives. It introduces new insights to current thinking on social policy in the Middle East based on a case study of religious welfare in Lebanon. This in turn provides an analysis of how faith-based welfare may connect to social policy more broadly. Focusing on how five of the most prominent Lebanese Muslim and Christian welfare organisations engage with poverty reduction, the article draws attention to the moral dimension of social policy-making. This is illustrated by an analysis of how the Lebanese faith-based organisations (FBOs) define the objects of their interventions and, subsequently, how appropriately they respond to the causes of social problems. The analysis also includes a review of the FBOs' evaluation of their services. The overall argument of the article comments on the extent to which social welfare in Lebanon has scope to act beyond short-term, instrumental or politicised goals. It argues that human need, the 'social case' and poverty are three core concepts which determine the design of social interventions, but they also serve to confuse the definition of the object of social policy. The argument concludes that needs interpretation by welfare service providers in Lebanon is the site of deep contention in the policy-making process, since the lack of clarity in defining the object of policies can hamper the effectiveness of services. This means that while the social action undertaken by FBOs in Lebanon is more complex than the private or corporate charity initiatives known in the British or North American faith-based contexts, religious welfare programmes in Lebanon are more focused on palliative in-kind services.

This paper explores the role of conditionality in policies targeting the poor. By requiring beneficiaries to send their children to school and to undertake regular health visits, proponents argue, conditionalities improve human capital outcomes, promoting resilience. This widespread perception has led to the adoption of conditional cash transfers in many countries. Yet policy debate on conditionality does not always reflect a full appreciation of how behavioural, administrative and political economy variables influence outcomes. This paper identifies the multiple channels through which conditionality determines human capital outcomes and reviews the evidence on linkages between conditionality and processes of resilience.

This article sets out to explore the relationship between civil society, social policy and participatory democracy, challenging the paternalistic and egoistic tradition of charity and the voluntary sector as its defining paradigm. Civil society is linked to the right to associate for social and political purposes. Radical and liberal traditions of civil society are compared and contrasted. It is suggested that historically participatory democracy can be viewed as a Social Left that embraces the politics of difference (recognition/respect) and equality (social justice/redistribution) through the mobilisation of the poor and excluded. The emphasis is on the activist citizen (new social movements) as opposed to the traditional active citizen (charity). It is concluded that this version of civil society potentially offers a new political and cultural grammar for the discourse of social policy--that is reflexive, inclusive and democratic.

In contrast to the study of outcomes such as social spending, systematic comparative analysis of political processes underlying welfare state change is scarce. This study deals with the influence of government parties and second chambers as veto players in social entitlement legislation. It asks three questions regarding the duration and outcome of the legislative process at the parliamentary stage. Does the number of government parties or the ideological distance between them affect the passage of bills? Under which circumstances do second chambers have an influence? Does the ideological position of the leftmost governing party affect the speed of passage of bills in policy areas where there is pressure for retrenchment? The hypotheses are tested using an original dataset on social entitlement bills initiated in Belgium, Germany and the UK between 1987/88 and 2002/03. Event history analysis at the level of individual bills yields the following results: proposals initiated from among the government parties on the floor are delayed by a higher number of parties in government, by greater ideological distance between them, if the second chamber is controlled by the opposition and its approval is mandatory, if the left veto player is more rightwing and if the bills deal with expansionary or mixed policies. Cabinet bills, in contrast, are not affected by any of these factors. The results point to a number of further research questions and show that quantitative studies in comparative welfare state research can go beyond testing simple hypotheses with macro-level outcome data.

Constitutional change offers the opportunity for a major departure in the nature and direction of policy, practices and governance in social policy. This article explores some of the impacts devolution has for the discipline of social policy, suggesting that devolution matters for social policy as a field of research and study, and for the analysis and understanding of developments in UK social policy. It argues that devolution has a number of implications in terms of comparative and transnational social policy, new sites of analysis, the language of social policy, the production of knowledge and the development of new policy communities within the UK. It also signals new perspectives based on evolving welfare subjectivities and around questions of territorial justice. Drawing on discussions about the nature of social policy in the 1970s in particular, suggestions are made as to how new and emerging perspectives within and across the nations of the UK serve to 'decentre' the social policy tradition. In essence, this article seeks to open up a debate for 'theorising' the discipline of social policy through a focus on devolution.

Based on the theory of Transitional Labour Markets (TLM), this article derives normative criteria for 'active ageing'. We argue why and under what conditions more employment for older people can help to improve their quality of life and can thus be considered an important part of future social policy. To this end, the article presents a brief review of the employment situation of older workers (aged 55-64) in the different European countries so as to identify what precisely might be required at the level of labour market policy. It systematically discusses the promoting and inhibiting factors behind the significant variation in the employment of older workers across Europe, and tests their explanatory value in a simple statistical model. Finally, we put the quantitative evidence into the perspective of policy examples, summing up some general strategies for 'active ageing'.

A wellbeing agenda has emerged in government that seeks to promote a 'politics of happiness', in which citizens are, as the New Economics Foundation put it, 'happy, healthy, capable and engaged' (2004: 2). This article explores the wellbeing agenda in the UK, and its implications for disabled people. We argue that it is unlikely, in its present form, to contribute to the development of social theoretical, or more politically progressive, analysis and understanding of disablement in society. This is because of the emphasis on biologism, personality and character traits, and a policy prognosis that revolves around self-help and therapy, or individuated actions and (self) responsibilities.

Research into public policy and public opinion demonstrates ample evidence that opinion affects policy, but relatively limited empirical findings regarding how policy might affect opinion: a process dubbed policy feedback. Much of the literature examines aggregate reactions to policy, while related public opinion research emphasises individual findings driven primarily by party affiliation or political ideology. This article takes the research one step further, examining whether individuals' judgements of policy effectiveness contribute to their support for or opposition to government policy spending. Specifically, it examines the case of US welfare reform and public reactions to it using a national survey conducted in 200l. Findings based on multinomial logistic regression analysis demonstrate not only that people's judgements of welfare reform's effectiveness contribute to their support for government spending on the poor, but also that the reasons behind their judgements matter.

An empirical study of 75 counties in a state found that social services are more available and accessible in urban versus rural counties, signaling a need for public policy addressing service allocation. The study also found a relationship between the accessibility of intensive family preservation services and reentry into foster care, a child welfare outcome. Implications for achieving outcomes affecting safety, permanence, and well-being of children are discussed., Of Americans, 56 million live in 2,305 nonmetropolitan counties, designated in this paper as rural (Economic Research Service [ERS], 2000, 2003a). While rural residents comprise roughly 20% of the country's [...]

Performance measurement is generally depicted as a neutral, technical exercise providing objective data for decision-making. But it also has a normative role in framing policy problems and solutions. This article [...]

The effect of feedback for getting people's support to a sanctioning system in case of a social dilemma is examined. People are generally not willing to support installation of a sanctioning system but if the sanctioning system is already in place, the feedback generates strong response for its maintenance. For the purpose of this study, social dilemma is defined as a choice between personal and group interests.

WARD N., LOWE P. and BRIDGES T. (2003) Rural and regional development: the role of the Regional Development Agencies in England, Reg. Studies 37, 201-214. The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) were established in 1999 to promote economic development in the English regions and inherited staff and programmes from the former Rural Development Commission. The paper analyses the evolving role of the RDAs in rural development. It argues that the changing treatment of rural issues in regional development reflects a shift from a national to more regionalized and differentiated conceptions of rurality, and suggests that the 2001 foot and mouth crisis prompted a rethink of the 'rural' in the 'regional' among RDAs. The paper concludes by reflecting on the future evolution of the RDAs' rural development work. Rural development, Regional development, Regional Development Agencies WARD N., LOWE P. und BRIDGES T. (2003) L'amenagement du territoire et l'action rurale: le role des agences de developpement regional en Angleterre, Reg. Studies 37, 201-214. Les agences de developpement regional (Regional Development Agencies; RDA) ont ete etablies en 1999 afin de promouvoir le developpement economique des regions d'Angleterre, et ont herite le personnel et les programmes de l'ancienne commission chargee de l'action rurale (Rural Development Commission). L'article cherche analyser l'evolution du role des RDA dans l'action rurale. On affirme que la facon dont l'amenagement du territoire aborde les questions rurales reflete un glissement d'une notion nationale du rural vers une norion plutot regionale et distincte, et laisse supposer que la crise de la fievre aphteuse de l'an 2001 a incite les RDA a remettre en question la notion du 'rural' dans le 'regional'. Pour conclure, l'article considere l'evolution future de l'action rurale des RDA. Action rurale Amenagement du territoire, Agences de developpement regional WARD N., LOWE P. und B RIDGES T. (2003) Landliche und regionale Entwicklung: Die Rolle der regionalen Entwiclungstager, Reg. Studies 37, 201-214. Regionale Entwicklungstrager (Regional Development Agencies = RD As) wurden in den englischen Regionen im Jahre 1999 zum Zwecke der Forderung wirtschaftlicher Entwicklung eingeserzt; Prograrmm und Personal ubernahmen sie dabei von der ehemaligen landlichen Entwicklungskommissson (Rural Development Commission). Dieser Aufsatz analysiert die sich herausbildende Rolle der RDAs bei der landlichen Entwicklung. Es wird die These aufgestelltr, da[beta] die sich wandelnde Behandlung landlicher Fragen bei der Regionalent-wicklung eine Verschiebung von staatlicher auf starker regional bestimmtes und differenziertes Verstandnis der Landlichkeit darsteilt, und legt nahe, da[beta] die durch die Maulund Klauenseuche im Jahre 2001 verursachte Krise die RDAs veranla[beta]t habe, die Rolle der landlichen Komponente im regionalen Zusammenhang neu zu uberdenken. Der Aufsatz schlie[bet a]t mit einer Betrachtung der zukunftigen Aufgaben der landlichen Entwicklungsarbeit der regionalen Entwicklungstrager. Landliche Entwicklung Regionale Entwicklung, Regionale Entwicklungstrager

HORNER M. W and MURRAY A. T. (2003) A multi-objective approach to improving regional jobs-housing balance, Reg. Studies 37, 135-446. Congestion is one of the most significant problems facing urban regions. It is well recognized that congestion is largely a by-product of the work commute, suggesting spatial imbalances in the locations of jobs relative to the location of housing. While jobs--housing imbalances persist in most urban areas, research indicates that associated commuting (and congestion) tends to be more than it need be. Addressing these issues, we extend the classic transportation problem to deal with regional jobs-housing imbalances. Application results are presented using journey-to-work data for the Atlanta metropolitan region. Several scenarios are evaluated, demonstrating the inherent flexibility of this modelling approach in addressing the long-term management of congestion. Our results show that policies affecting the distribution of workers are more likely to decrease commuting, as opposed to policies aimed at altering the distribution of jobs. The model may be used as a strategic tool to guide land use decisions aimed at addressing jobs--housing balance, which may ultimately ameliorate the effects of congestion, emissions and related externalities. Atlanta Commuting GIS, Jobs--housing balance, Multi-objective programming, Regional strategic planning HORNER M. W. et MURRAY A. T. (2003) Une facon a objectifs multiples pour ameliorer le rapport emploilogement regional, Reg. Studies 37, 135-146. L'encombrement est l'un des problemes les plus importants auxquels font face les zones urbaines. Il est largement admis que l'encombrement remonte aux migrations quotidiennes, ce qui laisse supposer des desequilibres quant a la localisation des emplois par rapport au logement. Pendant que des desequilibres emploi-logement persistent dans la plupart des zones urbaines, la recherche indique que les migrations quotidiennes qui en decoulent (et l'encombrement) auront tendance a depasser le niveau attendu. Pour aborder de telles questions, on approfondit le probleme du transport type afin de traiter des desequilibres emploi-logement regionaux. On presente des resultats a partir des donnees aupres de la region metropolitaine d'Atlanta. Plusieurs scenarios sont evalues, ce qui demontre la flexibilite inherente d'une telle modelisation destinee a aborder la gestion a long te rme de l'encombrement. Les resultats laissent voir que les politiques qui influent sur la distribution des travailleurs sont plus susceptibles de reduire les migrations quotidiennes que ne le sont les politiques qui cherchent a changer la distribution de l'emploi. Le modele sert d'outil strategique afin de guider les decisions quant aux plans d'occupation du sol destinees a aborder l'equilibre emploi-logement, ce qui pourrait a terme attenuer les retombees de l'encombrement, des emissions et des autres effets externes connexes. Atlanta Migrations quotidiennes GIS, Equilibre emploi-logement Programmation a objectifs multiples, Planification regionale strategique HORNER M. und MURRAY A. (2003) Ein Mehrzweckansatz zur Verbesserung des regionalen Gleichgewichts von Erwerbstatigkeit und Wohnen, Reg. Studies 37, 135-146. Verstopfung ist eines der gro[beta]ten Probleme in Stadtregionen. Es ist bekannt, da[beta] Verstopfung gro[beta]tenteils ein Nebenprodukt des Pendlerverkehrs zur Arbeitsstelle ist, und damit auf raumliche Unausgewogenheit der Standorte von Arbeitsstellen im Verhaltnis zu den Standorten von Wohnvierteln deutet. Obschon in den meisten Stadtgebieten Unausgewogenheiten zwischen Berufsort und Wohnort weiterbestehen, zeigt die Forschung doch auf, da[beta] das damit verbundene Pendeln (und Verstopfung) meist intensiver ais notig ausfallt. Bei der Behandlung dieser Fragen weiten wir das klassische Transportproblem dahingehend aus, da[beta] regionale Unausgewogenheiten von Arbeitsplatz-Wohnplatz angesprochen werden. Anwendungsergebnisse werden auf der Grundlage von Reisewegdaten in der Region der Metropole Atlanta vorgelegt. Es werden mehrere Szenarios bewertet, was die dem Modellans atz zur langfristigen Losung des Verstopfungs-problems innewohnende Flexibilitat beweist Die Ergebnisse zeigen, da[beta] die Bestrebungen, welche die Umverteilung der Arbeitenden ins Auge fassen, eher eine Abnabme des Pendelerverkehrs bewirken als diejenigen, die fur eine Umverteilung der Erwerbsstellen pladieren. Das Model kann als strategisches Werkzeug fur einen Wegweiser beim Entscheidungen fallen dienen, die darauf abzielen, die Unausgewogenheit von Arbeitsorten und Wohnorten ins Lot zu bringen, und diese mogen letzlich die Auswirkungen der Verstopfung, Auspuffgasen und damit verbundenen Externalitaten verringern. Atlanta Pendelverkehr, Geographisches Informationssystem (GIS), Ausgewogenheit von Arbeitsort und Wohnort, Mehrzweckprogramm Strategische Regionalplanung

The democratization of Cape Verde is explored. The author, maintaining Cape Verde offers a successful model of democratization, explores the peaceful transition that has eluded the rest of postcolonial Africa due to the government's careful balance of market economy and social policy.

The past decade has witnessed an increasing concerns over the effectiveness of project-based development assistance and the promotion of sector-wide approaches (SWAps) to health as a means to increase donor collaboration, consolidate local management of resources and undertake the policy and systems reform necessary to achieve a greater impact on health issues. The concept has gained the support of both the World Bank and the World Health Organisation, as well as key bilateral donors, and dominates current initiatives in development assistance for health. This paper examines the proposal of SWAps as rhetoric, and seeks to understand how that rhetoric functions, despite the variable application of its constituent elements and the range of contexts in which it operates. Keywords: Rhetoric; Sector-wide approaches; Health policy

The desire of national policymakers to encourage entrepreneurial behavior in the health sector has generated not only a new structure of market-oriented incentives, but also a new regulatory role for the State. To ensure that entrepreneurial behavior will be directed toward achieving planned market objectives, the State must shift modalities from staid bureaucratic models of command-and-control to more sensitive and sophisticated systems of oversight and supervision. Available evidence suggests that this structural transformation is currently occurring in several Northern European countries. Successful implementation of that shift will require a new, intensive, and expensive strategy for human resources development, raising questions about the financial feasibility of this incentives-plus-regulation model for less-well-off CEE/CIS and developing countries. Keywords: The state; Regulation; Health sector; Restructuring; Contracting; Markets

Welfare state reform in East-Central Europe can be divided into two phases: in the first phase, when liberalisation, stabilisation and privatisation were of primary importance, only minor or absolutely necessary reform steps were taken. This soon led many countries into fiscal problems that triggered the second phase of substantial pension and health system reforms. Having been already part of the European welfare state tradition in the pre-communist period, the countries of East-Central Europe were not prepared to take over the essentially private three pillar model of the World Bank. Instead the forerunners of reform, such as Hungary, Poland and Latvia, are developing, together with some incumbent EU members, a new European four pillar model with a specific public-private mix. Even if the social acquis communautaire is not very restrictive for the candidate states, they seem keen to join the European welfare state culture., Eastern enlargement of the European Union will create a new, southeastern, periphery of the Union, a periphery which is partly situated close to the economic core. It has been shown [...]

Michael J. Gorges is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His research focuses on the new institutionalism, interest intermediation in the European Union, and [...]

This article evaluates welfare reform in Florida, focusing on the passage of WAGES and the impact on welfare workers. The authors, maintaining WAGES emphasizes support services for employment preparation, discusses the welfare case workers ability to make the transition, concluding that welfare case workers are often eager to identify with welfare reform but struggle with ambiguous policy changes.

This article discusses the efforts to establish a social clause within the World Trade Organization. The author asserts that no international debate over this issue has thusfar existed, and suggests a model of global solidarity, emphasizing the necessity of dialogue regarding international labor rights and campaigning, and which should be opposed to and independent of the capitalist trade.

Claims of unjust treatment and demands for policy reform are increasingly being couched in the language of human rights. In order to define human rights more precisely, various efforts are [...]

This article evaluates the impact of garbage disposal fees on recycling and garbage amounts. Results show that fees for garbage removal has a positive effect on recycling and a negative effect on garbage.

This paper addresses a conundrum that merits scholarly attention - why social scientists' ability to generate high quality research has outpaced their ability to disseminate research into the policymaking process. The paper describes Family Impact Seminars, a series of seminars, briefing reports, and follow-up activities that provide up-to-date, solution-oriented information to state policymakers. In support of the proposed 'three-communities' theory, the utilization of research in policymaking appears to depend upon several pragmatic practices and procedures, ten which are detailed in the paper.

This article compares the Israeli school system, which has not adopted external accountability policies, with countries which have. The author asserts that symbolic potency depends on school performances perceived as problematic, the degree to which stakeholders are affected, as well as other political and administrative factors.