Global Social Policy recent issues

Introduction to the Special Issue on the Bhopal Chemical Disaster

Mac Sheoin, T. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Learning from Bhopal: Bhopal: Reflections on Justice Activism from a Health Professional

Sathyamala, C. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Global Industrial Disaster, National State Failure and Local Self-provision of Health Care

Sarangi, S. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Wrong Questions. Wrong Answers

Jayaraman, N. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Globalizing Disaster, Provincializing Law: Bhopal 25 Years Later

Rsharma, H. R. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Bhopal, Corporate Crime and Harms of the Powerful

Walters, R. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Corporate Power and Social Policy: The Political Economy of the Transnational Tobacco Companies

Holden, C., Lee, K. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Drawing on published tobacco document research and related sources, this article applies Farnsworth and Holden’s conceptual framework for the analysis of corporate power and corporate involvement in social policy (2006) to the transnational tobacco companies (TTCs). An assessment is made of TTCs’ structural power, the impact upon their structural position of tobacco control (TC) policies, and their use of agency power. The analysis suggests that, as a result of the growth of TC policies from the 1950s onwards, TTCs have had to rely on political agency to pursue their interests and attempt to reassert their structural position. The collapse of the Eastern bloc and the liberalization of East Asian economies presented new structural opportunities for TTCs in the 1980s and 1990s, but the development of globally coordinated TC policies facilitated by the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has the potential to constrain these.

Globalizing Environmental Justice: The Geography and Politics of Frame Contextualization and Evolution

Walker, G. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

The use of the language of environmental justice as a frame for collective action on socio-environmental concerns has now evolved and extended far beyond its original formulation in the USA. This article examines two ways in which the use of the environmental justice frame has globalized. The first involves the international emergence of ideas, meanings and framing processes in new settings around the world. The ‘horizontal’ diffusion of an environmental justice frame is traced, examining processes of transfer, reproduction and contextualization that are taking place within the political and institutional cultures of different countries. The cases of the UK and South Africa are examined in detail. The second involves the ‘vertical’ extension of the environmental justice frame to encompass concerns that do not end at national borders but that involve relations between countries and global scale issues such as trade agreements, transfers of wastes and climate change. The implications of these two shifts, the tensions that have emerged around them and their relevance to the pursuit of progressive global social policy objectives are considered.

The Struggle for Justice in Bhopal: A New/Old Breed of Transnational Social Movement

Zavestoski, S. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Most analyses of the Bhopal disaster have focused on the management decisions leading up to the disaster on 3 December 1984. This article examines the evolution of the global movement for justice in Bhopal that arose following the disaster. Recent developments in the study of transnational social movements are employed to identify the contributions that an analysis of the evolution of the struggle for justice in Bhopal can make towards greater understanding of global social movement organizing. Close examination of the ebb and flow of the movement’s global ties offers new explanations for both its persistence and evolution over 25 years.

Waiting for Another Bhopal: Global Policies to Control Toxic Chemical Incidents

Mac Sheoin, T. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

The Bhopal chemical disaster of 1984 added the issue of chemical plant safety to the variety of health and environmental harms already associated with the globalization of the production and use of toxic chemicals. This article describes the highlights of international and national responses to the Bhopal disaster by intergovernmental organizations, national regulatory authorities and transnational corporations. It suggests that these policy responses have not succeeded in preventing the continued occurrence of toxic chemical incidents that impact on the health, environment and livelihood of those affected. The article argues that attention needs to be paid to toxic chemical production and use in public health debates, nationally and at the global level.

Review Essay: The Bhopal Chemical Disaster: A Literature Review

Mac Sheoin, T. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

GSP Digest

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Acknowledgement of Referees

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:55:25 PST

Global Social Policy Forum: Editorial Introduction: Conditional Cash Transfers

Yeates, N. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

Understanding Conditions in Income Transfer Programmes

Barrientos, A. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: Achievements and Illusions

Lomeli, E. V. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

Who Sets the Conditions? Conditionality, Reciprocity, Human Rights and Inclusion in Society

Veit-Wilson, J. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

CCT as Policy Translation

Stubbs, P. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

Conditional Cash Transfers: The Need for an Integrated and Historical Perspective

St. Clair, A. L. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

Conditional Cash Transfers and Child Labour

Tabatabai, H. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

The OECD's Discourse on the Reconciliation of Work and Family Life

Mahon, R. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) can be considered a pioneer of soft forms of transnational governance. For some it has used its `soft powers' to contribute to the construction of a neoliberal world order, however Neoliberal solutions are not the only ones it has to offer, especially in the area of social policy. What accounts for the ability of one unit (the Directorate on Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, DELSA) of the Organization to fashion and enunciate such different prescriptions from that prescribed by the dominant Economic Department? In this article I suggest that development of the concept of `organizational discourse(s)' offers some insight. I develop the concept and use it to compare two moments in the formation of the OECD's discourses on the `reconciliation of work and family life', an area of social policy that has grown in importance as a result of women's rising labour force participation rates, the increase in the number of lone parent families, and the demographic challenges posed by falling fertility/ageing of OECD societies.

Global Social Policy and International Organizations: Linking Social Exclusion to Durable Inequality

Seckinelgin, H. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

This article analyses the inequality of access of people to the international policy process. It is argued that this presents an important challenge for global social policy considerations. The work explores the question of how these inequalities are produced, maintained and reproduced by looking at the relationship between international organizations and non-governmental organizations. As an entry point discussions of social exclusion are introduced and then linked to the concept of durable inequality. This move provides a way of looking at how conditions of exclusion are maintained and reproduced over time. Two instances of IO/NGO relationship are looked at as illustrative examples. The first case looks at the processes whereby international gay and lesbian organizations are trying to obtain formal NGO consultative status with the United Nations by applying to the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The second case looks at the role of NGOs within the formal structure of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which has created a new perspective for international organizations.

Social Security and the Global Socio-economic Floor: Towards a Human Rights-based Approach

Van Ginneken, W. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

This article shows that the commitment towards economic and social human rights, including the right to social security, will provide a strong force towards realizing the global socio-economic floor. The right to social security has become realizable in a growing number of countries that have focused on the extension of social security coverage. This article shows that a global social security floor is affordable, including in low-income countries, with the initial support from the international community. The article then explores how a global socio-economic floor could be better implemented through a human rights-based approach, and it reviews some of the recent initiatives undertaken by the UN Human Rights Council. It suggests a number of steps to improve the effective implementation of the human rights-based approach. It concludes that such an approach can help achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and provide the framework for global policies for development and poverty eradication beyond 2015.

Extending Social Security to the Excluded: Are Social Cash Transfers to the Poor an Appropriate Way of Fighting Poverty in Developing Countries?

Leisering, L. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

Formal social security in developing countries has long been centred on employees in the formal sector of the economy. The majority of the population has been excluded. Since the 2000s international organizations have called for extending the coverage of social security. This article analyses a recent strategy of extending social security, social cash transfers (SCT) to the poor. The article traces the rise of SCT as a global issue, then describes and classifies SCT in the global South, and inquires into the `appropriateness' (J. Midgley) of SCT in a development context. We find that SCT have spread to all world regions and that SCT covers a highly diverse institutional landscape. Evidence on appropriateness is inconclusive at this early stage of SCT. As yet, the call for social security for all is largely `decoupled' (J.W. Meyer) from the realities of developing countries. But the semantics of `SCT' has opened up a new arena of consensus and conflict in global social policy.

The End of Privatized Pensions in Latin America

Riesco, M. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

GSP Digest

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

Call for Editors: Global Social Policy: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Policy and Social Development

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:04:41 PDT

A Note from the Guest Editor

Patel, M. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

Global Social Policy Forum: Children and the Economic Crisis

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

Economic Crisis and Children: An Overview for East Asia and the Pacific

Patel, M. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

The global economic downturn is impacting countries in East Asia and the Pacific, threatening to reverse progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially with regards to children’s health, education, and overall development. Of concern are potential adverse affects on children vis-a-vis poor health indicators, lower educational attainment, increased child labor, and reduced family incomes. How governments respond is vital to ensuring that the crisis does not lead to long-term consequences for children and vulnerable populations. Badly designed policies or those that are slow to materialize can be destabilizing and detrimental to the populations they aim to protect. Social safety nets and increased expenditures for social services, particularly in health and education, are important for protecting the poor. UNICEF, along with other UN agencies, is working with governments to monitor the impacts of the crisis and to harmonize and implement pro-poor social policies that protect vulnerable populations from current and future crises.

Aggregate Shocks, Poor Households and Children: Transmission Channels and Policy Responses

Mendoza, R. U. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

The global financial crisis that erupted in 2008, coupled with food and fuel price volatility, are likely to affect developing countries and within them the vast majority of the world’s poor population in profound ways. This paper maps the different channels through which their effects could be transmitted to the developing world and illustrates a basic framework of shock transmission to a developing country from the macro- to the micro-levels, also considering possible adverse feedback effects. Aggregate shocks are going to be an increasingly common feature of the global economic landscape, and these shocks could result in poverty traps, generating effects that harm not just present, but also succeeding generations. Social budgeting and social protection will be critical in order to preserve investments in children and human development and shield poor households and vulnerable children and women from the worst effects of these shocks.

Economic Crisis and its Social Impacts: Lessons from the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis

Ramesh, M. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

The objective of this paper is to survey the social consequences of the 1997 Asian financial crisis with the purpose of drawing policy lessons. The outbreak of the financial crisis and the ensuing increase in unemployment and poverty triggered a worsening of education and health outcomes. The situation stabilized and eventually improved only after governments and international organizations intervened. Employment creation and cash transfers programs played a positive role in maintaining income, while education and health care programs helped meet the population’s vital education and health care needs.

The Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Informal Sector and Poverty in East Asia

Mehrotra, S. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

This article examines the structural reasons why the poor, and especially children, are impacted adversely as a result of the global economic crisis and presents policy concerns that governments must address to meet the income and livelihood needs of the poor. It analyzes the status of employment in the informal sector, which accounts for a significant share of total employment outside of agriculture, and in which the vulnerabilities of the poor are very high. It also analyzes the extent to which those outside the formal sector have access to state benefits in the sense of social insurance or transfer. It concludes with recommendations on protecting the poor, including social insurance and social assistance mechanisms for workers in the informal economy; a fiscal package to stimulate domestic demand and offset falling employment in export activities; and a focus on agriculture, especially food production, that will have multiplier effects throughout the economy.

Effects of the Crises on Child Nutrition and Health in East Asia and the Pacific

Bhutta, Z. A., Bawany, F. A., Feroze, A., Rizvi, A., Thapa, S. J., Patel, M. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

Experiences of the 1997 financial crisis in East Asia provide strong evidence that there are serious risks that the current food, fuel, economic and financial crisis will affect child health and nutrition in the region. Using information available on the 1997 crisis, this paper evaluates its effects on nutrition status, reportable diseases, immunization status and child mortality. These results are used to model plausible estimates of the potential health and nutrition impacts of the current crisis across socioeconomic strata. The model results suggest that, if unaddressed, the current crisis could increase maternal anaemia rates by 10—20%, prevalence of low birth weight by 5—10%, childhood stunting by 3—7%, wasting by 8—16% and under-five child mortality in severely affected countries from 3—11%. The paper asserts that a range of low-cost and high-impact interventions exist that, if delivered in primary care settings without further delay, could mitigate or even reverse these adverse health and nutrition consequences.

Economic Shocks in Education: Analysis of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and Lessons for Today

Mok, K. H., Lawler, J., Hinsz, S. B. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

Studies of the 1997 Asian financial crisis suggest that impacts of economic shocks on education are ambiguous and vary according to gender, income and location. The crisis exacerbated previous disparities, with gaps between girls and boys, and urban and rural education widening. Secondary school enrolment sustained the greatest impact. Countries’ high commitment to education, as evidenced by increased household expenditures and government social protection programmes, helped protect education. Lessons from 1997 serve as a useful framework for considering potential policy responses to the 2007—08 crisis. Getting policies right is important given the current education landscape, where disparities continue to persist. The paper provides an analysis of the state of education in East Asia and the Pacific. It then analyzes experiences from the 1997 crisis and government policy responses since 1997. It argues that quick and sustained action is important. Social protection measures should be institutionalized to prepare for future crises.

What the Economic Crisis Means for Child Labour

Kane, J. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

The paper examines the likely impact of economic crisis on child labour. It argues that the paucity of conclusive research on this subject results from an over-simplified focus on child labour as an economic phenomenon without consideration of the behavioural context in which child labour occurs. Family behaviours at times of crisis, when heads of household are making coping decisions and reviewing the allocation of their own and their children’s time, are crucial to understanding why some families send a child into labour and others do not, even where their socioeconomic profiles may be identical. The paper makes a number of recommendations, including the need for further development of the economic/behavioural model; improved comprehensive and disaggregated data on child labour; investment in safety nets; policies and programmes targeted at influencing family decisions in favour of children’s education and protection from child labour; and more refined targeting of vulnerable populations linked to these policies.

Gender Discrimination in Asia: A Regional Perspective

Mehrotra, S., Kapoor, S. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

Acknowledgement of Referees

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:44:14 PDT

Global Social Policy Forum

Koivusalo, M. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Social Integration in a Contemporary World

Zelenev, S. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Revisiting Progress on `Social Integration': Some Change and Much that Remains the Same

Razavi, S. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Promoting Social Integration

Rola, B. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Social Integration

Munck, R. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Middle Class Buy-in: Is it too Late?

Deacon, B. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

A Global Drive for Social Progress?

Krech, R. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Policies Toward Social Inclusion: A South Asian Perspective

Kohler, G. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Is Latin America Sacrificing Poor Women in the Name of Social Integration?

Tabbush, C. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Social Integration: The Role of Social Policy

Wiman, R. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Building a World Safe for Difference

Mccartney, C., Carroll, S. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Social Integration

Correll, D., Chai, M. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Gender and Poverty: How Misleading is the Unitary Model of Household Resources? An Illustration from Tajikistan

Falkingham, J., Baschieri, A. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Since December 1999 all countries wishing to access concessional lending from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are required to prepare a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). The vast majority of PRSP incorporate an analysis of the current level and profile of poverty that relies on the unitary model of the household. This article argues that by doing so, policy analysts may receive a distorted view of the relationship between gender and poverty. Using the 2003 Tajikistan Living Standard Survey the article shows how, by modifying the assumption of equal sharing of household resources, gender differentials in the experience of poverty may vary. The article also illustrates how those gender analyses that simply use a dichotomy based on the gender of the head of household may also be misleading. The findings have implications for mainstreaming gender into the PRSP process, and for the priority of policy and programme interventions supported under national Poverty Reduction Strategies.

The ISSA and Dynamic Social Security: Global Social Governance and Local Social Action

McKinnon, R. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Worldwide, many social security administrations, and their respective programmes and policies, show signs of adapting positively to evolving and new challenges. To better articulate and promote these developments, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) is fostering an innovative conceptual framework: Dynamic Social Security (DSS). This article investigates, first, some of the potential wider implications for the common understanding of social security arising from the ISSA's decision to foster DSS and, second, the feasibility for ISSA member organizations generally of implementing policies and practices inspired by DSS.

Do Rights Promote Development?

Grugel, J., Piper, N. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Human rights of various sorts are now seen as central to the development process. We argue that rights claims can sometimes be effective in advocacy campaigns for some rights if those campaigns can find a way to resonate with the predominately liberal ideas that shape the global political economy. But this is not always possible and many `rights', especially economic rights or claims made by or on behalf of some social groups, are difficult to put onto the agenda of states. We suggest as a consequence that there is a need to be wary of an unreflective embrace of rights discourses and that other arguments for development and justice are also required, alongside sustained theoretical reflection on and engagement with the state.

What Price a Living Wage?: Implementation Issues in the Quest for Decent Wages in the Global Apparel Sector

Miller, D., Williams, P. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

This article sets out to examine ways in which a living wage might be implemented in the global apparel sector. We argue that an increase in the unit labour cost element of the free on board price paid by brands by a factor equivalent to the difference between the existing wage and a nationally determined living wage figure would not impact in any serious way upon retailer/brand-owner's (or supplier's) bottom line. However, the existence of fragmented and outsourced manufacturing, accompanied by aggressive buying practices, militates against `aspirational' code provisions in this area. Limited progress is possible only through substantial brand collaboration, an acceptance of collective bargaining through trade unions in supplier factories and, longer term, moves by brands and retailers to own and control their own manufacturing capacity.

North American Regional Report: Neoliberalism Wounded

O'Brien, R. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

Review Essay: Well-being, Poverty and Social Policy: W. BECK, L.J.G. VAN DER MAESEN, F. THOMESE AND A. WALKER, Social Quality: A Vision for Europe. New York: Kluwer Law International, 2001. 383pp. ISBN: 978-90411152 I. GOUGH AND J.A.MCGREGOR (EDS) Wellbeing in Developing Countries. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 399pp. ISBN: 978-0521857511 B. JORDAN, Welfare and Well-being. Bristol: The Policy Press, 2008. 283pp. ISBN: 978-1847420800 M. MCGILLIVRAY (ED.) Human Well-being. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. 308pp. ISBN: 978-0230004986

Wright, K. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT

GSP Digest

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:54:51 PDT