This book systematically reviews the development of social policy since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. As such, it begins by investigating the establishment of the Insurance System in the early period, then moves on to the planned economy period, the Cultural Revolution period, and the Reform and Opening Up period, characterized by efforts to adapt to a market economy. For each period, the book examines the effect of the economic system, the mode of production and forms of employment for social policy design, so as to clarify the developing context of Chinese social policy, and to help readers grasp the legal aspects of social policy development and the main problems China faces in its present economic developmental stage.

This book provides the proceedings of two meetings organised by the OECD to discuss the issue of developing social protection. It brings together perspectives of experts from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, as well as contributions from Korea and Australia, plus the views of IGOs.

This report has a special focus on low-income groups, jobseekers and workers, and policies geared towards closing the considerable gaps these groups are facing around income and employment support in Korea. It concludes that significant additional action will be needed to make income...

Studies the situation related to access to health care in the US. Approaches the problem first by analyzing its history, then synthesizing different philosophical and practical solutions that have been attempted in order to reform health care, and finally presents and analyzes ways to solve problems of access to health using an ethical approach nourished according to the guidance offered by the teachings of the Catholic Church. Lacks a subject index.

After more than four decades of real income stagnation, ever-increasing inequality and household financial distress, this book explores how the very fabric of our society is under threat. It argues that although capitalism is imperfect, it can be improved, and harnessing its forces of production to more suitable social relations of production is key to that improvement.

This book addresses ‘the economics of social innovation’, a widely neglected topic in regional development. The chapters in this edited volume cover distinct but complementary and related aspects concerning the existing gap between the hitherto unexploited potential of social innovation in relation to socio-economic challenges that regions across Europe and globally face. Research on social innovation has gained momentum over the last decade, spurred notably by the growing interest in social issues related to policy making, public management and entrepreneurship in response to the grand challenges societies in Europe and worldwide face. Accelerated by the normative turn in research and innovation policies towards ‘missions’, social innovation is nowadays a central element on policy agendas, from the urban and regional level to the national and subnational level of the European Commission and the OECD. However, for social innovations to unfold their full potential a better understanding of underlying mechanisms, processes and impacts is necessary. The first three chapters focus on framework conditions and characteristics of social innovation. The following two chapters emphasise the determinants of social innovation and translocal empowerment. In the last part, attention is devoted to social innovation in specific fields such as health care and greening society, and social innovations’ transformative potential. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, European Planning Studies.

In the wake of the Greek and Irish crises, and at a moment when solidarity between states is hotly debated on a daily basis at EU level, it is important to understand how ‘solidarity’ can happen at all. The Road to Social Europe reviews the development of political cultural processes since the nineteenth century, showing how social protection and social justice have gradually become interwoven with systems of social protection, or welfare states. Grounded on extensive empirical research conducted in many EU countries and in the European Commission’s administration over twenty years, the book provides a cultural analysis of welfare systems in Europe. It also presents an original enquiry into the importance of languages for politics in Europe, for the politics of welfare, and for sociological research. It shows how sociological and ethnographic analysis can help in understanding the current and future challenges of European integration that rely unilaterally on functional economics. This in-depth sociological analysis of European diversity will appeal to a wide audience of students and scholars of sociology, political science, political economy and European studies.

This Handbook provides an accessible critical review of the complex issues surrounding development and social change today. With chapters from recognized experts, examining economic, political and social aspects, and covering key topics and developing regions, it goes beyond current theory and sets out the debates which will shape an approach better suited to the modern world.

A major orginal work of social theory, this book presents a distinctive and tightly argued theoretical model for understanding the basis of welfare in society. The author develops a theory of welfare based on a series of basic propositions: that people live in society and have obligations to each other; that welfare is obtained and maintained through social action; and that the welfare state is a means of promoting and maintaining welfare in society. Each of these propositions is examined and developed to suggest a clear way of understanding the foundations of social welfare. The book make a lively and informative contribution to debates in social policy, as well as moral philosophy, political theory a