Social Research in
Other Countries - Governments

La recherche sociale
ailleurs dans le monde - Les gouvernements

Updated January 21, 2010
Page révisée le 21 janvier 2010

[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

Who Are America's Poor Children?
The Official Story
By Vanessa R. Wight, Michelle Chau, and Yumiko Aratani
January 2010
HTML version
PDF version (463K, 8 pages)
More than 13 million American children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, which is $22,050 a year for a family of four. The number of children living in poverty increased by 21 percent between 2000 and 2008. There are 2.5 million more children living in poverty today than in 2000. Not only are these numbers troubling, the official poverty measure tells only part of the story. Research consistently shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice the federal poverty level to make ends meet. Children living in families with incomes below this level – for 2009, $44,100 for a family of four – are referred to as low income. Forty-one percent of the nation’s children – more than 29 million in 2008 – live in low-income families. Nonetheless, eligibility for many public benefits is based on the official poverty measure. This fact sheet – the first in a series focusing on economic and material hardship – details some of the characteristics of American children who are considered poor by the official standard.
Source:
National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)
NCCP is the nation’s leading public policy center dedicated to promoting the economic security, health, and well-being of America’s low-income families and children. NCCP uses research to inform policy and practice with the goal of ensuring positive outcomes for the next generation. We promote family-oriented solutions at the state and national levels.

Related link:

High spending fails to improve child welfare, says OECD report
UK's levels of teenage pregnancy, drunkenness and unemployment are among highest out of 30 countries
1 September 2009
Source:
The Guardian (U.K)

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OECD: Policy Briefs
Review:
The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) has a sizeable research staff, and they publish dozens of policy papers, reports, and related documents every year. This website will lead visitors directly to their archive of policy briefs, and it is one that every person with an interest in international relations, economic policy, and related matters will want to add to their collection of bookmarks. The basic list of briefs is arranged chronologically, and recent briefs added to the site have included an economic survey of Greece, an examination of international migration trends, and regional innovation trends in 15 Mexican states. At this part of the site, visitors can read abstracts of each document, and also download them as well. On the left-hand side of the page, visitors can browse all of the briefs by topic, country, or view an alphabetical list of the briefs.
Reviewed by:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2009.

OECD Factbook eXplorer
http://stats.oecd.org/oecdfactbook/
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has partnered with Linköping University to create this rather powerful analytical tool which they call the OECD Factbook eXplorer. First-time visitors can start using the site by going over to the "Dashboard" area on the right-hand side of the page and clicking one of the thematic "stories". These "stories" contain brief introductions to several key issues: labor market policies and labor participation fertility. Visitors can read through these themes to learn about the scatter plot screen, the time-series data, and the interactive map on the far left-hand side of the screen. After that, visitors can use the "Indicators" tab on the top of the homepage to load up one of the data files from the OECD and display it via the interactive map and the scatter plot screen. There's also a "Help" feature that can help users navigate the various options presented on this site. Overall, the eXplorer site will take time getting used to, but it will be most useful to policy analysts and others with an interest in development issues.
Reviewed by:
The Scout Report
http://scout.wisc.edu/
Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2009

Society at a Glance 2009 - OECD Social Indicators
How are OECD societies progressing? How effective are their actions in promoting social progress? Society at a Glance provides a basis for addressing these twin questions. It offers a concise overview of quantitative social trends and policies across the OECD. This 2009 edition includes a wide range of information on social issues – such as demography and family characteristics, employment and unemployment, poverty and inequality, social and health care expenditure, and work and life satisfaction – as well as a guide to help readers understand the structure of OECD social indicators, a set of headline social indicators summarising social well-being and a special chapter examining leisure time across the OECD.
- incl. links to : Press material and country notes (12 countries) - How to obtain this publication - Data and indicators - Previous versions

Country Notes - Canada (PDF - 153K, 1 page)
Excerpt:
Life satisfaction - Canadians are happy with their lives, but less so than they used to be. While Canada ranks 8th in terms of life satisfaction for OECD countries, it is one of only five countries that registered a decline between 2000 and 2006, along with Portugal, Hungary, the US and Japan.

Life satisfaction chart:
Average points of life satisfaction on an 11-step ladder from 0-10, 2006 (small Excel file)
...Considerable differences between countries regarding life satisfaction

Related link:

The happiest taxes on earth
Commentary: More people are satisfied in heavily tariffed nations
By Thomas Kostigen
May 15, 2009
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Northern Europeans are the happiest people on the planet, according to a new survey.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says people in Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands are the most content with their lives. The three ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the OECD's rankings of "life satisfaction," or happiness. There are myriad reasons, of course, for happiness: health, welfare, prosperity, leisure time, strong family, social connections and so on. But there is another common denominator among this group of happy people: taxes. Northern Europeans pay some of the highest taxes in the world. Danes pay about two-thirds of their income in taxes. Why be so happy about that? It all comes down to what you get in return. (...) Maybe it's time that we looked at taxes differently. We have to pay them anyway. So they might as well make us happy. If Northern Europe is any benchmark, the more we'd pay the happier we just may be.
Source:
MarketWatch.com
(member of The Wall Street Digital Network)

geoworldbank.org (Beta) - from the World Bank
- visual entry point to browse World Bank projects, news, statistics and information by country
HINT: click on a teardrop-shaped icon on the map to open a popup window with general country info PLUS (by clicking the "Data" and "News" tabs at the top of the popup) health and economic indicators and related news items and a "Country Page" link with more resources.

United Kingdom:

* Policy Hub Bulletin

* Government Social Research Bulletin

- includes recent additions with relevance for better policy making, improving delivery, and evaluating policy
Source:
HM Treasury
(Government of the U.K.)

The rest of this page is in reverse chronological order

From Canada's International Gateway:

Permanent Delegation of Canada to the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Canada is one of the 19 founding members of the OECD. Just as Canada was committed to strengthening the economic cooperation of the Marshall Plan, Canada contributed to the creation of the OECD with the goal of promoting economic growth as a path to stability.Canada views the OECD as a key forum to discuss international and domestic economic and social issues. OECD Peer reviews on Canada assess Canadian policies and provide useful recommendations to improve performance in a wide range of areas.
[ Excerpt from Canada and the OECD ]

Selected recent peer reviews:
* Early Childhood Education and Care
("OECD urges Canadian governments to increase funding for childcare")
* The Canadian Economy
* Development Co-operation Policies

Canada OECD Info
This monthly newsletter prepared by the Canadian Delegation provides updates on OECD publications and events. It is read by over 500 Canadian government officials active in OECD Work. To subscribe, please contact poecd@international.gc.ca
Latest issue of the newsletter:
Canada OECD Info - March-April 2009 - In this issue: Interim Economic Outlook; 2008 DAC Aid Statistics; Progress toward meeting OECD tax standard; OECD Factbook 2009; Freedom of Investment; Globalisation and Emerging Economies.

Canada - Country Web Pages
www.oecd.org/canada is a one-stop-shop for OECD reports and statistics on Canada. Browse the documents in chronological order or by topic (e.g. economy, trade, development, environment, energy, social issues).

PovertyNet Newsletter #123, February 2009
In this issue:
1) Crisis Reveals Growing Finance Gaps for Developing Countries
2) Financial Crisis Highlights Need for More Social Safety Nets, Especially Conditional Cash Transfers
3) International Women's Day 2009
4) Blog on World Bank's World Development Report on Climate Change
5) Jobs for a Globalizing World: World Bank Labor Market Policy Core Course
6) Help Us!
7) To Receive this Newsletter

[ Recent newsletters - includes a Quicksubscribe box if you wish to receive the newsletter by email.]

Source:
PovertyNet Newsletter ===> the content of this link changes each month
The PovertyNet Newsletter is a monthly newsletter containing updates on new information and resources available on the PovertyNet web site, covering:
* Poverty Reduction Strategies * Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality * Poverty Analysis * Poverty Monitoring * Impact Evaluation * Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) * Empowerment
- includes links to earlier issues
Source of the PovertyNet Newsletter:
PovertyNet
Topics include:
* Achieving Shared Growth * Empowerment *Poverty Analysis * Employment & Shared Growth * Poverty Mapping * Migration and Development * Poverty Monitoring * Moving Out of Poverty * Impact Evaluation * Social Capital * Poverty & Social Impact Analysis * Poverty and Health * Poverty Reduction Strategies * Safety Nets and Transfers
Source of PovertyNet:
[ World Bank ]

Subscribe to other newsletters of the World Bank - 30+ newsletters

Poverty Reduction Strategies
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) are one of the most tangible outcomes of the new approach to development defined in the Bank's Comprehensive Development Framework. Under the PRSP process, low-income countries write their own plans for reducing poverty. Since July 2002, the World Bank has based its Country Assistance Strategies, its plans for assistance to low-income countries, on PRSPs

[ World Bank ]
The World Bank consists of two unique development institutions owned by 185 member countries—the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). Each institution plays a different but supportive role in our mission of global poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards. The IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world. Together we provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes.

Historical snapshots of welfare programs in the mid-1990s, when the world was a (somewhat) kinder, gentler place...

1996 international social assistance study
- detailed comparison of how social assistance programs operated
in 24 OECD countries, including Canada and the United States (see Volume II)

Social Assistance in OECD Countries
Volume I : Synthesis Report (PDF - 2.6MB, 207 pages)
A study carried out on behalf of the Department of Social Security and the
OECD by the Social Policy Research Unit
1996

Social Assistance in OECD Countries
Volume II : Country Reports (PDF - 4.8MB, 499 pages)
A study carried out on behalf of the Department of Social Security and the OECD by the Social Policy Research Unit
By Tony Eardley, Jonathan Bradshaw, John Ditch, Ian Gough and Peter Whiteford
1996

Participating countries:
* Australia * Greece * Norway * Austria * Iceland * Portugal * Belgium * Ireland
* Spain * Canada * Italy * Sweden * Denmark * Japan * Switzerland * Finland
* Luxembourg * Turkey * France * Netherlands * United States * Germany
* New Zealand * United Kingdom

Source:
United Kingdom
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

NOTE:
Mirror links to access these two reports:
If the links to the two reports in the left column are dead, use the links below. Complete copies of both reports are stored on the Canadian Social Research Links server.
Social Assistance in OECD Countries
Volume I : Synthesis Report (PDF - 2.6MB, 207 pages)
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Social Assistance in OECD Countries
Volume II : Country Reports (PDF - 4.8MB, 499 pages)

Australian Government launches 12 year plan to reduce homelessness in Australia
Media Release
21 December 2008
The White Paper on Homelessness, The Road Home, was launched today by the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek. The White Paper outlines a plan for reducing homelessness in Australia by 2020, with specific goals to:
* Halve overall homelessness; and
* Provide accommodation to all rough sleepers who seek it.
There are currently 105,000 homeless people in Australia, of whom around 16,000 sleep rough.

The Australian Government's White Paper on Homelessness
On 21 December 2008, the Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP and Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek MP, released the Government's White Paper on Homelessness: The Road Home.
- incl. links to the full paper and executive summary, along with some background information on the development of the paper and a few links to more contextual material.

Complete paper:

The Road Home : Homelessness White Paper
Contents:
* Foreword
* Background
* Executive Summary
* Chapter One: Scoping the Problem
* Chapter Two: The White Paper vision
* Chapter Three: Turning Off the tap
* Chapter Four: Improving and expanding services to end homelessness
* Chapter Five: Breaking the cycle
* Chapter Six: Research
* Chapter Seven: Implementation and governance
* Glossary
* End Notes

Source:
Prime Minister of Australia

Related link:

Australia releases ambitious plan to cut homelessness in half
December 22, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd introduced yesterday (Sunday) an ambitious plan to half the overall number of people who are homeless, and ensure that everyone who is sleeping outside has shelter. The plan, set out in a white paper called "The Road Home", includes $1.2 billion over four years in new spending - and is part of the Australian government's economic stimulus package that is designed to help people in that country weather the global economic crisis.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

- Go to the Homelessness and Housing Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/homeless.htm

From the Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC [version française]

Online Information Service
Information and online resources organized under five themes: Poverty * Social minima * In-work benefits * Minimum wage * Unemployment and return to work .
- includes links and resources for Canada...
HINT: click on the links in the right-hand margin of each theme page for more content

CERC Bulletins/Reports/Studies/Working papers
- Click on the links in the left margin of the CERC website home page for access to a large collection of online resources

CERC Bulletin - links to all CERC semi-monthly bulletins
Subscribe - To be informed of CERC activities and to receive the bulletin

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Selected content from recent CERC Bulletins:

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Selected content from CERC Bulletin N°188 - September 21, 2009
(Click on this link to see the complete list of studies in that issue...)

Measuring the size and impact of public cash support for children in cross-national perspective, (PDF _ 164K, 25 pages)
August 2009
By F. Figari, A. Paulus and H. Sutherland
Institute for Social and Economic Research Colchester
Summary : We suggest a new comprehensive measure of support given through tax-benefit systems to families with children. Using microsimulation techniques, this accounts for all provisions contingent on the presence of children, while usually only gross child/family benefits are considered. We use EUROMOD, the European Union tax-benefit microsimulation model, to quantify the support for children and analyse its impact on household incomes and child poverty for 19 countries.
NOTE: Does not include Canada or the U.S.

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Poverty, inequality and human rights, (PDF - 1.3MB, 61 pages)
September 2009
By A. Donald and E. Mottershaw
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, London
Human rights have been used to shape new conceptions of poverty and new approaches to tackling it, in both the developed and developing worlds. There is potential to replicate and develop this work in the UK. However, there is a need to build the evidence base to demonstrate the pragmatic value of using human rights in combating poverty.

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The welfare effects of social mobility [Europe] (PDF - 487K, 55 pages)
September 2009
By J. A. V. Fischer,
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Paris
- incl. Canada & U.S.
Summary : The question whether a socially mobile society is conducive to subjective well-being (SWB) has rarely been investigated. This paper fills this gap by analyzing the SWB effects of intergenerational earnings mobility and equality in education at the societal level. Using socio-demographic information on 44 000 individuals in 30 OECD countries obtained from the World Values Survey, this study shows that living in a socially mobile society is conducive to individual life satisfaction.

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Early childhood education and care : Key lessons from research for policy makers, (PDF - 549K, 72 pages)
June 2009
Nesse network
European Commission, Brussels
This report is a review of the international evidence about the social benefits of early childhood education and care (ECEC). It provides an analytic overview of the various rationales that drive the development of ECEC services. It summarizes existing knowledge from research and highlights policy lessons and measures that are shown to contribute to successful ECEC policy development and implementation.

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More studies like this (this link takes you to the table of contents for Bulletin #188)
HINT: scroll to the bottom of Bulletin #188 for links to reports on Education in Europe
(key statistics for 2007 and education expenditures for 2006)
from Eurostat, the European counterpart to Statistics Canada.

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The emperor's new suit : Global poverty estimates reappraised (PDF - 354K, 66 pages)
July 2009
By S. Reddy
Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis
Summary : The recent revision of the World Bank’s global poverty estimates based on a new $1.25 (2005 PPP) poverty line underlines their unreliability and lack of meaningfulness. It is very difficult to justify various aspects of the Bank’s approach. In the short term, less weight should be given to the Bank’s poverty estimates in monitoring the first MDG. In the longer term, a solution to the observed problems requires adopting an altogether different method. Such an alternative exists but requires global institutional coordination. Until it is implemented, the crisis in the monitoring of global consumption poverty can be expected to intensify.
Geographical area : International data

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An exploratory analysis of financial difficulties among those living below the poverty line in Ireland (PDF - 632K, 92 pages)
July 2009
By S. Stamp
Combat Poverty Agency, Dublin
Geographical area : Ireland

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A path-dependent poverty measure
[Click "Download PDF paper" - 229K, 27 pages]
July 2009
By L. Ceriani,
Centre for Research on the Public Sector
Econpubblica, Milano
Summary : The paper provides the axiomatic characterization of a new poverty measure, the path-dependent poverty index. This is a two period index taking into account not only individuals current and past deprivation levels, but also the relative position with respect to their previous income status. Given two populations with the same distribution of incomes, path-dependent poverty is higher for the population where all individuals experienced an income fall. Not only they are poor, they also feel the pain for their loss. The new index is illustrated with an application to EU countries.
Geographical area : Europe

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A portrait of the youth labor market in 13 countries : 1980-2007, (PDF - 316K, 19 pages)
July 2009
By G. Martin, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, Monthly Labor Review, July, 18 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Données internationales / International data
- includes data for Canada and the U.S.

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U.S. Health Care Reform
NOTE : Click the above link and then scroll to the bottom portion of CERC Bulletin #186 for links to 11 articles and studies from a variety of sources.

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President Obama and antipoverty policy : What does the stimulus bill do to fight poverty, educate citizens and improve public health ?, (PDF - 239K, 3 pages)
By T. Smeeding
March 2009
Source:
Institute for Research on Poverty (Madison, Wisconsin)

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Unemployment compensation in a worldwide recession (PDF - 80K, 13 pages)
By W. Vroman and V. Brusentsev
June 2009
(International data)
Source:
The Urban Institute, Washington

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A minimum income standard for Britain in 2009 (PDF - 401K, 34 pages)
By D. Hirsch, A. Davis and N. Smith
April 2009
Source:
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, London

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The dynamics of child poverty in Sweden (PDF - 192K, 41 pages)
October 2008
By M. J. Lindquist and G. Sjögren Lindquist,
Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm
Summary:
The purpose of this paper is to study (empirically) the dynamics of child poverty in Sweden, the quintessential welfare state. We find that 1 out of every 5 children is disposable income poor at least once during his or her childhood, while only 2 percent of all children are chronically poor. We also document a strong life-cycle profile for child poverty. Approximately 8.6 percent of all children are born into poverty. The average poverty rate then drops to about 7.5 percent among 1- year old children. After which, it declines (monotonically) to about 3.8 percent among 17-year olds. Children in Sweden are largely protected (economically) from a number of quite serious events, such as parental unemployment, sickness and death. Family dissolution and long-term unemployment, however, do push children into poverty. But for most of these children, poverty is only temporary. Single mothers, for example, are overrepresented among the poor, but not among the chronically poor. Children with immigrant parents are strongly overrepresented among the chronically poor; as are children whose parents have unusually low educations. We argue that information about the dynamics of child poverty may help policy makers to construct more salient policies for fighting child poverty.
Geographical area : Sweden

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. Low-income children in the United States : National and state trend data, 1997-2007 (PDF - 943K, 59 pages)
November 2008
By M. Chau and A. Douglas Hall
National Center for Children in Poverty, New York
Geographical area : United States

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. Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 2008 (PDF - 3MB, 116 pages)
December 2008
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, London
Geographical area : United Kingdom

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. The working poor in Europe (PDF - 236K, 17 pages)
2008
By H. Lohmann
Dipartimento di Studi Sociali e Politici Milano
Geographical area : Europe

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. Welfare and employment : A European dilemma? (PDF - 381K, 36 pages)
December 2008
By W. Eichhorst and A. Hemerijck
Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn

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. Fiscal effects of minimum wages : An analysis for Germany (PDF - 1MB, 32 pages)
November 2008
By T. K Bauer and alii,
RWI, Essen

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. Minimum wages and their alternatives : A critical assessment (PDF - 356K, 31 pages)
December 2008
BY A. Knabe and R. Schöb,
CESifo, Munich

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Links to all bulletins

Subscribe to CERC Bulletin - receive email notification when the bi-monthly bulletin is released.

NOTE: Keep scrolling down this page for more CERC bulletins...

Income inequality and poverty rising in most OECD countries
News Release
October 21, 2008
The gap between rich and poor has grown in more than three-quarters of OECD countries over the past two decades, according to a new OECD report. OECD’s Growing Unequal? finds that the economic growth of recent decades has benefitted the rich more than the poor. In some countries, such as Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway and the United States, the gap also increased between the rich and the middle-class.

Growing Unequal report main page
- includes links to:
* News release and press material * Country notes * Messages, figures and data * Multilingual summaries * How to Obtain this Publication
[ NOTE : I don't generally link to reports that aren't freely available on the Web, but there are enough "freebies" on the report's main page (see below) to interest researchers who'd like to see a sample of the complete report's content before, or in lieu of, forking over the $108 for the paper copy or $75 for the PDF.]

Are we growing unequal?
New evidence on changes in poverty and incomes over the past 20 years (PDF - 279K, 8 pages)
Media Brief
October 2008

Interview with co-author
Mark Pearson on key findings (video)

Canada Country Note (PDF - 248K, 2 pages)
"(...) After 20 years of continuous decline, both inequality and poverty rates have increased rapidly in the past 10 years, now reaching levels above the OECD average.(...) Canada spends less on cash benefits such as unemployment benefits and family benefits than most OECD countries."
Source:
Country Notes
- other countries include:
* Australia * France (en Français) * Germany (in German) * Italy (in Italian) * Japan (in Japanese) * Mexico (in Spanish) * New Zealand * United Kingdom * United States)

OECD Links to Social Policy Related Websites

Source:
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (Paris)

Related links:

Income gap widens between Canada's rich and poor, OECD study says
October 21, 2008
By Michelle Mcquigge And Eric Shackleton
TORONTO - The gap between the haves and the have-nots in Canada has widened significantly over the last few years according to a global report, and the slowdown in the economy is going to hit both rich and poor alike with more job losses and reduced incomes going ahead, say the experts.
Source:
Yahoo Canada News

Inequalities rise, society not breaking down: OECD
October 21, 2008
PARIS (Reuters) - The gap between the rich and poor has grown in most wealthy nations, but not as quickly as many people believe and not enough to raise fears of social upheaval, the OECD said in a report released Tuesday. The 30-nation Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said governments were off-setting widening disparities by increasing taxes and boosting welfare spending.
Source:
Washington Post

Policy Hub Bulletin - September 2008
--- the content of this link changes each month

News Archive - view the contents of previous Bulletins back to September 2002 (200+ links)
Subscribe to this Bulletin - free, by email

From the Policy Hub home page (recent release):

Child poverty in the UK
On 30 September 2008, the Campaign to End Child Poverty published new figures which reveal that 174 parliamentary constituencies in Britain have 50% or more children living in or on the brink of poverty. Official measures of child poverty are based on a national survey of family income, highlighting poverty at a national and regional level but not in more local areas. In contrast, the figures supplied by the Campaign to End Child Poverty use tax credit data to determine the percentage of children in families with low incomes in local authorities and constituencies across the UK. Child poverty data for the UK is presented as a series of maps and tables.

Sample content from the latest issue of the Bulletin :
Click the "Content" link to access all of the items below:
--- and be sure to visit the Policy Hub Home page for news items added since the release of this bulletin.

Content of the
September 2008 Policy Hub Bulletin:
(Click the link above to access any of the studies below - only the last two items below have hyperlinks that you can click.)
* Tackling Canada's social housing challenge - CPRN report
* Measuring equality at a local level - IDeA report
* Thinking about rural transport - CRC report
* Pathways for youth to the labour market - CPRN report
* Evidence & policy (Volume 4, number 3) - Policy Press
* Homebuilding in the UK - OFT report
* Well disposed: responding to the waste challenge - Audit Commission report
* Making progress: the health, development and wellbeing of Australia's children and young people - AIHW report
* Youth mentoring: a good thing? – CPS report
* Survey of users of mental health services 2008 - Healthcare Commission report
* Education at a glance - OECD report
* NHS spending: local variations in priorities - King’s Fund report
* Care contradictions: putting people first? - Counsel and Care report
* The lawful society - Reform report
* Health is global: a UK government strategy - UK Government report
* Child poverty in the UK - Campaign to End Child Poverty survey
* Review of urgent and emergency care services 2007/2008 - Healthcare Commission report
* Our lives, our choices - LGA report
* The media, poverty and public opinion in the UK - JRF report
* Making the NHS the best insurance policy in the world - Reform report
* The flexible new deal: making it work - SMF report

Website of the month
- archive of links to websites that are featured in the monthly bulletin, going back to 2003
- Recommended!

Evidence Hotlinks
This area of Policy Hub provides access to a wide range of organisations and resources that will help you find evidence on social and economic issues in the United Kingdom and Internationally.
* United Kingdom Evidence * International Evidence - including Country Resources - including Canada * Using Evidence
===> recommended reading - excellent collection of U.K. and international resources!

Source:
Policy Hub (U. K.)
"... a web-site developed by the Government Social Research Unit, which aims to improve the way public policy is shaped and delivered."
[ Government Social Research ]
[ HM Treasury website ]

Reforming retirement-income systems : Lessons from recent experiences of OECD countries (PDF - 336K, 27 pages) J. P. Martin and E. Whitehouse, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, OECD social, employment and migration working papers, n° 66, June 2008 (INCLUDES CANADA)
Summary:
Reforming pensions looms large over the policy agenda of OECD countries. This is hardly surprising since public spending on pensions accounted on average for 7 per cent of OECD GDP in 2005; and this pension spending effort is set to increase significantly over the coming decades in response to population ageing. Pension policy is indeed challenging and controversial because it involves long-term decisions in the face of numerous short-term political pressures. However, the status quo does not always win out so far as pension reform in concerned: public finance crises and the looming threat of ageing populations have proved effective spurs for reform. As a result, much has been done since the early 1990s to make pension systems fit for the future. Nearly all the 30 OECD countries have made at least some changes to their pension systems in that period. In 16 of them, there have been major reforms that will significantly affect future benefits. However, the status quo does not always win out so far as pension reform in concerned: public finance crises and the looming threat of ageing populations have proved effective spurs for reform. As a result, much has been done since the early 1990s to make pension systems fit for the future. Nearly all the 30 OECD countries have made at least some changes to their pension systems in that period. In 16 of them, there have been major reforms that will significantly affect future benefits.
Found in:
CERC Bulletin N°158 - July 21, 2008
[NOTE: click the bulletin link to access more studies and reports]

CERC Bulletin - links to all CERC semi-monthly bulletins
Subscribe - To be informed of CERC activities and to receive the bulletin

CERC Bulletins/Reports/Studies/Working papers
- Click on the links in the left margin of the CERC website home page for access to a large collection of online resources

From the Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC [version française]

World Bank PovertyNet Newsletter #116
July 2008
In this issue:
1) Family Planning Still a Challenge for Many Poor Women
2) World Bank Group's New Deal on Global Food Policy
3) Poverty Reduction in the New Asia and Pacific: key challenges of inclusive growth for the Asian Development Bank
4) 2008 CGAP Microfinance Photo Contest: Innovators and Entrepreneurs
5) Help Us!
6) To Receive this Newsletter

Source:
Poverty Net Newsletter <=== incl. links to five earlier newsletters and a subscription form
The PovertyNet Newsletter is a monthly newsletter that contains updates on new information and resources available on the PovertyNet web site, covering:
* poverty reduction strategies
* the World Bank's World Development Report (WDR) on poverty and development
* poverty monitoring and evaluation
* the impact of growth and inequality on poverty
* the role of human capital development in the fight against poverty
* safety nets
* social capital.

Subscribe to World Bank newsletters - links to subscribe to 30+ newsletters

Poverty Reduction Strategies
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) describe a country's macroeconomic, structural and social policies and programs to promote growth and reduce poverty, as well as associated external financing needs. PRSPs are prepared by governments through a participatory process involving civil society and development partners, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source:
World Bank
The World Bank consists of two unique development institutions owned by 185 member countries—the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). Each institution plays a different but supportive role in our mission of global poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards. The IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world. Together we provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes

United Kingdom

No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility
“No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility” is a wide ranging consultation on the future of welfare. The Green Paper sets out plans for improving support and work incentives to create a system that rewards responsibility. The majority of people of working age – who can work now or at some point in the future – and their families will no longer be on benefits for life. There will also be greater choice and control over the support that is provided.
Source:
Welfare Reform
[ U.K. Department of Work and Pensions ]

From the Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC [version française]

Selected content from CERC Bulletin #153 ( May 13, 2008):
(click on the bulletin link above to access the studies mentioned below and more...)

. Change of norm? In-work poverty in a comparative perspective (PDF - 800K, 137 pages)
2008
I. Airio
Kela, Helsinki, Studies in social security and health
Geographical area : International comparisons

. The circumstances of persistently poor families with children : Evidence from the Families and Children Study (FACS) (PDF - 2.4MB, 100 pages)
May 2008
M. Barnes, A. Conolly and W. Tomaszewski
Department for Work and Pensions, London.
Geographical area : United Kingdom

. On public support for working parents (Word - 170K, 17 pages)
May 2008
Z. Kravchenko
Luxembourg Income Study, Luxembourg
Geographical area : Russia

. Poverty facts : 2004 (PDF - 108K, 15 pages)
2008
The Urban Institute, Washington
Geographical area : United States

. A quarter century of economic inequality in Canada : 1981-2006, (PDF - 996K, 46 pages)
April 2008
L. Osberg
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Toronto
Geographical area : Canada

. Social protection in the European Union, (PDF - 332K, 12 pages)
2008
A. Petrasova
Eurostat, Luxembourg
Geographical area : Europe

Source:
CERC Bulletin #153 --- much more...

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CERC Bulletin - links to all CERC semi-monthly bulletins
Subscribe - To be informed of CERC activities and to receive the bulletin

CERC Bulletins/Reports/Studies/Working papers
- Click on the links in the left margin of the CERC website home page for access to a large collection of online resources

From Europa - Gateway of the European Union:

Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2008
Press Release
Brussels, 25 February 2008
The report examines the Member States' integrated national strategies on social inclusion, pensions, healthcare and long-term care. It reviews the main trends across the EU and at national level. The 2008 report focuses on child poverty, older workers, private pension provision, health inequalities and long-term care.

Complete report (PDF - 144K, 14 pages)
On 29 February 2008 the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council and the Commission jointly adopted the 2008 Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion.
This fourth Report examines more in depth a set of themes identified in last year's edition:
* child poverty,
* health inequalities, access to health care and evolving long-term care needs,
* longer working lives and privately managed pensions.
The report also outlines envisaged improvements of the working methods of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) on social protection and social inclusion which should further reinforce the efficiency of the process.

Accompanying document to the
Proposal for the Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2008 (PDF - 748K, 109 pages)
Commission Staff working Paper
Brussels, 30 January .2008
This supporting document complements the 2008 Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion with a more detailed account of the work carried out in the framework of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) on Social Protection and Social Inclusion in 2007.

Source:
Mutual Information System on Social Protection
The Mutual Information System on Social Protection (MISSOC) was established in 1990 by the European Commission as an instrument to serve the continuous and comprehensive exchange of information on social protection between the EU Member States. MISSOC has since been further developed and has become an important central source of information on social protection in all Member States of the European Union. Today, the information system includes the 27 Member States, the three countries of the European Economic Area – Iceland, Liechtens tein, Norway– and Switzerland.

See also:
Joint reports
- Joint Reports assess progress made in the implementation of the OMC, set key priorities and identify good practice and innovative approaches of common interest to the Member States.
[ Europa - Gateway of the European Union ]

Also from Europa:

Comparative Tables on Social Protection in the 27 Member States
of the European Union, in the European Economic Area and in Switzerland:
Situation on 1 January 2007
This report is divided into a number of files, each containing the following info for 3-4 countries:
* Financing * Health care * Sickness * Cash benefits * Maternity/Paternity * Invalidity * Old-Age * Survivors * Employment injuries and occupational diseases * Family benefits * Unemployment * Guaranteeing of sufficient resources (welfare) * Long-term care

Related links:

Organisation of social protection on 1 January 2007 - Charts and descriptions (PDF - 1.4MB, 73 pages)
- includes a one-page description of how the various programs fit together in each of the member states along with an org chart showing how these programs are organized within the government structure

Source:
Europa - Gateway of the European Union
EUROPA is the portal site of the European Union. It provides up-to-date coverage of European Union affairs and essential information on European integration. Users can also consult all legislation currently in force or under discussion, access the websites of each of the EU institutions and find out about the policies administered by the European Union under the powers devolved to it by the Treaties. (About Europa)

World Bank PovertyNet Newsletter # 113, April 2008
In this issue:
1) IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings 2008
2) Global Monitoring Report 2008
3) The World Bank Establishes a New Database on Grants Supported by the Post-Conflict Fund and the LICUS Trust Fund
4) Assessing the Redistributive Effects of Fiscal Policy
5) The Persistence of Poverty: Why the Economics of the Well-Off Can't Help the Poor
Source:
Poverty Net Newsletter <=== incl. links to five earlier newsletters
The PovertyNet Newsletter is a monthly newsletter that contains updates on new information and resources available on the PovertyNet web site, covering:
* poverty reduction strategies
* the World Bank's World Development Report (WDR) on poverty and development
* poverty monitoring and evaluation
* the impact of growth and inequality on poverty
* the role of human capital development in the fight against poverty
* safety nets
* social capital.

Subscribe to World Bank newsletters - links to subscribe to 30+ newsletters

Poverty Reduction Strategies in the United Kingdom and Ireland
By Chantal Collin (Political and Social Affairs Division)
2 November 2007
HTML version
PDF version (98 Kb, 15 pages)
[ version française ]
Table of Contents:
* Introduction
The United Kingdom’s Strategy to Reduce Poverty and Social Exclusion
* A. A Multi-pronged Approach
* B. Key Objectives and Measures
* C. Measuring Success
* D. Key Challenges
* E. What’s Next? Reaching Out
Ireland’s National Anti-Poverty Strategy
* A. Multi-dimensional Approach
* B. Key Targets
* C. Measuring Success
* D. What’s Next? National Action Plan for Social Inclusion
* Summary
From the Parliamentary Research Library:
(Government of Canada)

From the Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC [version française]

Selected content from Bulletin N°149 (March 17, 2008):
(click on the bulletin link above to access the studies mentioned below and more...)

Adequacy of social minimums:
Workfare, gender and poverty alleviation in welfare democracies (PDF file - 120K, 28 pages)
February, 28, 2008
K. Nelson
Luxembourg Income Study
Summary : In the Western countries poverty has increased along with the resurgence of low-income targeting and the increased conditionality of social assistance. This paper provides new evidence on the relationship between social minimums and income adequacy by examining the extent to which social benefits distribute income at levels necessary to escape poverty. The empirical analyzes combine macro-level institutional data and micro-level income data for 17 industrialized welfare democracies. It is shown that the period 1990-1995 is characterized primarily by stagnation, whereas social assistance adequacy declined in the latter half of the nineties. In most countries, social assistance fails to provide income above the poverty threshold, something that makes it difficult to conceive benefits as just redistributive instruments.
Geographical area : Europe

Beyond the breadline : a poverty threshold based on a general budget approach (PDF file - 323K, 26 pages)
A. Soede and C. Vrooman
February 28, 2008
Netherlands Institute for Social Research (The Hague)
Geographical area : The Netherlands

U.S. - From work to retirement : Tracking changes in women's poverty status (PDF file - 739K, 44 pages)
2008
S. Lee and L. Shaw
Institute for Women's Policy Research, Washington
Geographical area : United States

U.S. - A new war on poverty ? Is it time for a new war on poverty? (PDF file - 3.7MB, 34 pages)
Winter 2008
The presidential candidates and top commentators weigh in, Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, Stanford, Pathways
Geographical area : United States

Global Employment Trends for Women (PDF file - 387K, 36 pages)
March 2008
International Labour organization, Geneva
Geographical area : International

National minimum wage : report 2008 (PDF file - 1.5MB, 209 pages)
March 2008
Low Pay Commission, London
Geographical area : United Kingdom

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Selected content from Bulletin N°148 - March 03, 2008
Click on the bulletin link above to access the studies mentioned below and more (many of which are available in French only).

Child poverty and well-being in the European Union : Current status and way forward (PDF file - 2MB, 252 pages)
January 2008
Source:
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Brussels

A social portrait of people of working age in Ireland (PDf file - 6.5MB, 86 pages)
February 2008
Source:
Office for Social Inclusion, Dublin

Does informal care from children to their elderly parents substitute for formal care in Europe? (PDF file - 122K, 40 pages)
January 2008
Source:
Center of Research in Public Economics and Population Economics, Liège
Summary : This paper analyzes the impact of informal care by adult children on the use of long-term care among the elderly in Europe and the effect of the level of the parent’s disability on this relationship. We focus on two types of formal home care that are the most likely to interact with informal care: paid domestic help and nursing care.

Movin' on up : Reforming America's social contract to provide a bridge to the middle class (PDF file - 616K, 17 pages)
February 2008
Source:
Center for Economic and Policy Analysis, Washington

--------------------

CERC Bulletin - links to all CERC semi-monthly bulletins
Subscribe - To be informed of CERC activities and to receive the bulletin

CERC Bulletins/Reports/Studies/Working papers
- Click on the links in the left margin of the CERC website home page for access to a large collection of online resources

More CERC bulletin content - this link takes you to a separate page of the Canadian Social Research Links website,
where you can find links to over 100 studies in earlier issues of the CERC Bulletin.

Europa - Gateway to the European Union
EUROPA is the portal site of the European Union. It provides up-to-date coverage of European Union affairs and essential information on European integration. Users can also consult all legislation currently in force or under discussion, access the websites of each of the EU institutions and find out about the policies administered by the European Union under the powers devolved to it by the Treaties. (About Europa)

EUROPA: Key facts and figures about Europe and the Europeans
Which countries are in the European Union? What goods do countries in the European Union produce? Is Andorra a member of the European Union? These questions (and many more) are all answered in this interactive and lively site created by the European Union (EU). The site is set up to provide access to key facts and figures about Europe and Europeans in general, and visitors can click on one of nine playful graphic icons to learn about topics like quality of life, transport, and economic activity and trade. After looking through some of these fact-filled areas, visitors can also browse around in the "What's New?" area. Here they can read newly added reports and fact sheets that address food safety, biofuels standards, and the EU's efforts to combat gender stereotypes.
Reviewed by:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008.

Government Social Research Bulletin (United Kingdom)
The GSR News Bulletin contains the latest GSR news, updates on continuing professional development, forthcoming research, research methods and research funding, GSR research outputs and other research outputs, and a website of the month feature.
- incl. links to the latest issue of the Bulletin and the bulletin archive (back to 2002), along with a link if you wish to subscribe to receive an alert by email whenever the bulletin is updated

Policy Hub Bulletin ===> the content of this link changes each month
News Archive - view the contents of previous Bulletins back to September 2002
Subscribe to this Bulletin - free, by email

Sample content from the latest issue of the Bulletin :
Click the link above to access all of the items below - and be sure to visit the Home page for news items added since the release of this bulletin.

Content of the
January 2008 Policy Hub Bulletin:
(Click the link above to access any of the studies below - only the last two items below have hyperlinks that you can click.)
* Technology-enabled crime: future directions
* Stern Review: assessment of methodology - Productivity Commission report
* Evidence of accelerated climate change - Climate Institute report
* Primary education aims and values - Primary Review reports
* Evidence & policy (Volume 3, number 4) - Policy Press
* Pro-environmental behaviours framework
* Low-paid and 'working poor' - IPPR report
* Digital divide: social inclusion and social capital policy
* International trends in housing and policy responses
* Children's centres and extended schools
* National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
* Transport schemes evaluation
* Criminal justice: drug and drug-related offending
* Sexual abuse of boys
* Dementia services and support
* Crime quarterly update
* Care coordination and health system performance
* Crime and public perceptions
* Life chances of families at risk
* Prevention of violence against women
* School leadership and pupil outcomes
* Low-paid and 'working poor' - January 2008 report from the Institute for Public Policy Research
* British social attitudes: the 24th report - from the U.K. National Centre for Social Research
On 23 January 2008, the National Centre for Social Research published a report (British Social Attitudes: the 24th Report), which describes the state of public attitudes towards relationships and parenting; cohabitation; gender roles; national identity; working in the public sector; prejudice; car use and the environment; newspapers; political participation; party policies; and poverty
Press summary (PDF file - 190K, 13 pages)
Order the complete report (£50.00) - not available online for free

Website of the month
- archive of links to websites that are featured in the monthly bulletin, going back to 2003

Content from the earlier issues of the Government Social Research Bulletin:

Combating child poverty in Wales: are effective education strategies in place? (December 2007)
- argues that innovative education policies in Wales aim to combat the effects of child poverty on educational achievement but need to do more to overcome this relationship

Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 2007 (December 2007)
- the annual report on the state of poverty and social exclusion in the United Kingdom covers low income, work, education, health, housing, disadvantaged children and exclusion from services. Provides a comprehensive analysis of trends and differences between groups; examines the progress being made on reducing poverty and social exclusion, in light of the Government's ambitious target to halve child poverty by 2010.
Complete report (PDF file - 480K, 140 pages)
Key Points (Selected findings):
* Half of children in poverty are still in working families.
* Overall poverty levels in 2006 were the same as in 2002.
* Child poverty in 2006 was still 500,000 higher than the target set for 2005.
* Overall earnings inequalities are widening.
* Disability rather than lone parenthood is the factor most likely to lead to worklessness

The source for both of these reports is
the Joseph Roundtree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is one of the largest social policy research and development charities in the UK. We spend over £10 million a year on our research and development programme. For over one hundred years we have been searching out the causes of social problems, investigating solutions and seeking to influence those who can make changes.

News items, for all with an interest in Government Social Research, will continue to be added to
the homepage at http://www.gsr.gov.uk/ and to the Research news page at
http://www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/index.asp

Subscribe to the Bulletin alert:
http://www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/email_updates.asp

Current Research News - continuously updated
[archive - back to 2004]

Source:
U.K. Government Social Research
[ HM Treasury website ]

European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research
The European Centre is a UN-affiliated intergovernmental organization concerned with all aspects of social welfare policy and research. All governments of States that are members of the United Nations, in particular those of countries of the UN-European Region, are invited to participate in and contribute to the activities of the European Centre. This results in a geographical domain of potential Member Countries of more than fifty European nations as well as the United States of America, Canada and Israel. [ About Us ]

Recent releases:

Tax Credit Policy in the UK and its Lessons for Austria (PDF file - 188K, 13 pages)
Policy Brief by Asghar Zaidi
January 2008
This Policy Brief summarises the policy experience of the tax credit system in the United Kingdom, with the aim to understand better the challenges underlying the tax credit policy to be initiated in Austria. Perhaps the strongest message for Austria is: "keep it simple", as the benefit simplicity will help to effectively implement, monitor and evaluate the experience of the tax credit policy. It is also imperative that a good and tested IT system is put in place before introducing the scheme. The success of the tax credit policy in Austria will also depend on the contextual factors, such as the interplay with other tax and benefit and labour market policies, wage setting arrangements, etc, and more background research on the effect of these factors will be useful. A pragmatic approach would be to introduce, in the first instance, a tax credit scheme for specific subgroups, such as lone parent families and working age persons with disabilities.

Time Poverty or Time Welfare in Austrian Families?
Impact of family factors on children’s school achievements (PDF file - 255K, 9 pages)
Policy Brief by Renate Kränzl-Nagl, Martina Beham
December 2007
Vienna
This Policy Brief illustrates main findings of two European Centre's studies on whether today's parents have enough time for their children and/or provide sufficient support (for their children's achievements in school) focusing on: 1) the time spent by parents with their children of compulsory school age and 2) the links between family factors and school achievements. The authors are presenting main findings of an analysis of national and international data as well as the results of a survey carried out among Austrian parents and their children of compulsory school age (9 - 14). This policy brief is rounded off by conclusions and recommendations.

Research Areas
The European Centre provides expertise in the fields of welfare and social policy development in a broad sense - in particular in areas where multi-or interdisciplinary approaches, integrated policies and inter-sectoral action are called for.

Selected research areas:
(Click the link above to access the whole list)
[each research area includes links to events, projects, publications and a few websites.]

Ageing & Generations

Childhood, Youth & Families

Health and Disability Policy

Incomes, Poverty & Social Inclusion

Labour Market & Social Policy

Pensions & Social Security

Welfare Society

PovertyNet Newsletter (from the World Bank)
The PovertyNet Newsletter is a monthly newsletter that contains updates on new information and resources available on the PovertyNet web site, covering:
* Poverty Reduction Strategies
* Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality
* Poverty Analysis
* Poverty Monitoring
* Impact Evaluation
* Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA)
* Empowerment

Latest newsletter content:

World Bank PovertyNet Newsletter # 108, November 2007
In this issue:
1. U.N. Human Development Report 2007/2008: Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World
2. Africa World Development Indicators
3. Brazil Bolsa Familia Program
4. New book! Analyzing Health Equity Using Household Survey Data: A Guide to Techniques and Their Implementation
5. Upcoming Conference: “Making Smart Policy: Using Impact Evaluation for Policy Making”
6. "Moving Out of Poverty" Book Launch
7. Help Us!
8. To Receive this Newsletter

Sweden

Homelessness - multiple faces, multiple responsibilities (PDF file - 1.3MB, 16 pages)
01 November 2007
The Government has presented a strategy to combat homelessness and exclusion from the housing market Homelessness - multiple faces, multiple responsibilities. The strategy covers 2007-2009. Its purpose is to establish a structure that clarifies that multiple actors at national, regional and also local level have a responsibility and a role to play in work to address homelessness and exclusion from the housing market. By specifying a clear direction for action, a broad approach and clear joint work, the strategy represents a higher level of ambition.
Source:
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs
[ Government of Sweden ]

Human Rights (U.K.)
"800 years of human rights in the United Kingdom explored using original documents from The National Archives"
The idea of "human rights" is a relatively new development in history, but as this website from Britain’s National Archives notes in its discussion of the long trajectory of struggles for equality and so forth, "We could do worse than characterizing this history as the struggle for human rights." This visually compelling online exhibit uses original documents from The National Archives to take a long view of these struggles and movements. Visitors can start their journey through the site by picking a time period, and then reading an introductory essay on the period. Each time period includes a timeline and links to digitized version of relevant documents, such as The Poor Act of 1601 and a poster for a Staffordshire coal miners’ union public meeting from 1831. The site is rounded out by a thorough glossary and a document index.
Source:
National Archives
(Government of the United Kingdom)
Reviewed by:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007.

Related links:

Go to the Human Rights Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/rights.htm

Costs of children (Australia)
Paul Henman, Richard Percival and Ann Harding, Matthew Gray
Posted July 31, 2007
Commissioned by the Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support, this is a collection of three reports on the costs of children in Australian families: 'The estimated costs of children in Australian families in 2005–06'; 'Updated costs of children using Australian budget standards; and 'Costs of children and equivalence scales: a review of methodological issues and Australian estimates'.

Complete report:
HTML
PDF (753K, 122 pages)

Source:
Occasional Paper Series <=== links to 18 papers
[ Department of Families,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs - Australia ]

Find more from Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Find more articles on the topic Families and households
Find more articles on the topic Income, poverty and wealth
Browse the complete departmental publications list

Selected content from
the latest Government Social Research Bulletin published/posted on July 19:

United Kingdom : Evidence base review on mobility: Choices and barriers for different social groups
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/scienceresearch/social/evidence_base_review_on_mobility
Source: U.K. Department for Transport

A review of databases and other statistical sources reporting ethnic group and their potential to enhance the evidence base on health promotion
http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/health/ocmo/research/asert/?lang=en
Source: Welsh Assembly Government

Report of the Multidisciplinary Workshop on the influences on children's and young people's food choice within the family setting, held on 9 March 2007
http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/researchinfo/nutritionresearch/foodchoice/multiworkfoodchoicefamchil/
Source: U.K. Food Standards Agency

The bulletin also features other reports like:

Poverty, wealth and place in Britain 1968 to 2005
http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/details.asp?pubID=905
("A look at how the geographical distribution of poor and wealthy people in Britain has changed in the last 40 years.")
Source: Joseph Rowntree Foundation

and

Education and youth transitions in England, Wales and Scotland 1984-2002
http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/ViewAwardPage.aspx?AwardNumber=R000239852
Source: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Subscribe to the Bulletin alert:
http://www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/email_updates.asp

Current Research News - continuously updated
[archive - back to 2004]

Source:
U.K. Government Social Research
[ HM Treasury website ]

--------------------------------------------------

Subscribe to the Bulletin alert:
http://www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/email_updates.asp

Current Research News - continuously updated
[archive - back to 2004]

Source:
U.K. Government Social Research
[ HM Treasury website ]

Worldmapper
"the world as you've never seen it before"
- interesting visual representations of the distribution of imprisonment, violent deaths, self-inflicted deaths, child poverty and social inequalities etc.

Government Social Research Bulletin: March 2007
The links below are just a sample of the content of the latest issue of this monthly research bulletin.

* Community engagement: practical lessons from a pilot project (Development and Practice Report 48 ) (PDF)

* The abuse of research - article in The Guardian 13 February 2007, says that the funding and political agendas of think tanks mean their reports need to be treated with care and that the politicisation of research can lead to serious distortions in debates on policy issues.

* Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science 9-18 March 2007 - the festival will celebrate some of the very best British social science research, highlighting the ways in which it makes a difference to our lives.

* National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) publish Community cohesion for children, young people and their families - highlights research, best practice, current initiatives and identifies gaps in knowledge. Based on systematic searches of 61 websites, at least 120 website areas, 8 databases, plus requests for information via networks. In total 175 documents, press notices and other pieces of information were consulted.

* Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) launch Britain Today: the state of the nation - showcases the diversity of ESRC-funded research around the state of the nation in 2007. It offers a concise analysis of research and topical issues concerning Britain today.Contents include: What makes a good childhood?; Can parents ensure their children enjoy growing up?; Unequal employment: is disadvantage caused by discrimination?; Britons' changing identities: changing social attitudes in Britain; Learning to live: how best to teach essential life skills to the 14-19 age group.

Mathematica publish semimonthly update - Contents include: Making health care a reality for low-Income kids and families; New citizenship requirements cause confusion for children's health programs; Early Childhood experts presenting at SRCD in March.

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) publish Gender Equality Network Newsletter (PDF) - Contents include: Why are policies that would give fathers a real choice to do unpaid care-work largely overlooked in the UK?; Does men's contribution to domestic labour act as a buffer against divorce?; Should work-life policies focus more specifically on reducing stress and pressure at work?

- incl. basic organizational information on approximately 500 institutions from 100 countries.

For all with an interest in Government Social Research, News items will continue to be added to the homepage at http://www.gsr.gov.uk/
and to the Research news page at http://www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/index.asp

Bulletin Archive - links to almost three dozen issues (as at May 27/07) of the Bulletin back to 2002

Source:
U.K. Government Social Research
[ HM Treasury website ]

What Works Best in Reducing Child Poverty:
A Benefit or Work Strategy? (PDF file - 450K, 54 pages)
Working Paper No. 51
March 5, 2007
By Peter Whiteford and Willem Adema
Table of contents:
- Introduction
- Data and methods
Family and child poverty – trends, risks and composition
- Trends in household composition
- The income position of different types of households
- Child poverty trends
- Poverty risks by household composition
Tax and benefit policies and their effect on poverty and employment
- Assistance for families – levels and distribution
- Adequacy of benefits and other support for families
The effect of “benefit” and/or “work” strategies
- The strategy of redistribution
- Does a “work-strategy” work?
- How much work to get out of poverty and financial incentives to work more
Conclusions

Source:
OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers
[ Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs ]
[ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ]

Related link:

Timely lessons on child poverty
March 16, 2007
Carol Goar
The last time the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development made headlines in Canada, it won few friends. The Paris-based institute wanted to move from free trade to borderless private investment. Its crusade ran aground in 1998, to widespread public relief. This time, the agency has the potential to play a more positive role in Canadian affairs. It has just released an exhaustive study of child poverty, comparing the policies and performances of 28 Western countries. The analysis contains important lessons for Canada. The goal of its authors – one Australian, the other Dutch – was to find out which works better to reduce child poverty: employment incentives or strong social safety nets.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Also from the OECD:

OECD work on gender
A new one-stop shop for OECD work on gender
08-Mar-2007
The new OECD website on gender presents recent and ongoing projects aimed at improving gender policy across a wide variety of areas in OECD countries and beyond. It also features "Women and Men in OECD Countries", a brochure presenting interesting facts and figures on gender issues.

Policy Hub Bulletin: February 2007
Click the link above to access any of the content appearing in the table of contents below.

- Government response to Scientific advice, risk and evidence-based policy
- Electoral participation of South Asian communities - JRF report
- Equality for disabled people - ODI consultation
- Childhood in industrialised countries - UNICEF report
- Politicisation of research - Guardian article
- Young people and drugs - HO reports
- Climate change 2007: physical science - IPCC report
- 15 year olds in transition - BSL report
- Australian welfare reform - BSL report
- Policy for middle childhood - CPRN presentation
- Restorative Justice: the evidence - Smith Institute
- Is the Law Working? - Law Commission forum
- Mental health interventions - NICE report
- Prescribed medicines and health outcomes - ANZHP paper
- Department for Transport annual report - Select Committee report
- Local authority youth services 2005/06 - Ofsted Report
- Hard to reach - ISR report
- more...

Government Social Research Bulletin (U.K)

Today we publish the latest Government Social Research Bulletin at
http://www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/bulletin/2007/0702.asp

You will find a host of additions to GSRweb in the month up to 13 February, including the latest GSR news, updates on Continuing professional development, Forthcoming research, Research outputs,
plus a Website of the month feature.

As well as news of new research publications from Departments like:
* Home Office publish research on Risk, protective factors and resilience to drug use: identifying resilient young people and learning from their experiences.
* Department of Transport publish Attitudes to transport security after Jul 05 London bombings

...the bulletin also features other reports like:

* GSRU publish Ethics in social research: the view of research participants
* UK Data Archive publish data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE)
* National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) publish British Social Attitudes 23rd report: perspectives on a changing society

News items, for all with an interest in Government Social Research, will continue to be added to the homepage at http://www.gsr.gov.uk/
and to the Research news page at http://www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/index.asp

OECD Family database
Following up on the OECD Babies and Bosses reviews on the reconciliation of work and family life in selected Member States, and in view of the strong demand for cross-national indicators on the situation of families and children, the OECD has developed an on-line database on family outcomes and family policies with indicators for all OECD countries. The database brings together information from different OECD databases (for example, the OECD Social Expenditure database, the OECD Benefits and Wages database, or the OECD Education database, and databases maintained by other (international) organisations.

Source:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD

Also from the OECD:

Social Assistance Policy Development and the Provision
of a Decent Level of Income in Selected OECD Countries (PDF file - 420K, 33 pages)
01-Aug-2006
By Willem Adema
In many OECD countries, social assistance policy has a focus on promoting independence of claimants through social help and employment support policies. Nevertheless, financial support provided to address the immediate needs of households remains an important plank of social assistance policy. How is the level of such support determined in OECD countries? Do countries use measures reflecting a .basket of goods. that is considered to provide a minimum subsistence level, or a somewhat more generous standard of living? Are benefits increased automatically, along mechanisms triggered automatically by observable changes in price levels, or are benefit payment rates revised regularly in view of (minimum) wage developments, trends in the consumer price index or the changing state of public budgets?
(...) The paper has a focus on [social assistance] rate setting mechanisms in Belgium, Canada [bolding added], the Czech Republic, Germany, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Source:
OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers <===links to 45 more papers!
[ Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs ]
[ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD ]

Two from the Chronic Poverty Centre (U.K.):

The intergenerational transmission of poverty in industrialized countries (PDF file - 227K, 35 pages)
By S. P. Jenkins and T. Siedler
April 2007
[Excerpt] The general message is that growing up poor has a deleterious impact on later-life chances, and that this impact is not wholly explained by other factors that are themselves correlated with childhood poverty. At the same time, the studies also show that one should be cautious about drawing more specific conclusions.

Social protection transfers for chronically poor people (PDF file - 322K, 6 pages)
February 2007
"(...) 900 million people will still be living on $1 per day even if the Millennium Development Goals are met."
Related link:
Millennium Development Goals

Policy Hub Bulletin: December 2006
- incl. links to the following recent reports:
* Childhood Obesity Database 2005-06 - DH report
* Alcohol strategy and the drinks industry - JRF report
* Christmas and families after divorce - ESRC research
* Gun crime: the market in and use of illegal firearms - HO research
* Poverty and social exclusion - report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
* Health inequalities update - DH report
* Crime and anti social behaviour on public transport - DfT report
* Monitoring anti-social behaviour - NAO report
* Social benefits and economic costs of taxation - CCPA report
* Sure Start Children’s Centres - NAO report
* Poverty in the UK - report of the Social Justice Policy Group [About the SJPG]
* Social determinants of health - CPRN report
* Website of the Month:
SPEaR launched its next generation website in November 2006, . The SPEaR website in New Zealand is 'a "virtual community" of social policy researchers and evaluators. The aim is to provide a focused and interactive forum for social policy researchers and evaluators across the sector. The website allows us to support research and evaluation into new areas, and encourages researchers, evaluators, and providers to co-ordinate and publicise their work.' (website)

Source:
Policy Hub - 'the first port of call for improvements in policy making and delivery'
[Policy Hub is part of HM Treasury]

Sign up to receive an e-mail alert when the latest issue of the monthly Bulletin is posted on the Policy Hub website.
You don't actually receive the bulletin content - just the notification that it's available online and the URL to access the page.

News Archive - view the contents of previous Bulletins

Publications - 200+ links
A-Z Key Links - Index of resources featured on Policy Hub

Social Policy, Research and Evaluation (SPRE) Conference 2007
Wellington, New Zealand
3 - 5 April 2007
The SPRE Conference 2007 enables policy makers, researchers and evaluators, students and academics, and social service providers to come together to describe, discuss and debate our key social policy opportunities and challenges. Panels of world-leading social policy experts from New Zealand and abroad will lead our discussion.
Source:
Ministry of Social Development
[New Zealand Government]
- Work and Income - incl. links to : Find a Job - Get Assistance - Employers and Industry - Support for Communities - Publications - About us

Programme at a Glance

Policy Hub Bulletin: November 2006
This bulletin alerts you to selected items added to Policy Hub up to 29 November 2006
Be sure to visit the Bulletin page (the link above) for the complete set of links added up to that date, and
visit the Policy Hub Home page --- http://www.policyhub.gov.uk/index.asp --- for news items added since 29 November.

Families' disposable incomes - CARE report 27 November

Welfare and punishment - CSF report 22 November

Affordable housing in the United Kingdom and Australia - AHURI bulletin 15 November

Young motherhood impacts - SPRC report 15 November

Social democracy in northern Europe - ARPA article 1 November

New direction for disability services - DADH plan 6 November

Website of the Month:
The International Reform Monitor gives a wide range of well-selected information on social policy (health care, pensions provision, family policy, state welfare), labour market policy and industrial relations in 15 OECD-countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America. It is part of the "International Reform Monitor" project by the Bertelsmann Foundation. Researchers are also invited to publish their research results here.

Source:
Policy Hub - 'the first port of call for improvements in policy making and delivery'
[Policy Hub is part of HM Treasury]

World Bank Poverty Net Newsletter #96
November 2006
In this issue:
1. Human Development Report 2006: Beyond Scarcity - Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis
2. Close to Home: The Development Impact of Remittances in Latin America
3. Regional Brief: East Asia Economic Update
4. Promoting Pro-Poor Growth: Policy Guidance for Donors
5. Book Launch: Efficient Learning for the Poor
6. Help Us!
7. To Receive this Newsletter
Source:
PovertyNet Newsletter
[ World Bank ]

Government Social Research Bulletin
- for the month up to 13 November, including the latest GSR news, updates on Continuing professional development, Forthcoming research, Research outputs, plus a Website of the month feature.
Source:
Research News
[ Government Social Research: Analysis for Policy (U.K.) ]

National Action Plans Against Poverty and Social Exclusion:
National Reports on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2006-2008
- incl. Austria - Belgium - Bulgaria - Cyprus - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - France - Finland - Germany - Greece - Hungary - Ireland - Italy - Latvia - Lithuania - Luxembourg - Malta - Netherlands - Poland - Portugal - Romania - Slovakia - Slovenia - Sweden -United Kingdom
Source:
Reports
[ part of Social Inclusion ]
[ part of Employment and Social Affairs ]
[ part of Europa - Gateway to the European Union ]

Hutton: ‘Second earners key to tackling child poverty’ - U.K.
Press Release
17 October 2006
The latest edition of the annual cross-Government report Opportunity for All is published today to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This year the document has a special focus on child poverty in the UK bringing together progress so far as well as indicating where the Government has more to do.

Complete report:

Opportunity for all: Eighth Annual Report 2006
Strategy document (PDF file - 2.2MB, 172 pages) - U.K.
Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions by Command of Her Majesty
October 2006
- in addition to overview information on the full range of programs administered by the Department for Work and Pensions for their clientele (including welfare reform) and an 83-page document on indicators, this report includes a 30-page chapter focusing on child poverty and covering the following topics:
--- What is child poverty and who does it affect? - Measuring child poverty - How many children are poor? - Which children are in poverty? - The importance of reducing child poverty - Tackling child poverty - Increasing parental employment - Lone parent families - Couple families - Making work pay - Financial support for families with children - Child Tax Credit - Child support - Tackling material deprivation - Housing and homelessness - Financial inclusion - Improving life chances for poor children through public services - Early years and childcare -Sure Start - Education - Looked-after children - Disabled children - Parenting - Improving parents’ skills - Health - Teenage pregnancy - Transport - Families at risk, child crime, drugs and anti-social behaviour - Getting involved and extending opportunities - Working together - Meeting our ambition

Government Social Research: Analysis for Policy (Government of the U.K.)
- "Career information, news, training, events and the latest methodological developments for government social researchers
(...) Members of the Government Social Research service (GSR) are based in 20 government departments. The service is led by the Chief Government Social Researcher, Sue Duncan, who is supported by the Government Social Research Unit - GSRU. The team works in partnership with several cross-government committees of social researchers.

Policy Hub Bulletin: February 2007
Click the link above to access any of the content appearing below.

How the Rich Protect Their Poor: Social Safety Nets in OECD Countries
This five-day course is tailored toward World Bank staff and Government counterparts working on middle-income countries interested in learning about the design and implementation of social safety nets (SSNs) in developed countries.

Social Safety Nets in the United States - Briefing Book (PDF file - 204K, 40 pages)
November 2003
"The focus of the note is on non-contributory social programs for low-income households or other vulnerable groups in OECD countries. These programs, typically referred to as social safety net (SSN) programs in developing countries, are labeled welfare programs in the US and social assistance programs in the European Union. (...)
This note covers 28 countries belonging to the OECD [including Canada], and refers to an in depth review of SSN programs in the US and nine European Union countries prepared for a course on “Social Safety Nets in OECD Countries.”
***Excellent overview of a wide range of initiatives in 28 countries, from guaranteed minimum income (social assistance or welfare) to housing, family benefits, child care and more.
The info is presented mainly in synthesized table form, but you can find related content on this (source) page: Safety Nets and Transfers

Social Safety Nets in the United States - Briefing Book (204K, 40 pages)
March 2006
"The book is arranged into eight chapters.
- The first three chapters cover the nature of the basic programs, the problems—especially poverty—that they are intended to alleviate, and major recent changes.
- The next three chapters focus on program administration, management, and implementation, discussing many of the detailed realities of how programs actually operate: These three chapters blend together facts and tools—what are the tools, how did they evolve, how are they used, what are the challenges, what works and what doesn’t, and under what circumstances. These are the issues which World Bank employees have to deal with regularly as they assist other nations to develop policies and programs.
- The seventh chapter focuses on the role of monitoring, performance measurement, and evaluation in helping to shape and manage programs.
- The last chapter is a chance to discuss the future of the welfare policy in US."
***Highly recommended overview of American social programs, especially welfare (from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" in the 1930s to date)

Safety Nets Primer - dozens of links to resources under the following headings:
Program Interventions – A variety of different programs can be used to provide assistance to households living in poverty and to help them deal with the impact of shocks.#
Themes – Certain issues of program design and implementation are relevant to all types of program interventions.
Country Context – The type of safety net interventions and the mix of programs most appropriate will depend largely on the country specific context.
Special Vulnerable Groups

Source:
Safety Nets and Transfers
Social Safety Nets are non-contributory transfer programs targeted in some manner to the poor or those vulnerable to poverty and shocks. Social Safety Nets play a well-recognized redistributive role which is supported strongly by moral philosophy, expressed in many different ways. They also play a productive role in helping households to manage risk and assist in their own livelihoods, in helping prevent the inter-generational transmission of poverty and in allowing societies to make more efficient choices in macro, trade, labor and many other sectoral policies. Though less well recognized, this productive role is a very important part of the justification for safety nets.

Source:
World Bank

Related links:

World Bank PovertyNet
PovertyNet provides an introduction to key issues as well as in-depth information on poverty measurement, monitoring, analysis, and on poverty reduction strategies for researchers and practitioners.

World Bank Social Protection
The Social Protection Unit, as part of the Human Development Network, supports the World Bank and client countries to assist individuals, households and communities to better manage the income and welfare risks that affect vulnerable groups.

More related links - links to almost 60 sites, including OECD, Microfinance, Food-related Programs, etc.

GSR Bulletin: October 2006
The October edition of the GSR Bulletin contains the latest GSR news, updates on continuing professional development, research funding, research methods, and research outputs, and a website of the month feature

----------------------------

Policy Hub Bulletin: June 2006 issue
This latest issue of the Policy Hub Bulletin includes recent additions with relevance for Better policy making, Improving delivery, and Evaluating policy, plus a Website of the month feature.
Follow the link above to this month's online bulletin, which includes the following items of possible interest (among others):
Healthy choices for Canada's children and youth (Health Council of Canada) - People in low-paid informal work + Child poverty in large families (UK, Joseph Rowntree Foundation) - Education, training and employment, 16-18 year olds (DfES data) - Political economy and population health in Australia (ANZHP) report - Integrated foundations for early childhood (Canada, CRRU report) - The Social Fund: current role and future direction (JRF report) - Sheltering women leaving violence (YWCA Canada) - much more...

- also includes links to "Evidence libraries", including databases of Systematic Reviews, Executive summaries, Review protocols, and Abstracts of reviews of effects as well as resources including reports, articles and recommended links

News Archive - view the contents of previous Bulletins

Publications - 200+ links
A-Z Key Links - Index of resources featured on Policy Hub

Policy Hub - 'the first port of call for improvements in policy making and delivery'
Policy Hub is a website, developed by the Government Social Research Unit, which aims to improve the way public policy is shaped and delivered.
It provides:
* tailored access to initiatives, projects and tools that support better policy making and delivery
* extensive guidance on the use of research and evidence in the evaluation of policy
* links to a wide range of research resources and tools from the UK and around the world
The report of the Better Regulation Task Force (Local Delivery of Central Government) published in July 2002 recommended that Policy Hub should be developed as the key gateway for promoting best practice, guidance and case studies to policy makers.

Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is at the centre of Government, coordinating policy and strategy across government departments

[Policy Hub is part of HM Treasury]

The View from the Summit – Gleneagles G8 One Year On
News Release
[9 June 2006] – The View from the Summit – Gleneagles G8 One Year On, a new report from international agency Oxfam released on Friday shows that decisions made at last year's G8 in Scotland, following huge pressure from campaigners around the world, have led to real improvement in the lives of some of the world's poorest people. However, Oxfam is concerned that while debt cancellation is starting to be delivered, the growth in aid in key G8 nations is not enough to meet the promises made at the Gleneagles G8.
Source:
Child Rights Information Network

Complete report:

The view from the summit – Gleneagles G8 one year on (PDF file - 193K, 17 pages)
OXFAM Briefing Note
9 June 2006
Source:
OXFAM

Related links:

Principles of Welfare Reform

Welfare Reform Green Paper - U.K. - January 2006
Click on the link above to download the report in separate PDF files, or click the link below to download the entire report in one file.

A new deal for welfare:
Empowering people to work (PDF file - 1.1MB, 112 pages)
Presented to Parliament by
the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
January 2006
"Proposals outlined in this paper are informed by ongoing informal consultation with key stakeholders. Indeed, we have been consulting on incapacity benefits reform since 2002, when we published Pathways to work – Helping people into employment. Proposals for lone parents, Housing Benefit and occupational health are similarly the product of a lengthy process of consultation and evaluation of evidence from existing policies."

"Welfare reform proposals include:
* reforming incapacity benefits;
* a £360 million roll out of Pathways to Work across the country by 2008
* extending support to lone parents and older workers;
* reforming housing benefit;
* transforming support for people living in our cities; and
* delivering support to meet the needs of everyone
It sets out our proposals for achieving an 80% employment rate for people of working age."

Keep scrolling down this page for links to more info about welfare reform in the U.K.

Welfare Reform Green Paper - U.K.
The Government launched a Green Paper "A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work" on Tuesday 24 January 2006. This is a landmark document for the Department in meeting its objectives of promoting opportunity and independence for all. It contains major new proposals to help individuals achieve their potential through work.

Click on the link above to download the report in separate PDF files, or click the link below to download the entire report in one file.

A new deal for welfare:
Empowering people to work (PDF file - 1.1MB, 112 pages)
Presented to Parliament by
the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
by Command of Her Majesty
January 2006
"Proposals outlined in this paper are informed by ongoing informal consultation with key stakeholders. Indeed, we have been consulting on incapacity benefits reform since 2002, when we published Pathways to work – Helping people into employment. Proposals for lone parents, Housing Benefit and occupational health are similarly the product of a lengthy process of consultation and evaluation of evidence from existing policies."

A new deal for welfare: empowering people to work
Press Release
24 January 2006
The Government today announced a radical reform of the welfare state with the publication of the welfare reform green paper - A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work. The paper seeks to end the legacy of benefit dependency and deprivation that can damage communities across Britain. Our proposals provide a once in a generation opportunity to transform the welfare state. They build upon our principles for reform; rights and responsibilities providing the individual with the support they need to transform their own life-chances, and those of their family.

They include detailed proposals for:
* reforming incapacity benefits;
* a £360 million roll out of Pathways to Work across the country by 2008
* extending support to lone parents and older workers;
* reforming housing benefit;
* transforming support for people living in our cities; and
* delivering support to meet the needs of everyone
It sets out our proposals for achieving an 80% employment rate for people of working age.

Related Links:

Assembly of First Nations
"The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada. The AFN represents all citizens regardless of age, gender or place of residence."
- The Second Indigenous Peoples Summit Of The Americas

Google Web Search Results : "Second Indigenous Peoples Summit Of The Americas"
Google News search Results : "Second Indigenous Peoples Summit Of The Americas"
Source:
Google.ca

What's New from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

September 13, 2005
OECD Regions at a Glance
In most member nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), national growth is strongly concentrated in a few regions. Thus, national growth is largely determined by the performance of only a few regions, according to a new OECD report. The report OECD Regions at a Glance shows that about three-quarters of Canadian job growth was concentrated in 10% of Canada's 288 census divisions between 1996 and 2001.
See also SourceOECD - "The OECD's Online Library of Statistical Databases, Books and Periodicals"

SPEaR Bulletin - July 2005 (New Zealand)
Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee
Contents of this issue of the SPEAR Bulletin:
- Towards 2020 for the social sciences
- Good practice progress
- Datasaving and sharing update
- Coming of Age feedback sought
- Clearinghouse for information on family violence
- Commission’s project to provide families snapshot
- Blue Skies research
- Social science and the challenges of the 21st century
- Chair’s comment
- Longitudinal study of Pasifika families’ health and wellbeing
- Labour market research trends
- Improving evaluative activities
- Linkages research methodology workshop
- People in R&E
- Diary notes
Source:
Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee
"The Social Policy Evaluation and Research committee or SPEaR, was set up to oversee the Government’s purchase of social policy research to ensure the spending is aligned with the Government’s social policy priorities. (...)Headed by an independent chair, SPEaR has a secretariat based at the Centre for Social Research and Evaluation at the Ministry of Social Development. SPEaR reports to joint ministers (Social Services and Employment; Statistics; and Research, Science and Technology) through the chief executive of MSD"

Make Poverty History (Canada) [Platform] - "...united by the common belief that poverty can be ended."
Make Poverty History Canada at the G8 Summit - A Make Poverty History (MPH) team is in Scotland at the G8 Summit.

Make Poverty History (International)
Live8 - The Long Walk to Justice

From Google.ca:
News search Results : "Make Poverty History"
Web Search Results : "Make Poverty History"

G8 Gleneagles - the official G8 Summit website
July 6-8, 2005
"Every year since 1975, the heads of state of the major industrial democracies have met to discuss and debate the major policy issues affecting the international community and their own domestic situations. This year this important meeting (referred to as the G8 Summit) was held at the Gleneagles Resort in Scotland. This site is the homepage for the summit, and as such, contains a host of materials on the meeting, including a FAQ section, information about the countries that participated in the G8, and a glossary of relevant terms. Of course, most visitors will want to learn about the main issues that will be dealt with this year, such as countering terrorism and climate change. The "Summit Documents" area is a section that definitely warrants a closer look, as it contains information on previous summits and policy statements that were adopted during these meetings."
Review by The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005

Signed Version of Gleneagles Communique on
Africa, Climate Change, Energy and Sustainable Development (PDF file - 328K, 32 pages)
July 8

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make Poverty History's Response to the G8 Communique - July 8

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chair's Summary, Gleneagles Summit
July 8
"(...)We have agreed to double aid for Africa by 2010. Aid for all developing countries will increase, according to the OECD, by around $50bn per year by 2010, of which at least $25bn extra per year for Africa."

Day-by-day guide to G8 events
- includes links to news releases, analysis, background, and more...
Source:
BBC

Canada's G8 Website (Govt. of Canada)
- includes Summit documents from the current and past summits, news releases, ministerials, past and future summits, how the G8 works, G* backgrounders, members, and more...

G8 Information Centre - at the University of Toronto
G8 Alternatives Website

From Google.ca:
News search Results : "G8 Summit, Scotland"
Web Search Results : "G8 Summit, Scotland"

------------------------------------------------------------------

G-8 pledges $40 billion US in debt relief
June 11, 2005
"Finance ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations, including Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, agreed Saturday to a historic deal cancelling at least $40 billion US worth of debt owed by the world's poorest countries."
Source:
Canada.com

Google News search Results : "G-8, debt relief"
Google Web Search Results : "G-8, debt relief"
Source:
Google.ca

From Her Majesty's Treasury (Britain):

Tax credits: reforming financial support for families
The modernisation of Britain’s Tax and Benefit System (PDF file - 501K, 60 pages)
Number Eleven
March 2005
"To deliver the Government’s aims of employment opportunity for all; giving every child the best start in life; and dignity in retirement for all pensioners, the need for fundamental reform of Britain’s tax and benefit system was clear. This paper describes the reforms put in place since 1997 and the principles which underpin them, and sets out the evidence on their impact so far."
- Seven chapters, incl.: Introduction - The labour market and poverty - Modernising the tax and benefit system - Incentives to work - Fairness in financial support - Tackling poverty among vulnerable groups -Looking ahead

See Reports # 1-10 in the same series:
(these were prepared over time, going back to 1997)
Titles:
Employment Opportunity in a Changing Labour Market - Work Incentives: A Report by Martin Taylor - The Working Families Tax Credit and Work Incentives - Tackling Poverty and Extending Opportunity - Supporting Children through the Tax and Benefit System - Tackling Poverty and Making Work Pay - Tax Credits for the 21st Century - Helping people to save - Saving and assets for all - Delivering saving and assets - Child and Working Tax Credits

SPEaR Bulletin - March 2005 Issue
The SPEaR Bulletin is a newsletter for all those involved in social policy evaluation and research and is published quarterly by the SPEaR secretariat.
This issue focuses on ethnic diversity and collaborative evaluation, along with general news and opportunities in the sector.
Table of Contents:
- Advancing refugee research
- Chair’s comment
- Trialling best practice guiding principles
- Understanding refugee life
- Participatory study of Somali
- Responding to ethnic perspectives
- A strategic approach to R&E
- Canadian takes up senior MSD position
- Demography experts in NZ
- Evaluation in Inland Revenue
- Social Investment Research Programme
- Ensuring the wellbeing of Pasifika children
- People in R&E
- Opportunity for All
- Apply now for SPEaR Linkages awards
- Diary notes

Source:
Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee (SPEaR) (New Zealand)
"The Social Policy Evaluation and Research committee or SPEaR, was set up to oversee the Government’s purchase of social policy research to ensure the spending is aligned with the Government’s social policy priorities. SPEaR provides a focal point for social policy researchers and acts as a vehicle for communicating with the social research sector. (...)SPEaR reports to joint ministers (Social Services and Employment; Statistics; and Research, Science and Technology) through the chief executive of MSD."

Social Policy Journal Of New Zealand
Te Puna Whakaaro
"The Social Policy Journal is published twice yearly by the Ministry of Social Development to contribute to the development of public debate on social policy issues."
- incl. links to the complete text of eight issues from December 2000 to July 2004
Source:
New Zealand Ministry of Social Development

What Works?
The Social Policy, Research and Evaluation Conference 2004 - New Zealand
25-26 November (2004), Wellington Convention Centre
"What Works?" is a fundamental question for both policy and practice. The conference will bring together the policy, provider, research and evaluation communities and emphasise evidence-based policy and practice.
- incl. links to : General Information - Registration - Accommodation - Programme - Papers and Presentations - Speaker Profiles - Poster Competition - Social Programme - Contacts - Conference Partners - News Archive - Call for Abstracts (closed)

Programme
"The conference programme includes a combination of keynote plenary sessions, panel discussions and concurrent sessions. The Advisory Committee reviewed over 150 high quality abstracts submitted by leading New Zealand researchers. Over 100 papers have been included in the concurrent sessions which will provide delegates with a range of New Zealand perspectives on social policy, research and evaluation."
NOTE - one of the keynote addresses is a Canadian presentation: First Nations Peoples in Canada: The best caregivers for First Nations Children and Youth (by Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director, First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada)
Concurrent sessions include : Public Good Research Meets Policy and Practice - Social Capital - Capacity Building and Communities - What Works for Youth - Duncan McLennan on Housing Policy - What Works (Disability)
Incomes - Best Practice Research & Evaluation - Census Data - Improving Educational Outcomes - Primary Health Care - Social Indicators - Promoting Healthier Lifestyles - What Works for Children - Employment - Sustainable - Community Development - Housing Affordability - What Works for Families - Mortality - Migration - Family Violence - Achieving Work / Life Balance - Community, Culture, Housing - Mental Health

Source:
New Zealand Ministry of Social Development

Development Gateway
"An interactive site for information on development and poverty reduction, the Development Gateway portal provides a space for communities [worldwide] to share experiences on development efforts."
Search by keyword or browse by country or topics (aid effectiveness, gender and development, microfinance, water resources, etc.) for knowledge sharing, completed and ongoing projects, and business information.
The Development Gateway is an independent not-for-profit organization.
It was conceived by World Bank President James Wolfensohn and initially developed in the World Bank.

Family Resources Survey Statistical Report 2002-2003
March 30, 2004
United Kingdom
"The Family Resources Survey collects information on the incomes and circumstances of private households in the United Kingdom. It has been running since October 1992. This site summarises the results of the tenth full survey year, which is the first to include data from Northern Ireland, in which approximately 29,000 households were interviewed.Information is provided on the background and methodological aspects of the survey with tables covering: Household characteristics - Income and state support receipt - Tenure and housing costs - Assets and savings - Carers - Occupation and employment
News Release (PDF file - 23K, 2 pages)
Complete report (PDF file - 607K, 222 pages)
Contents of the report - links to individual sections of the report
Source:
Family Resources Survey
[ Department for Work and Pensions ] - UK Government

Global poverty estimates and the millennium goals:
Towards a Unified Framework
April 2004
"This paper discusses the compatibility of different global poverty estimates under a unified framework, and examines the compatibility of various international poverty lines used in the literature under different purchasing power parity exchange rate estimates. The paper also addresses the issue of compatibility of survey means and national accounts data."
Complete report (PDF file - 2MB, 34 pages)
Source:
International Labour Organization

Child poverty in the UK
Second Report of Session 2003-04, Volume I
April 2004
Selected report highlights:
"... Child poverty is still a major problem: 3.6 million children live in poverty.
... The Government’s target of reducing child poverty by a quarter by 2004 is likely to be met.
... Meeting subsequent targets (reduction of child poverty to a half by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020) will be much more challenging since the achievement of those targets will involve helping those who are most disadvantaged.
... Accessible and affordable childcare available to all by 2010 should be the government’s goal."
Complete report:
PDF version - 1.1MB, 144 pages
HTML version

Related Links:

Work and Pensions - First Report
January 2004
HTML version
PDF version - 137K, 17 pages)

Work and Pensions Committee: Reports and Publications - links to dozens of Work and Pensions Committee reports from 1997 to date

Source:
Work and Pensions Committee
"The Work and Pensions Select Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to 'examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Work and Pensions and its associated public bodies.'"
[ House of Commons ]
London

Related links: Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm

Mexico : Canada's Other NAFTA Partner
(Volume 3)
Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs
March 2004
"I am perplexed by people who say that we should get out of the Free Trade Agreement. Should we put the tariffs, which ended in 1998, back on? They were not high anyway. The fact is that the world has moved on. Any benefits stemming from the FTA have ended. It is clear to me that we should focus on the multilateral trade negotiations that are taking place under the authority of the World Trade Organization." (from the Foreword by Peter Stollery, Chair)
Complete report:
HTML version
PDF version (703K, 57 pages)

Reports - incl. links to the above report and the first two volumes of this study by the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs:
- Volume 2: The Rising Dollar: Explanation and Economic Impacts (November 2003)
- Volume 1: Uncertain Access: The Consequences of U.S. Security and Trade Actions for Canadian Trade Policy (June 2003)

Source:
Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs

Portals to the World - Canada
- incl. Site Directories - History - Government and Law - Literature and Culture - News and Current Events - Libraries and Archives - Business and Residential Directories - Universities
Source:
Portals to the World - links to similar information for 200+ countries!
"Portals to the World contain selective links providing authoritative, in-depth information about the nations and other areas of the world. They are arranged by country or area with the links for each sorted into a wide range of broad categories."

Related Links:

Notes for an address by Prime Minister Paul Martin on the occasion of
a session of the World Economic Forum"The Future of Global Interdependence"
Davos, Switzerland
January 23, 2004
"The United Nations has to work because it reminds us, like no other institution - that all nations have interests that demand recognition, and all nations have responsibilities towards each other that they cannot shirk. The UN stands at the centre of the global vision - battered but crucial to defend - that says: it either works for all, or it doesn't work at all."
Source:
Government of Canada Newsroom

Prime Minister to attend World Economic Forum in Davos
News Release
January 20, 2004
"Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that he will attend the 2004 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, from January 21 to 23. Expected to attract more than 2,100 participants from 94 countries, the theme of the 34th annual meeting will be “Partnering for Security and Prosperity.”"
Source:
Office of the Prime Minister

NOTE: for links to info about the World Social Forum (a concurrent annual event), see the Canadian Social Research Links Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page

New from Employment and Social Affairs [ European Commission ] [ Europa ]

Commission calls on Member States to keep up the momentum in tackling poverty and social exclusion
Press Release
December 17, 2003
Brussels,
"Tackling poverty and social exclusion is still an urgent political priority for the European Union, says the Commission in a new communication published today."
- incl. links to the draft joint report, the statistical annex, and frequently-asked questions

Joint Report on Social Inclusion (PDF file - 950K, 216 pages)
Brussels
December 12, 2003
"Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions summarising the results of the examination of the National Action Plans for Social Inclusion (2003-2005)"

NOTE: this enormous resource offers an in-depth analysis of efforts in the European Community (sorry, Canada and the U.S. aren't included...) to foster social inclusion and to reduce poverty.
- detailed information on the social policies and strategies of all 15 member states of the European Union, including: Situation and key trends - Progress made 2001-2003 - Strategic approach - Key policy measures - Challenges ahead
- overall analysis of social inclusion initiatives in the EU: Situation and Key Trends - Assessment of Progress made since the 2001 NAP/inclusion - Strategic approach: main objectives and key targets of the 2003 NAP/inclusion - Key policy approaches: strengths and weaknesses - Gender Perspective - Current Issues and Future Challenges

Work, Welfare and Savings : Modernisation of Tax and Benefits (U.K.) - from H.M. Treasury
- also includes info about the U.K.'s child and working credits

Europa
"Europa is the portal site of the European Union. It provides up-to-date coverage of European Union affairs and essential information on European integration. Users can also consult all legislation currently in force or under discussion, access the websites of each of the EU institutions and find out about the policies administered by the European Union under the powers devolved to it by the Treaties."
A-Z Index - good overview of site content
Social Security Webpages - 18 countries
Employment and Social Affairs - incl. links to : Newsletters - Press releases - Speeches - Publications - Legislation - Consultations - Key documents - Calls for Tender - Links - DG Employment and Social Affairs - Commissioner - Priorities and Objectives: The social policy agenda - Employment - European Social Fund - Working conditions and work organisations - Inclusive Society - Gender Equality - Horizontal activities - much more...
Conference on the Mid-term review of the Social Policy Agenda - 19-20 March 2003 (Brussels)
"The Social Policy Agenda has helped modernise the European social model, but more needs to be done, according to the participants at the conference...")
- shift in emphasis "from looking at costs of implementing social policies to a new view of analysing the costs of not implementing them."
- incl. links to 10 recent reports and studies and one memo entitled "The Cost of Non-Social Policy"
Disability Issues (part of Employment and Social Affairs)
- incl. links to : * The European Union Disability Strategy * EU policies * European Day of Disabled People * European Year of People with Disabilities 2003 * News * Publications * Key Documents * Funding Possibilities * Related Links * Contact us
Links to European Research Institutes - Click on the map to access a selection of links to research institutes in each of the 15 European Union countries
- currently contains 190 links to institutions engaging in research on the social situation, demography and family (incl. sociology, economics, policy and psychology).
Introducing the European Union
European Union Statistics - Click on the map to access a selection of links to demographic, soocial and economic statistics in each of the 15 European Union countries
Ageing Policy

National Action Plans on Social Inclusion 2003
Second National Action Plans against poverty and social exclusion
- in these plans, every member state presents its priorities and efforts for the next two years (mid-2003 - mid-2005).
- includes the following countries : Austria - Belgium - Denmark - Finland - France - Germany - Greece - Ireland - Italy - Luxembourg - Netherlands - Portugal - Spain - Sweden - United Kingdom

United Kingdom national action plan on social inclusion : 2003-05 (PDF file - 239K, 55 pages)
July 2003
London, England
Annexes (PDF file - 410K, 111 pages)
"This plan outlines the most important issues for the United Kingdom in the fight against poverty and social exclusion from 2003 to 2005. Contributing to the European Union’s (EU) long-term goal that there should be a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty, across Europe, by 2010, the UK has set itself a target to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020."
Source : Department for Work and Pensions

Related Links:

Canada slips in competitiveness ranking
November 12, 2002
Globe and Mail
"Canada lost its high ranking in an annual survey of the world's most competitive economies and their potential for growth in 2002, slipping to eighth spot from third. Despite Canada's stellar economic performance this year, the slide was caused by a fall in this country's technology ranking."

2002 World Population Data Sheet
"PRB's 2002 World Population Data Sheet contains the latest population estimates, projections, and other key indicators for 200 countries, including births, deaths, natural increase, infant mortality, total fertility, life expectancy, urban population, HIV/AIDS prevalence, contraceptive use, GNI PPP per capita, land area, and population per square mile."
Highlights
Complete report (PDF file - 472K, 15 pages)
Source : Population Reference Bureau (PRB) (U.S.) - Providing timely and objective population information

CIA World Factbook 2002
"The Factbook is a comprehensive resource of facts and statistics on more than 250 countries and other entities."
- all information is current as of January 2002 and some of that info is updated during 2002...
- includes info, for each country, organized under the following headings : Introduction - Geography - People - Government - Economy - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational Issues
Note : "Distribution of family income - Gini index" has been added for all countries
Canada - a sample of the content provided for each individual country
Source : Central Intelligence Agency (U.S.)

The Australian system of social protection—an overview (PDF file - 406K, 110 pages)
Second Edition
June 2002
Peter Whiteford and Gregory Angenent
Department of Family and Community Services
- incl. detailed, current info on income support and social protection in Australia - includes sections on recent changes to the income support system, the Australian taxation system, social spending, tax and transfer system interactions, patterns of pension and benefit receipt, changes in the labour force, unemployment and labour market developments in OECD countries, poverty and income inequality, adequacy of payments, an examination of poverty lines and much more.
Source:
Commonwealth of Australia Department of Family and Community Services
Related links:
Welfare Reform in Australia
International Comparisons and the International Experience with Welfare Reform
National Welfare Rights Network (NWRN) Website
More Australia Links (this link takes you further down on this page)

Johannesburg Summit 2002 - August 26 to September 4, 2002
Official website of the United Nations Secretariat for the Summit
Source :
United Nations Economic and Social Development
United Nations Sustainable Development
"Johannesburg Summit 2002 – the World Summit on Sustainable Development – will bring together tens of thousands of participants, including heads of State and Government, national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses and other major groups to focus the world's attention and direct action toward meeting difficult challenges, including improving people's lives and conserving our natural resources in a world that is growing in population, with ever-increasing demands for food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security."
- incl. links to : Type 2 Initiatives - Summit Side Events - Accreditation and Registration - Media Logistics and Accreditation - National Activities - Johannesburg Summit 2002 brochure - Other News - PrepCom Calendar (all preparatory meetings).

Johannesburg World Summit 2002 - Host Country (South Africa) Official Site
World Summit on Sustainable Development
From August 26 to September 4, thousands of participants at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa will tackle critical environmental, economic and social development issues.
Feature article on the Summit - includes seven links to related pages
Source : Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Canada)

Canada's official WSSD Web site

Canada Releases National Report to the World Summit on Sustainable Development
News Release
August 9, 2002
The Government of Canada today submitted to the United Nations Canada's National Report to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The Summit will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 26 to September 4, 2002. Sustainable Development: A Canadian Perspective outlines Canadian actions on sustainable development over the past 10 years and highlights remaining challenges and some of the current efforts to meet those challenges.
Sustainable Development: A Canadian Perspective
Complete report (PDF file - 9.4MB)

Johannesburg Summit 2002- International Labour Organization
World Summit on Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development @ Work
"The World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa will group leaders of governments, international agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses and civil society groups from August 26 to September 4 to seek new says of improving the livelihoods of people around the world. The ILO believes that sustainable development rests on three pillars: economic, social, and environmental. The social dimension - personal security, more and better jobs and decent work - is vital to the discussions of economic and environmental policy and will be a key element of the ILO participation in the meeting."
- incl. fact sheets on the following topics : Sustainable Development and the Workplace - Agriculture - Safety and Health at Work - HIV/AIDS - Child Labour - Youth Employment - Small-Scale Mining - Hotel, Catering and Tourism - Press releases
Source : International Labour Organization

ILO Director-General addresses Johannesburg Summit August 29, 2002
"This Summit has one simple question to answer: how can we make the next ten years more successful in terms of sustainable development; job creation; the fight against poverty and environmental degradation, than the ten years since Rio?
Source : International Labour Organization
ILO WSSD Website

Sustaining Development; Our Opportunity in Johannesburg
August 23, 2002
"Last spring, the UN summit in Monterrey spurred poor countries to commit to improve their policies and governance in exchange for promises by rich countries to deliver more aid, and open their markets to trade. The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg next week gives us the chance to put those words into action."
Source : World Bank Group

Social Research in Other Countries - Governments

La recherche sociale ailleurs dans le monde - Les gouvernements

Social Research in
Other Countries - Governments

La recherche sociale
ailleurs dans le monde - Les gouvernements