Social Research in
Other Countries - Governments

La recherche sociale
ailleurs dans le monde - Les gouvernements

Updated May 4, 2008
Page révisée le 4 mai 2008

[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

geoworldbank.org (Beta)
"We’ve mashed up Google Maps with World Bank data to give you a visual entry point to browse our projects, news, statistics and public information center 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.

Europa - Gateway to the European Union
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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.)

Newer links appear at the top of this page...

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
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.

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

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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

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

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

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 ]

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

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:
The World Bank

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 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

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