Canadian Social Research Newsletter
May 18, 2008
Welcome to
the weekly Canadian Social Research Newsletter,
a listing of the new links added to the Canadian Social Research Links
website in the past week.
The
e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 1887 subscribers.
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter
to see some notes and a disclaimer.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Canadian content
1. Manitoba: The
Social Inclusion and Anti-Poverty Act, Bill 226 (Second Reading scheduled for
May 22)
2. Envisioning Canada Without Poverty: A CPJ Call to Action (Citizens
for Public Justice)
3. Wealth, Low-Wage Work and Welfare: The Unintended
Costs of Provincial Needs-tests (Social and Enterprise Development Innovations)
- April 2008
4. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Youth crime,
2006 - May 16
--- Hours worked and labour productivity in the provinces
and territories, 2007 - May 14
--- Canada's immigrant labour market,
2007 - May 13
5. Improvements to Life Income Funds Give Canadians More
Financial Flexibility (Department of Finance Canada) - May 8
6. Newfoundland
and Labrador Income Support Assistance: Children and Families, 1991 to 2006 (Newfoundland
& Labrador Statistics Agency)
7. Work Isn’t Working for Ontario
Families : The Role of Good Jobs in Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
(Campaign 2000) - May 12
8. Poverty profile 2004 (National Council
of Welfare) - April 2008
9. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research
Unit (Toronto) - May 16
10. International Productivity Monitor - Spring 2008
issue (Centre for the Study of Living Standards) - May 12
International content
11. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage
of social issues and programs (Institute for Research on Poverty - University
of Wisconsin-Madison)
12. Poverty Action Lab - Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
13. Barack Obama supports John Edwards' plan to cut poverty in
the U.S. by half in ten years - May 14
14. What's new from Europa ("Gateway
to the European Union"):
--- Joint Report on Social Protection and Social
Inclusion 2008
--- Social Protection in the 27 Member States of the
European Union on 1 January 2007
--- Organisation of social protection in
the European Union
15. OECD Factbook 2008 (Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development) - April 8
16. Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion
(CERC, Paris) Bulletin - selected content
17. Australian Policy Online Weekly
Briefing - selected recent content
18. CRINMAIL 982, 983 (May 2008) - (Child
Rights Information Network - CRIN)
Have
a great week!
|
1. Manitoba: The Social Inclusion and Anti-Poverty Act, Bill 226 (Second Reading scheduled for May 22) |
NOTE: if poverty reduction is a subject
that interests you, you'll be pleased to know that Manitoba is the second province
in Canada to enshrine a poverty reduction plan in legislation (Quebec is the first).
For more information, go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
Manitoba:
The Social
Inclusion and Anti-Poverty Act, Bill 226
Second reading on May 22,
2008
At the Manitoba Legislative Building, Winnipeg
[ To attend the second
reading, please email georgina.sabeksy@leg.gov.mb.ca
]
"The goal of this bill is to tackle Manitoba’s poverty epidemic head
on by implementing various strategies to achieve the goal of reducing Manitoba’s
2008 poverty level by 50% by 2012.
(..)
Bill 226 – The Social Inclusion
and Anti-Poverty act – calls for the government to:
o Set a specific
target of reducing Manitoba’s 2008 poverty level by 50 per cent by 2012
o Set up a standing committee with individuals from social justice groups like
the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg to develop, implement and evaluate the
provincial strategy to fight poverty
o Look at ways to improve social inclusion
– access to education, housing, employment etc
o Report annually on
progress made towards achieving goals set out in the provincial strategy"
Explanatory Note:
This Bill requires the government to establish
and implement a provincial strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion. The
strategy must be oriented toward
* preventing poverty and social exclusion;
* strengthening the social and economic safety net;
* promoting access to
employment and increasing the attractiveness of work;
* promoting the involvement
of society as a whole in combatting poverty and social exclusion; and
* ensuring
that interventions are consistent and coherent at all levels.
The Social
Planning Council of Winnipeg is designated as the minister's advisory council
on poverty and social exclusion.
Annual reporting is required on updates and
revisions to the provincial strategy, and on the measures implemented and the
progress made in combatting poverty and social exclusion.
-
Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
- Go to the Manitoba Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/mbkmrk.htm
| 2. Envisioning
Canada Without Poverty: A CPJ Call to Action |
Envisioning Canada Without Poverty:
A CPJ Call to Action
Momentum for poverty reduction is growing
across Canada. As Ontario and Nova Scotia follow in Quebec and Newfoundland and
Labrador's footsteps by committing to poverty reduction strategies, the leadership
of the provinces is setting an example for the federal government to follow. We
believe that the time has come to increase the pressure on the federal government
to develop a federal poverty reduction strategy for Canada.
Citizens
for Public Justice (CPJ) has recently launched the Envisioning Canada
Without Poverty: A CPJ Call to Action campaign. It is aimed at empowering
citizens to advocate for a poverty reduction strategy. Our website offers both
introductory information and a more detailed examination of poverty and poverty
reduction strategies, as well as step by step instructions on writing your MP
or arranging a meeting. We are calling for concerned citizens to write or visit
your MP to ask for their commitment to working towards a federal poverty reduction
strategy announced in Budget 2009.
- Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
| 3.
Wealth, Low-Wage Work and Welfare: The Unintended Costs of Provincial Needs-tests
- April 2008 |
What's new from
Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI):
Wealth, Low-Wage Work and Welfare:
The Unintended Costs of Provincial
Needs-tests (PDF - 604K, 8 pages)
April 2008
"(...)Assets do matter as
an important, but so far largely undervalued, factor in well-being. Assets are
more than stored-up income, they are stored-up hope, agency and aspiration. To
the degree that welfare policy is ultimately concerned with well-being - and we
believe it is - far greater attention should be paid to assets." (Excerpt, p.7)
- includes detailed info on what constitutes assets in the Canadian welfare system
as well as asset exemption levels in all Canadian jurisdictions and a number of
options for provincial/territorial governments wishing to promote greater asset
development within their welfare program.
Source:
Asset-building Program
SEDI Program Areas
To fulfill SEDI's mission statement and to pursue its organizational objectives,
SEDI has been working in four broad issue areas: self- employment, youth, asset-building
and financial capability. Click the link above and then, on the next page,
select one of the programs areas in the left-hand margin for more detailed information
and further links.
SEDI Publications List - 100+ links!
Source:
Social
and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI)
SEDI is a national charitable
organization dedicated to enabling poor and unemployed Canadians become self-sufficient.
We take a variety of leading-edge social and economic approaches to this goal
in areas such as policy development, program management, capacity building, public
education, and research.
- Go to the Asset-Based
Social Policies Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/assets.htm
- Go to the Social Research Organizations (I) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research.htm
| 4. What's
New from Statistics Canada: |
What's New from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
May
16, 2008
Youth
crime, 2006
The crime rate among young people aged 12 to 17 climbed
3% between 2005 and 2006, but was 6% lower than a decade earlier, according to
data reported by Canadian police services. While property crime rates among youth
declined over the previous decade, rates for other types of offences, including
violent crime, increased.
Related report:
Youth
Crime in Canada, 2006 (PDF - 196K, 16 pages)
by Andrea Taylor-Butts
and Angela Bressan
May 14, 2008
Hours
worked and labour productivity in the provinces and territories, 2007
Newfoundland and Labrador led the nation in labour productivity growth in 2007,
while Alberta had the largest decline. In both cases, changes in the relative
contribution of conventional crude oil extraction to their respective provincial
economies played a large role.
May 13, 2008
Canada's
immigrant labour market, 2007
Employment among immigrants aged
25 to 54, that is, core working age, increased 2.1% in 2007, thanks in large part
to gains among immigrants in Quebec. Despite this increase, the employment rate
gap between immigrants and the Canadian born widened.
The
Canadian Immigrant Labour Market in 2007
Source:
The
Immigrant Labour Force Analysis Series
(incl. links to earlier related
products)
- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm
| 5.
Improvements to Life Income Funds Give Canadians More Financial Flexibility
- May 8 |
Improvements to Life Income Funds
Give Canadians More Financial Flexibility
News Release
May
8, 2008
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced
regulatory changes are now in effect allowing Canadians to take advantage of Budget
2008 improvements to the administration of Life Income Funds (LIFs).
- includes links to the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, Regulatory Changes Related to Federally Regulated Life Income Funds and Locked-in Registered Retirement Savings Plans, Effective May 8,2008, Questions and Answers and Regulations Amending the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985.
Source:
Department of Finance Canada
- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Agriculture to Finance) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk.htm
| 6.
Newfoundland and Labrador Income Support Assistance: Children and Families (1991
to 2006) |
Newfoundland and Labrador
Income
Support Assistance: Children and Families, 2001-2006
- includes
a wealth of welfare caseload profile information such as breakdown of the caseload
by family size (number of children by age), profiles of lone-parent families and
unattached individuals, average benefits, average duration on assistance (months
per year), and much more, for the period from 2001 to 2006.
NOTE:
in the left-hand margin of the income support assistance page, you'll find links
to similar tables for 1995 to 2000
and for 1991 to 1994, as well as links
that allow you to compare communities or regions.
Source:
Community Accounts
Excellent
collection of Newfoundland & Labrador statistics launched by the Newfoundland
& Labrador Statistics Agency in the spring of 2005. Information is
presented by community, region or economic zone, and topics include income, education,
health, labour market, employment, housing, population by age and sex and environmental
facts.
[ TIP: Income Support Assistance (welfare) and Employment Insurance
tables appear in the "Employment and Working Conditions" category.]
Community
Accounts online tutorials - watch these to learn how to use the features
of the website.
Related link:
Historical
Statistics of Newfoundland and Labrador
- incl. social assistance
stats from 1951-1969 (under "Health and Welfare")
-
Go to the Newfoundland and Labrador Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nfbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Key Provincial/Territorial Welfare
Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/welfare.htm
| 7.
Work Isn’t Working for Ontario Families : The Role of Good Jobs in Ontario’s
Poverty Reduction Strategy - May 12 |
Work
isn't working for Ontario Families
Poverty Reduction requires
a Jobs Strategy, says Campaign 2000
News alert
May 12, 2008
Toronto – In the face of mounting evidence on the role of the labour market
in family poverty, today Campaign 2000, the coalition working to end child and
family poverty, joined with the Toronto & York Region Labour Council and the
Canadian Labour Congress (Ontario Region) to call for the inclusion of a good
jobs strategy in the provincial Poverty Reduction Strategy. Their joint report,
Work Isn’t Working for Ontario Families: The Role of Good Jobs in Ontario’s
Poverty Reduction Strategy establishes that many Ontario parents cannot achieve
financial security for their families not because they can’t find work,
but because they can’t find a good job.
Complete report:
Work
Isn’t Working for Ontario Families:
The Role of Good Jobs in Ontario’s
Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF - 180K, 28 pages)
Source:
Campaign 2000
-
Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (A-C) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk2.htm
| 8.
Poverty profile 2004 - April 2008 |
From the National Council of Welfare:
Poverty
profile 2004 - Web-only data <=== links to over two dozen tables!
April 2008
Poverty Profile is a regular publication of the Council
that is based on survey data from Statistics Canada.
NOTE : The NCW will not
be publishing a 2004 issue of the report Poverty Profile, but clicking on the
link above will take you to a page of links to over two dozen tables for 2004.
[For contextual and methodological information, see the 2002/2003
edition of this report (PDF - 3.5MB, 165 pages)]
- includes:
*
Poverty rates, Canada (Trends - Persons, by age and sex - Families - Unattached
individuals)
* Poverty rates by province (Persons - Families - Unattached
individuals - Children - Seniors)
* Children (Family type - Ages of
children)
* Depth of Poverty (Dollars below the poverty line - Percentage
of the poverty line - Total poverty gap ($) - Incomes of less than half the poverty
line)
* Persistence of Poverty (Age group - Education - Transitions
in and out of poverty)
* Poverty and Paid
Work (Number of earners - Weeks of work - Work patterns - Working poor
* Sources of Income (Transfer payments - Primary sources of income #1 -
Primary sources of income #2
* Inequality
(Income shares - Average income by quintile)
Source:
Poverty
Profile <=== incl. links to four earlier online editions of Poverty
Profile back to 1998.
- Go
to the Poverty Measures - Canadian Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm
- Go to the Social Statistics Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/stats.htm
| 9. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (Toronto) - May 16 |
What's new from the
Childcare
Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) :
May 16, 2008
State
of the world’s mothers 2007: Saving the lives of children under 5
16 May 08
- Annual report from
Save the Children ranking and examining how well mothers are faring in countries
around the world.
Rural
childcare in Manitoba: New economic evidence
16 May 08
-
Article from Susan Prentice examining the impact of child care in Thompson, Manitoba
using an economist’s technique of input-output analysis.
The
mixed economy of childcare and the needs of disadvantaged children
16 May 08
- Presentation notes from the ICMEC seminar series held in
May discussing governments’ approaches to the early years provision in a
diverse market.
Preschool
class for 6-year olds in Sweden: A bridge between early childhood and compulsory
schooling
16 May 08
- Policy brief from UNESCO with excerpts
from an interview discussing the integration of six-year olds into the compulsory
school system in Sweden.
The
economics of early childhood policy: What the dismal science has to say about
investing in children
16 May 08
- Report from RAND describing
how insights from the field of economics provide science-based guidance for early
childhood policy.
child care in the news
·
Frozen fish,
canned potatoes on menu at city daycares [CA-ON]
15 May 08
·
Early childhood
initiatives to benefit individuals, the community and the economy
[AU]
14 May 08
· Nurseries
now required to admit three-month-olds [VN]
13 May 08
·
Report warns
against increased role for private sector in daycare [CA]
12 May
08
· Desperate
parents use extreme tactics to land daycare spot [CA]
10 May
08
· Supporting
mothers; supporting women [CA]
10 May 08
Related Links:
Subscribe to the CRRU
email announcements list
Sign up to receive email notices of updates
and new postings on the CRRU website which will inform you of policy developments
in early childhood care and education, new research and resources for policy,
newly released CRRU publications, and upcoming events of interest to the child
care and broader community.
Links to child care sites
in Canada and elsewhere
CRRU
Publications - briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other
publications
ISSUE
files - theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links
to further info
Source:
Childcare
Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)
- Go to the Non-Governmental Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm
| 10. International
Productivity Monitor - Spring 2008 |
International
Productivity Monitor - Spring 2008
[ version
française ]
On May 12, the Centre for the Study of Living Standards
(CSLS), a national, independent, not-for-profit, economic research organization,
released the Spring 2008 issue of the International Productivity Monitor. The
issue contains five articles : two on the productivity performance of the Canadian
economy and three in a symposium on data needs for better productivity measurement.
* Editor’s Overview
* Business Sector Productivity in Canada: What
Do We Know? By Paul Boothe and Richard Roy
* An Analysis of the Causes of
Weak Labour Productivity Growth in Canada since 2000 - By Jean-François
Arsenault and Andrew Sharpe
* Symposium on Data Needs for Better Productivity
Measurement
--- What Is To Be Done for Better Productivity Measurement - By
Erwin Diewert
--- The State of Data for Services Productivity Measurement
in the United States - By Jack E. Triplett and Barry P. Bosworth
--- Data
for Productivity Measurement in Market Services: An International Comparison -
By Robert Inklaar, Marcel P. Timmer and Bart van Ark
Earlier Issues of the Monitor (16 issues , back to Fall 2000)
Also from CSLS:
Index
of Economic Well-being
Has economic well-being
increased or decreased in recent years, and is it higher or lower in one country
compared to others? Traditionally these questions have been answered by looking
at trends in and comparisons of GDP per capita, but this is a poor measure of
economic well-being. It measures consumption incompletely, ignoring the value
of leisure and longer life spans, and it also ignores the value of accumulation
for future generations. Furthermore, since it is an average, GDP per capita gives
no indication of the likelihood that an individual will share in prosperity nor
of the degree of anxiety with which individuals contemplate their futures."
- incl. links to:
Introduction and Methodology - The Index for Canada -The
Index for Canada and the United States - The Index for Canada and the Provinces
- The Index for OECD Countries - An Index of Labour Market Well-being - Weighting
tool for Canada and OECD Countries
Source:
Centre
for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Ottawa
The Centre for the Study
of Living Standards is a non-profit, national, independent organization that seeks
to contribute to a better understanding of trends in and determinants of productivity,
living standards and economic and
social well-being through research.
- Go to the Social Research Organizations (I) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research.htm
| 11. Poverty Dispatch:
U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs (Institute for Research on Poverty - University of Wisconsin-Madison) |
Poverty Dispatch
(U.S). ===> the content of this link changes twice a week
- links to
news items from the American press about poverty, welfare reform, child welfare,
education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.
Latest issues of the Poverty Dispatch:
May
15, 2008
* State Health Care Plans - Iowa, Minnesota
* Privatization
of Social Services - Indiana
* Editorial: Poverty Measurement
* Kids Count
Report - Minnesota
* Child Welfare Removal Policies - New York City
*
Food Stamp Program Enrollment - Florida
* The Farm Bill and the Food Stamp
Program
* Medicaid Rule Change and Doctor Training Programs - New York
* Safety-net Hospitals and Quality of Care
* Paid Family Leave - New Jersey
* Payday Lending Legislation - Ohio
* Academic Achievement of American Indian
Students - Oklahoma
* Study: Level of Education and Life Expectancy
May
12, 2008
* State Programs for Welfare Leavers
* Children on Medicaid
and Lead Poisoning - Ohio
* State Children's Health Insurance Program - Indiana
* Massachusetts State Health Insurance Program
* Information Technology and
State Health Programs - Minnesota, Illinois
* Food Prices and Increased Need
for Assistance
* Trends in Wages for Low-income Workers - Virginia
* Public
Housing and Rental Vouchers - Columbus, OH
* High School Dropout Age - Minnesota
* No Child Left Behind and Gifted Students
* Subprime Lending and Home Foreclosures
- Ohio
* Payday Lending Law - Illinois
* Voter ID and Proof of Citizenship
* Undocumented Immigrants and Access to Health Care
IRP compiles and distributes
Poverty Dispatches, links to Web-based news items dealing with poverty, welfare
reform, and related topics twice a week.
Each Dispatch lists links to current
news in popular print media.
Anyone wishing to receive Poverty Dispatches
by e-mail should send a request to rsnell@ssc.wisc.edu.
Past Poverty Dispatches - back to June 2006
Source:
Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP)
[ University of Wisconsin-Madison ]
-
Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm
| 12. Poverty Action Lab - Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Poverty
Action Lab (MIT)
http://www.povertyactionlab.org/
Many
laboratories focus their attention on topics like Alzheimer's research, but this
laboratory at MIT focuses on poverty. The objective of their work at the Poverty
Action Lab is "to improve the effectiveness of poverty programs by providing policy
makers with clear scientific results that help shape successful polices to combat
poverty." The Lab was started in June 2003 by a group of professors at MIT and
their collaborators. Visitors to the site will note that the materials here are
divided into sections that include "Research", "People", "News", and "Courses".
The "Research" section is a great place to start as policy makers and others can
look over their completed projects (such as "Discrimination in the Job Market")
and their publications. Moving on, visitors can click on the "People" section
to learn more about their staff and directors. Finally, those who are curious
about the reach of the Poverty Lab's work will want to look at their media features
in the "News" section.
Review by:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet
Scout Project 1994-2008.
http://scout.wisc.edu/
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm
| 13. Barack Obama supports John Edwards' plan to cut U.S. poverty by half in ten years - May 14 |
Edwards Poverty Campaign Met With Media Blackout
Posted May 15, 2008
On Tuesday, the day before he announced
his support for Barack Obama, former Senator John Edwards launched a campaign
to cut the nation's poverty rate in half in the next ten years. You can be excused
if you hadn't heard about it. Only one major daily newspaper -- the Philadelphia
Inquirer -- covered the event, which took place at a Baptist church in North Philadelphia.
(...)
The Half in Ten campaign
will focus on policy solutions identified in the Center for American Progress'
poverty task force report issued last year. These include expanding the Earned
Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit; raising both state and federal minimum
wages; increasing the number of low-income families receiving child care assistance;
increasing eligibility for unemployment insurance; and preventing predatory lending
practices and preserving home ownership. The last time the U.S. committed itself
to dramatically tackling poverty was during the early 1960s.
Source:
Huffington
Post
[NOTE : recommended reading --- includes a good snapshot of
the poverty situation in the U.S., along with an historical overview of poverty
and poverty reduction from President Johnson's War on Poverty (mid-60s) to date,
and links to related information - Gilles]
Edwards
backs Obama
By Chuck Babbington, Associated Press
May 14,
2008
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival
Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party's
likely presidential nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up
her long-shot candidacy. (...)He said Mr. Obama “stands with me” in
a fight to cut poverty in half within 10 years.
Source:
The
Globe and Mail
Groups
Launch "Half in Ten" Anti-Poverty Campaign
May 13, 2008
On
May 13, four of the nation's most prominent social justice organizations announced
a new multi-year campaign to cut poverty in America in half in 10 years. The campaign,
Half in Ten, will be chaired by former presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards,
D. N.C. (...) "Half in Ten" is a partnership of the Association of Community Organizations
for Reform Now (ACORN), the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF),
the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN), and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
(LCCR).
Source:
CivilRights.org
"The civil rights coailition for the 21st century"
Half
in Ten : From Poverty to Prosperity
A Campaign to Cut Poverty in the
United States in Half in Ten Years
Site launched May 13
Details of the Strategy:
From Poverty to Prosperity:
A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
Executive
summary (HTML)
Complete
report (PDF - 8.1MB, 80 pages)
Source:
Center
for American Progress Task Force on Poverty
The
three links below point to relevant content from the Barack Obama and John Edwards
websites on the subject of poverty.
[ NOTE : both plans below predate the
launch of Half in Ten, so both websites will likely be updated in the near future
to reflect the renewed commitment to poverty reduction. I assume.]
A National Goal: End Poverty
Within 30 Years
NOTE: it appears that John Edwards has raised the
bar with respect to his anti-poverty goals since dropping out of the presidential
election campaign at the end of January 2008. The new Half in Ten goal is a ramped-up
version of the anti-poverty commitments from the John Edwards' presidentail campaign
website. On that site, John Edwards calls poverty 'the great moral issue of our
time', and he challenges our country to cut it by a third in a decade [bolding
added] and end it within 30 years.
Source:
John
Edwards campaign website
Barack
Obama's Plan to Fight Poverty in America (PDF - 64K, 8 pages)
File dated April 20, 2008
Barack
Obama : Plan to Combat Poverty
(undated Issues page - no timeframes
or targets)
At a Glance:
* Expand Access to Jobs
* Make Work Pay for
All Americans
* Strengthen Families
* Increase the Supply of Affordable
Housing
* Tackle Concentrated Poverty
Source:
OBAMA '08
-
Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
| 14.
What's new from Europa ("Gateway to the European Union"): |
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)
-
Go to the Government Social Research Links in Other Countries page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internat.htm
- Go to the Social Statistics Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/stats.htm
| 15.
OECD Factbook 2008 - April 8 |
Factbook 2008 shows wide variations in productivity across OECD countries
April 8, 2008 - Labour productivity has grown strongly in the Slovak Republic,
Hungary and Korea in recent years while growth rates in some other OECD countries
such as Italy, Mexico, Portugal and New Zealand have slowed markedly. The differences
can be clearly seen in OECD’s new Factbook 2008, an annual digest of economic,
social and environmental statistics. Gross domestic product (GDP) per hour worked
grew at above 4 percent a year on average between 2001 and 2006 in the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Korea and the Slovak Republic.
OECD Factbook 2008: Economic, Environmental
and Social Statistics
- includes Canada in all comparisons, charts
and analyses!
Topics include:
* Population and migration * Macroeconomic
trends * Economic globalisation * Prices * Energy * Labour * Science and technology
* Environment * Education * Public Finance * Quality of Life (e.g., income inequality,
prison population) * Productivity
NOTE: clicking on any topic on the
OECD Factbook home page will open a subdirectory of the content within that topic.
Related links:
Social
and Welfare Statistics
Social policies statistics cover an array of
interdependent issues: family-friendly policies, employment-oriented social policies
and social assistance policies for the working age population, disability policies,
and ageing related policies.
Social Expenditure
Database
The OECD Social Expenditure Database, containing data on
social expenditure broken down by program, previously available on SourceOECD
in Beyond 20/20 views, is now available both through the new data browser (in
beta release) and as Excel files.
Social Policies Home Page
Social
policies affect people at different stages of their lives and have to address
a range of issues: child-development, combining family and work responsibilities,
social benefits and disability policies for periods out of work, spells of poverty
(and more generally income distribution), and pension policies for the elderly.
In all areas, taking a gender perspective is an important for policy design.
OECD
statistical publications and databases
OECD.Stat contains complete
databases and is freely available as a beta release via OECD’s iLibrary,
SourceOECD for the first half of 2008.
Source:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Go to the Social Statistics Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/stats.htm
| 16. Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion (CERC, Paris) Bulletin - selected content |
From the Council for Employment, Income
and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil
de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC [version
française]
CERC Bulletin
- links to all CERC semi-monthly bulletins
Subscribe
- To be informed of CERC activities and to receive the bulletin
----------------------------------------------------------
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...
----------------------------------------------------------
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
- Go to the Government Social Research Links in Other Countries page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internat.htm
| 17. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - selected recent content |
APO Weekly Briefing ===> the
content of this link changes each week
The content of this page changes each
week, and it includes links to a few book/report reviews, about two dozen new
reports, a few job ads and 60 events (mostly conferences) of interest to social
researchers...
Source:
Australian
Policy Online (APO) - home page
With nearly 120 member centres and
institutes, Australian Policy Online offers easy access to much of the best Australian
social, economic, cultural and political research available online.
NOTE:
the APO home page includes links to the five most popular reports on the APO website,
and this list is updated each week.
APO Archive
The APO
archive is grouped into 23 subject areas, with entries appearing in reverse chronological
order.
* Ageing *Asia and the pacific * Citizenship and the law * Disability
* Economics and trade * Education * Employment and workplace relations * The environment
* Foreign policy and defence * Gender and sexuality * Health * Housing * Families
and households * Immigration and refugees * Income, poverty and wealth * Indigenous
* Media, communications and cultural policy * Politics and government * Population,
multiculturalism and ethnicity * Religion and faith * Rural and regional * Science
and technology * Social policy * Urban and regional planning * Youth
- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm
| 18. CRINMAIL
982, 983 (May 2008) |
From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN):
15 May
2008 - CRINMAIL 983
Special edition on the rights of children with
disabilities
* Introduction: Landmark treaty on the rights of persons
with disabilities enters into force
* A Guide to Promoting the Rights of Children
with Disabilities - call for comments
* It’s About Ability - An explanation
of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
* Resources:
Campaigns - Laws - News - Publications - Contribute
**Interview** Gerison
Lansdown
**Quiz special on the rights of children with disabilities**
13 May
2008 - CRINMAIL 982
* SOUTH AFRICA: Children's
rights in criminal justice system neglected [news]
* BANGLADESH: Govt to investigate
issue of children in conflict with law [news]
* HEALTH: Sexuality and life
skills: Participatory practices on sexual and reproductive health with young people
[publication]
* CHILD LABOUR: Invitation to comment on paper [publication]
* COUNCIL OF EUROPE: Raise your hand against smacking! [event]
* EMPLOYMENT:
International Social Service - War Child [5] - Child-to-Child Trust
***FROM
THE FRONTLINE** Nevena Vuc(kovic' Šahovic' [interview]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
Earlier
issues of CRINMAIL
- links to 300+ earlier weekly issues, many of
which are special editions focusing on special themes, such as the 45th Session
of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child.
Source:
CRINMAIL(incl.
subscription info)
[ Child Rights
Information Network (CRIN) ]
- Go to the Children's Rights Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnrights.htm
Disclaimer/Privacy
Statement
Both Canadian
Social Research Links (the site) and this Canadian Social Research Newsletter
belong solely to me, Gilles Séguin.
I
am solely accountable for the choice of links presented therein and for the occasional
editorial comment - it's my time, my home computer, my experience, my biases,
my Rogers Internet account and my web hosting service.
I
administer the mailing list and distribute the weekly newsletter using software
on the web server of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Thanks, CUPE!
If you wish to subscribe to
the e-mail version of newsletter, go to the Canadian Social Research Newsletter
Online Subscription page:
http://lists.cupe.ca/mailman/listinfo/csrl-news
You can unsubscribe by
going to the same page or by sending me an e-mail message [ gilseg@rogers.com
]
------------------------
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of this newsletter is available only in plain text (no graphics, no hyperlinks,
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is also friendlier for people using older or lower-end technology.
Privacy Policy:
The Canadian Social Research Newsletter mailing list
is not used for any purpose except to distribute each weekly issue.
I promise
not share any information on this list, nor to send you any junk mail.
Links presented in the Canadian Social Research Newsletter point to different
views about social policy and social programs.
There are some that I don't
agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...
To access earlier online
HTML issues of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter, go to the Newsletter page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/news.htm
Please feel free to distribute this newsletter as widely as you wish,
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Cheers!
Gilles
E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com