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1. U.S. and Global Approaches to Financing Long-Term Care: Understanding the Patchwork

Author:
Celli Horstman, Evan D. Gumas, and Gretchen Jacobson
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Commonwealth Fund
Abstract:
Most United States adults age 65 and older will need long-term care toward the end of their lives.1 Long-term care, provided in the home, community, or in institutional settings like a nursing home, includes medical care as well as personal, nonmedical care for people who are unable to perform activities of daily living, like cooking or bathing. Some services also may support social needs for those unable to perform what are known as instrumental activities of daily living, such as shopping or medication management. In 2018, more than 5 million people in the United States used home health care, including adult day care or home health agency services, and nearly 4 million people resided in nursing homes or residential care communities.2 Despite the widespread need for long-term care, the U.S. has no national program to cover the costs of long-term care. While certain states have implemented their own programs, the resulting patchwork of funding has left many Americans with no sustainable way to pay for the services they require. Other developed countries have comprehensive, national long-term care financing systems featuring broad eligibility and high levels of financial support. In this brief, we analyze data from multiple sources on long-term care costs in the U.S., as well as spending data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), to better understand long-term care financing strategies in 12 high-income countries. In addition to these data, we synthesized initiatives to long-term care funding in these 12 countries. (For details, see “How We Conducted This Study.”) Since the U.S. does not have a national funding strategy, we also focused on individual state approaches. International and U.S. state approaches may provide insights to policymakers seeking to advance comprehensive long-term care funding.
Topic:
Health, Health Care Policy, Inequality, and Social Services
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. A quarter century of ‘The Proper Scope of Government’: Theory and Applications

Author:
Oliver Hart
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Abstract:
A quarter-century ago in a seminal paper, Hart, Shleifer, and Vishny (NBER1996, QJE1997) developed a theory of the ‘Proper Scope of Government.’ Oliver Hart, 2016 Nobel Laureate, reflects on that framework and its place in economics, as well as the inspiration for his more recent work on norms, guiding principles, and contracts as reference points. In discussion with Karen Eggleston, Hart answers questions posed by economists who have built upon Hart, Shleifer and Vishny (1997) and offers insights on how the theory applies to understanding public and private roles in healthcare, education, and other publicly-financed services.
Topic:
Education, Privatization, Political Theory, Governance, Health Care Policy, Social Services, and Public Service
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Most Important Utilitarian Values. Social Security Approach

Author:
Paweł Gromek and Tadeusz Keson
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
2030 Agenda constitutes a comprehensive framework for sustainable development. Nevertheless, not all sustainable development goals properly match the most important utilitarian values (human life and health). It is especially noticeable in terms of disasters and crises, which commonly determine social security. The research objective is to indicate the placement of the values in the particular goals. The systematic literature review indicates 47 information sources. That enables an in-depth analysis of the goals and social security specification elements, highlighting the direct or indirect character of relevant relations. The gaps can be identified considering the social character of the goals, characteristic hazards, danger to human life, and health and urgency of the response. In most cases, the relations between the goals and the values are indirect. They can be improved with a potentially positive influence on sustainable development in all circumstances (including the most dangerous ones). The goals specification states many references for the improvement in a synergistic way respecting the most important utilitarian values, especially in zero hunger, good health and well-being, sustainable cities and communities, climate action, partnership for the goals.
Topic:
Development, United Nations, Social Security, Social Services, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. The Burden of COVID-19: Urgent Need for Social Safety Nets

Author:
Jose M. L. Montesclaros and Mely Caballero-Anthony
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
The lockdown policies to fight COVID-19 have caused massive economic disruptions, seriously affecting poorer income groups that live on a hand-to-mouth existence. Policies to keep countries safe from pandemics must come with clear and timely social safety net programmes to protect these vulnerable groups.
Topic:
Income Inequality, Social Services, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. Social Protection as a Tool to Address Slow Onset Climate Events: Emerging Issues for Research and Policy

Author:
Mariya Aleksandrova
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
This discussion paper aims to further awareness of opportunities to address loss and damage caused by climate change-related slow onset events (SOEs) through social protection. The analysis is based on a review of interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical literature. The findings suggest that designing comprehensive, climate-responsive social protection strategies can strongly support proactive measures to avoid, minimise and address the complex, long-term impacts of SOEs on human health, livelihoods, poverty and inequality. This entails improving the effectiveness and extending the coverage of existing social protection systems; mainstreaming climate concerns, including risks associated with SOEs, into national social protection frameworks; integrating social protection with broader climate and development policies and strategies; and developing innovative and transformational approaches to social protection. To this end, several issues for research and policy are discussed. Overall, the paper attempts to set the groundwork for an advanced research and policy agenda on social protection and climate change as well as emphasise the need for wider consideration of social protection in global climate change debates. In addition, the study aims to inform the future work of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts in the working areas of SOEs and comprehensive risk management approaches.
Topic:
Climate Change, Health, Poverty, Inequality, and Social Services
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Are Survivor Pensions Still Needed?

Author:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
This policy brief summarises the findings assembled in OECD (2018) “Are survivor pensions still needed?”, Pensions Outlook, Chapter 7. It describes survivor pension schemes in OECD countries: expenditures on survivor pensions the number of recipients and the average level of benefits, details about eligibility rules and benefit determination across countries
Topic:
Governance, Social Services, Economic Development, Pension, and Public Spending
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. Universal Basic Income as a Tool of Empowerment for Minorities

Author:
Sonja Wolf and Craig Willis
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Minority empowerment is a relatively new approach on research and policy-making in the field of minority studies. At its core lies the ideal to remove the marginalisation of minorities by providing room for them to take agency on their own behalf. One policy that has been identified as having the potential to rapidly affect marginalised communities is the implementation of a Universal Basic Income; a monthly amount paid equally to all residents of an area without any means-testing or conditions. This working paper explores how these two fields of research can connect and identifies the key areas of everyday life that could be affected. This includes focus on employment, education, relationships and family life, community work, and government intrusion and social stigma; core elements for any individual and society, including minority communities. The analysis section finds that UBI has the potential to alter all of these aspects, but only if it is used to increase the existing standard of welfare and government services and not as an opportunity to reduce government spending by cutting the vital existing programmes.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Minorities, Income Inequality, Universal Basic Income, Welfare, and Social Services
Political Geography:
Global Focus

8. The Decline of Drudgery and the Paradox of Hard Work

Author:
Brendan Epstein and Miles S. Kimball
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
We develop a theory that focuses on the general equilibrium and long-run macroeconomic consequences of trends in job utility. Given secular increases in job utility, work hours per capita can remain approximately constant over time even if the income effect of higher wages on labor supply exceeds the substitution effect. In addition, secular improvements in job utility can be substantial relative to welfare gains from ordinary technological progress. These two implications are connected by an equation flowing from optimal hours choices: improvements in job utility that have a significant effect on labor supply tend to have large welfare effects.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Economic Theory, Welfare, Social Services, and Wage Growth
Political Geography:
Global Focus

9. Taxation, Match Quality and Social Welfare

Author:
Brendan Epstein and Ryan Nunn
Publication Date:
04-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
A large public finance literature argues that taxable income elasticities are a sufficient statistic for the social welfare consequences of taxation. We develop calibrations that show such deadweight loss calculations are overestimates proportional to the quantitative significance of heterogeneity in amenities across job matches. In particular, the endogenous supply of amenities can substantially exacerbate this overestimation in both static and dynamic environments. Given the possibility of gradual migration of workers into more amenity-focused job matches in response to tax increases, welfare calculations based on long-run taxable income elasticities can be more misleading than those based on short-run elasticities.
Topic:
Governance, Tax Systems, Fiscal Policy, Welfare, and Social Services
Political Geography:
Global Focus

10. Integration of Immigrants in OECD Countries Do Policies Matter?

Author:
Orsetta Causa and Sébastien Jean
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
This working paper assesses the ease of immigrants' integration in OECD labour markets by estimating how an immigration background influences the probability of being active or employed and the expected hourly earnings, for given individual characteristics. Applying the same methodology to comparable data across twelve OECD countries, immigrants are shown to significantly lag behind natives in terms of employment and/or wages. The differences narrow as years since settlement elapse, especially as regards wages, reflecting progressive assimilation. Strong differences in immigrant-to-native gaps are also observed across countries, and the paper shows that they may, to a significant extent, be explained by differences in labour market policies, in particular unemployment benefits, the tax wedge and the minimum wage. In addition, immigrants are shown to be overrepresented among outsiders in the labour market and, as such, highly sensitive to the difference in employment protection legislation between temporary and permanent contracts.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, Immigration, Employment, and Social Services
Political Geography:
Global Focus