Week 11 - Social, Welfare and Family Policy Flashcards
International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights – ICESCR (1966)? List the rights advocated in it?
Rights to social security, paid parental leave, adequate standard of living, paid holidays, equal pay for equal work, rights to healthcare.
Free universal primary education, generally available secondary education and equally accessible higher
education.
Describe the chronology of International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights – ICESCR?
Adopted in 1966; came into force in 1976
Kazakhstan signed in 2003; ratified in 2006
Describe art. 9 of ICESCR?
“The States Parties to the present Covenant
recognize the right of everyone to social security,
including social insurance.”
Describe art. 11 of ICESCR?
“The States Parties to the present Covenant
recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.”
Welfare system. List ILO Conventions?
Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention (1952)
Convention on Domestic Workers (2011)
International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of
Their Families (1990)
Maternity Protection Convention (2000) (14 weeks minimum of maternity leave)
What are some dilemmas in International Law and Human Rights?
Law versus Morality (subjective judgment)
‘Universalism’ vs. ‘Cultural Relativism’
Different views on human rights in societies
with different social/cultural/political contexts
Describe in simple terms the following terms:
- “Universalism”
- Cultural Relativism”
- Western cultural imperialism”
- “Universalism” = human rights same everywhere
- “Cultural Relativism” = some rights depend on
cultural context
3.(Western) cultural imperialism = practice of promoting and imposing a culture, usually that of a politically powerful nation, over a less powerful society; in other words, the cultural hegemony of industrialized or politically and economically influential countries which determine general cultural values and standardize civilizations throughout the world.
What is Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of himself
and of his family, including food, clothing, housing
and medical care and necessary social services, and
the right to security in the event of unemployment,
sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other
lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his
control.”
What are the components of the Welfare systems?
Social insurance Public Services Unemployment Minimum wage Maternity leave Paid vacations
Welfare states: models.
Describe characteristics of Esping-Andersen model?
- Liberal (targets low-income people, limited benefits)
- Conservative regimes (focus on family-based assistance dynamics)
- Socio-democratic (promote equality of high standards, not just minimal needs)
Welfare states: models.
Describe characteristics of British model (Beveridge): (UK, New Zealand, Australia)?
- Pro-market model
- Social assistance as ‘last chance’
- Less costly
- Focus on working population, less on retired people
Welfare states: models.
Describe characteristics of Continental European model: (France, Germany)?
- Job protectionism
- Increases labor cost (expensive to hire/hard to fire)
Welfare states: models.
Describe characteristics of Nordic model: (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark)?
- Egalitarianism/social cohesion as basic principle
- Equal access to services
- Solidarity and inclusion
- Might be hard to emulate in less wealthy countries
Welfare states: models.
Describe characteristics of US model?
- Historically small and limited
- Significantly expanded in 20th century
- Social Security
- Food stamps (Nutrition Assistance Program)
($1,245/month or lower per person) - Medicare (elderly)/MedicAid (low income)
- Tax returns
- Also: small annual leave/paternal leave
Describe the characteristics of Gender politics and general situation post-1991 in post-Soviet countries?
Quota systems for women in public sector;
KG and UZ: 30%;
TJ: Govt agencies must have 1 female deputy head;
KZ and TM: no quotas, but prominent appointments;
“Gender equality laws” – KZ, KG, and TJ;
Quota systems;
Prohibition of gender-specific job ads;
Protection of personal data/marital status;
Concentration in education / medicine; Less representation in “hard power”, police/military; Criticisms of quota system; Remote rural areas: preference for sons; Bride kidnapping.
Poverty: Problem of Measuring
According to the World Bank, what are the measures for Absolute and moderate Poverty? What is the criticism of the WB approach?
$1.90/day (PPP) – ‘Extreme poverty’
(since 2015, raised from $1.25)
Global: 700+ million people (10%)
$3.10/day (PPP) – ‘Moderate poverty’
Global: 2.1 billion people (28%)
Criticisms: focused on cash, too simplistic
Poverty: Problem of Measuring
What is Relative Poverty (RP)? What are te measures of RP in EU and US?
Relative Poverty: The proportion of the population living below nationally determined poverty lines. Relative Poverty can also be considered as income Inequality in a specific country.
EU: Below 60% of median household income (17% of population, about 80 million people)
US: Below $12,060/year per person or $24,600/year for a family of 4 (13% of population, about 43 million people)
Poverty: Problem of Measuring
Decribe Inequality indicators, vertical?
Describe Inequality indicators, horizontal?
Inequality indicators, vertical: The Gini coefficient of income inequality
Inequality indicators, horizontal: The income or expenditure gap between rural and urban areas
Where feasible, the income or expenditure gap among regions or among major ethnic groupings
Describe Poverty implications for demography, education, healthcare?
Increased costs of raising children – declining birth rates;
Many are excluded from education/healthcare - generation will grow with less access to these services than their parents;
Decline in human capital
Increase in crime
What are the elements of the Soviet legacy in terms of Welfare / Poverty?
Significant disproportions between regions of USSR. Central Asia poorest part of USSR
Egalitarian communist ideology. No deep social stratification in Soviet society (except nomenklatura). Feeling of ‘state-dependency’
What are Post-1991 developments in terms of Welfare / Poverty?
Soviet equality-based model disappeared
(Very) slow emergence of middle class
Deep stratification and social contrasts
Rural vs urban poverty
Poverty implications for demography, education, healthcare
Post-1991 developments:
Describe the characteristics of the emergence of middle class?
Slow emergence of middle class
Concentration of wealth in the very thin group
Privatization
Deep social contrasts
KZ and KG: about 20-35%
Different terms/levels in different countries
Post-1991 developments:
Describe the characteristics of Rural vs Urban Poverty?
Capitals/big cities were better off
Soviet agricultural sector employed a lot of people – new system offers less jobs
‘Mono-cities’: built around one dominant factory or industry
What is Kazakhstan’s official statistics on poverty? Namely:
“Survival minimum” = ?
Poverty line is (?) % of the “survival minimum” = ?
Men: ?, women: ?
Official data: (?) % of population
Rural – (?) %, urban – (?)%
World Bank statistics: (?)% of population
“Survival minimum” = 28,620 KZT/month (~$75)
Poverty line is 50% of the “survival minimum” = 14,142 KZT/month (~$30)
Men: 33,600 KZT, women: 26,656 KZT/month
Official data: 2.6% of population (~0.5 million)
Rural – 4.4%, urban – 1.3%
World Bank statistics: ~20% of population (3.6 million)
What are the characteristics of Kazakhstan’s policies on poverty?
Targeted help programs:
2002 – State targeted help payments(registered unemployed, income below the poverty line)
2006 – monthly allowances for children up to 18 years
2018 – new format, which would integrate existing ones into one payment and (unemployment, children and targeted help)
KZ: what is the approx. number of state programs on state welfare, and what their target groups and areas?
More than 40 programs of state welfare in KZ
Orphans
Unemployed
Medical diseases (socially important)
Maternity benefits
Mothers with 4+ children (8,824 tenge)
Housing – families with children without own housing
What are Criticisms of Kazakhstan’s policies on poverty?
Official poverty levels is rather low;
Debatable terms are used “self-employed”
(seasonal works, or unemployed)
Many programs, but little effect:
Payments = 6,396 tenge per family member, 2018: increase by 2,500 tenge per family member
What were characteristics of Post-1991 Economic Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia?
Soviet legacy:
• One-party states with Communist ideology
• No (or little) private ownership
• Centrally-planned, command economies
• Emphasis on heavy industry as growth engine
• Administratively fixed prices do not reflect the real
costs and hide subsidies
• Competition and market mechanisms neglected
•
• No danger in running loss and no advantage in
making a profit.
• Chronic shortage (‘deficite’)
From Planning to Market
describe country specific models:
China – …?
C.I.S. countries – ?
Central Europe – ?
Models:
China – gradual transformation under tight political
control
C.I.S. countries – economic liberalization, but weak
institutions
Central Europe – rapid privatization, foreign
investments (EU factor)
what are elements of Rapid liberalization?
Radical economic reforms Large scale privatization Price liberalization End of state subsidies End (or decrease) of import tariffs
what are the Social consequences of the transition from planning to market?
Collapse of heavy industries
Fall of agricultural output
Inflation and increase of prices
Loss of saving system in the USSR
From Planning to Market
Post-1991 developments?
Soviet equality-based model disappeared Decline of social protection offered by the state (pensions, benefits, school meals) No state-enterprise offered apartments, kindergartens, discounted vacations Household utilities: electricity, water shifted to user-pay system Savings gone
From Planning to Market
Describe European models?
Central Europe: Poland, Czech republic, Hungary
- West European social welfare system
- High taxes, larger social benefits
- Overregulated labor market
- “Social welfare trap”?
Post-1991 developments
Describe 3 models maintained in some CIS countries: Baltics, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
- Smaller state welfare system
- Lower taxes
- Less labor market regulations
Post-1991 developments
Which countries are CIS nonreformers?
CIS “nonreformers” (Belarus, Uzbekistan)
- Preserved Soviet social model
- Expensive but less efficient
Economic Reforms
1st stage – 1992-1995
- define and describe ch
characteristics?
Basic foundations of market economy
Tenge launch Massive privatization (15,000 enterprises) IMF/World Bank advisory Liberalization of prices Fighting with inflation
Economic Reforms
2nd stage – Mid-1990s – early 2000s
- define and describe ch
characteristics?
Technocratic governments, big reforms
Budgeting and tax systems
Pension system
Banking sector (expansion to CIS countries)
Stock exchange
Economic Reforms
3rd stage – 2000-2015
define and describe ch
characteristics?
High oil & gas prices
Reemergence of State as an economic actor
Expansion of state and quasi-state sector
National companies
Samruk Qazyna holding
Growth of state expenditures
Post-1991 developments
What are Aslund’s implications ?
Income inequality appears to rise with authoritarian rule
In USSR there were large subsidies, but workers paid for these with their artificially low wages
Radical economic reforms helped reduce infant mortality/improve healthcare
Describe Economic Reforms in CIS?
Gradual, “step by step” approach; no shock therapy Many social welfare benefits preserved State monopolies preserved Cotton industry Import substitution and protectionism
Limited currency exchange (‘official’ and ‘black
market’ rates as a result)
Demographic pressure – many people find seasonal
jobs abroad and send remittances
High taxation (many seek illegal schemes as a result)
Overregulated banking system
