“Sent to Coventry?”

This paper reports on an employment training project undertaken in Coventry with partial funding from the European Social Fund. It involved community organisations, the community education section of the local authority and the university. The approach to training was developed in tandem with community capacity building aims. The partnership achieved a measure of trust, mutual accountability and open decision-making. The two-year project employed a part-time researcher whose role embraced active participation in project processes. There are lessons to be drawn for urban regeneration, whether strengthening local economies, attacking social exclusion or capacity building for people and their communities.     

The Contribution of Childcare to Local Employment: Poor Work or Work for the Poor?

In recent years local economic development and regeneration agencies have begun to examine how locally based childcare can contribute to economic and social regeneration. This paper is based on current research by the authors and reports on the expectations and current realities of community based childcare as part of an economic regeneration strategy. It suggests that whilst the incorporation of childcare into urban regeneration strategy holds the potential to reduce the barriers to labour market involvement by mothers in low income households, less positive effects are also identifiable. Early evaluation is used to show that the commodification of care within urban regeneration policies reinforces care work as low paid, insecure gendered employment. It concludes by arguing that a more critical evaluation of both the economic and social impact of childcare on area regeneration is necessary.     

From Coal Mines to Culture - Utilising Economic Regeneration to Maximise Economic Inclusion

Gateshead Council has, in the last 10 years, perfected a mechanism for ensuring that social economic inclusion is at the core of capital regeneration schemes. The development of Gateshead Quays has led to the introduction of a targeted training and recruitment programme that has been refined and adapted to suit the needs of employers and represent the opening up of employment opportunities for local unwaged and unemployed people. This programme has been utilised to create real jobs for local people.     

地方政府利益、地方政府行为与经济增长

目前,对中国地方政府的经济行为的研究强调了在经济转型过程中地方政府在多样化的地方经济发展模式中的主导作用,注意到了地方政府目标的多重性,本地区社会福利最大化,政府利益最大化以及中央政府的满意程度等。对地方政府在公共产品的提供、就业、收入分配、实现社会公平等方面行为不到位方面的研究是从定性方法来论证。本文试图在定性分析基础上建立一些基本的数学模型为将来的计量研究提供一个模型框架。     

“Community” economic development in Knowsley, Merseyside. Rhetoric versus reality

The European Union's long-term goal for regional policy is economic and social cohesion. In Merseyside the Union has been engaged in a range of policies, through Objective 1 status, to stimulate regional economic development. In view of the current government's concern to promote capacity building and community economic development, an interesting aspect of Objective 1 is Pathways to Integration, a policy that seeks to tackle the problems of high unemployment and social exclusion across Merseyside through community economic development and capacity building. This paper contrasts the rhetoric of the Pathways literature with the reality of its local delivery in the Knowsley Borough of Merseyside. It argues that the reality of Pathways, particularly in relation to community involvement, does not match the rhetoric and the local delivery has been problematic, and that this experience has important lessons for local economic development strategies that include a large element of capacity building.     

Dealed out? Welfare to Work and Social Exclusion

"Social exclusion" has increasingly replaced the term "underclass" in social policy debates. Regardless of changes in terminology many of the assumptions that informed the underclass debate remain. These focus on the role of cultural values in transmitting dependent modes of behaviour that have a corrosive impact on the work ethic of the poor. This article begins by exploring the government's current conceptualisation of "social exclusion" as exclusion from paid employment and how this has shaped the appropriate policy response. Following from this, the article will present ethnographic research that examines the responses of a sample of residents on a South London estate to the economic insecurities that they face. These insecurities are intensified by an increasingly coercive welfare system that emphasises "supply side" measures as a panacea for social exclusion. As previous field studies have indicated, many have developed alternative solutions to economic marginality (MacDonald, 1994). At a situational level these may appear more attractive than the more formal routes currently offered. While broadly supportive of the promotion of education and training policies, many felt that these objectives are frequently compromised by more immediate concerns which are located in the respondent's perceptions of social exclusion. From this perspective, such notions may differ markedly from the rather limited version of "social exclusion" that is currently guiding the direction of welfare reform, suggesting the need for a broader definition of social exclusion that encompasses the standards and lifestyles of the surrounding community (Townsend, 1979).     

Inward Investment and Economic Regeneration: Listening to Workers in Rhondda-Cynon-Taff

The paper presents the results of a two-year research study conducted in the Rhondda-Cynon-Taff local authority area of South Wales. The research focused on assessing the effect of the inward-investment strategy on local economic regeneration and local people's reaction to the policy. The paper reports survey questionnaire results and the interview responses of local employees. A summary of the recent employment history of the area is followed by a discussion of policies introduced to tackle unemployment. Local people express cynicism about foreign companies, suggesting that the grants they receive are more important to them than genuine commitment to the regeneration of the local economy. The feeling was expressed that the balance of funding priorities works against local entrepreneurs, while the concentration on 'foreign saviours' also undermines their confidence. The paper concludes by recommending several new approaches to tackling unemployment in RCT: focusing on Tower Colliery as a 'local champion'; emphasizing 'associative entrepreneurship' that prioritizes the needs of the community rather than the success of the individual; and introducing a Citizens' Income scheme to tackle the problem of economic inactivity.     

Gender exclusion in social security protection: evidence from Korea

This study provides an evaluation of the impact of Korea's stratified labour market on the gaps in wages and social security coverage using the raw data from the supplementary surveys conducted by the Korean National Statistics Office. The study confirms the existence of a labour market stratified by employment type/gender/unionised or non‐unionised/firm size. The labour market structure is not only reflected in the distribution of wages but also in the social security coverage. The empirical result suggests that gender and employment type are the key variables determining the likelihood of social security exclusion. With the other conditions controlled, the female worker has a 65 per cent likelihood of exclusion, and the non‐standard worker has a 40.9 per cent likelihood. For female non‐standard workers, the situation is worse. Their likelihood of exclusion from social security soars to 80.1 per cent. The empirical results with respect to other fringe benefits not mandated by law exhibit the same pattern of social security exclusion. The empirical results emphasise the limitations of gender policy intended to rectify gender discrimination or exclusion alone and suggest a matrix policy that takes into consideration the complex labour market structure.     

Socio-economic Decline and Adaptation: South Yorkshire's Former Coalfields

Two decades after the year-long miners' strike of 1984/5, this paper presents a contemporary account of the social and economic situation faced by ex-miners in South Yorkshire, uncovering those factors that continue to inhibit new employment and adaptation following the contraction of the coal industry. Forty-one in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with men who had worked in the region's coal mining industry for varying periods of time. The interviews were designed to examine many of the problems that have emerged following deindustrialisation and assess appraisals of retraining provision and prospects for employment. Findings increase understanding of issues endemic to many former pit villages including continuing high levels of localised unemployment and disproportionately high numbers of incapacity benefit claimants. A greater understanding of the reluctance of individuals to adapt, retrain and seek new, alternative employment will lead to more successful methods of dealing with the problems associated with continuing economic inactivity in the region's former coalfield communities and has many important consequences for existing regeneration programmes and employment initiatives.     

非农就业提高农村居民幸福感了吗？

农村劳动力非农转移已经成为常态,对农村居民的福利水平产生了深远影响。文章基于体验效用假设,构建了工农要素流动下农村居民的幸福函数,并基于2018年中国家庭追踪调查(CFPS)农村调研数据,实证分析了非农就业影响农村居民幸福感的效应、机制与情境。结果表明:非农就业在总体上促进了农村居民幸福感提升,但却存在一定的"伊斯特林悖论"关系,即短期非农就业能够显著促进幸福增长,但长期非农就业对幸福增长的促进作用是有限的,甚至出现停滞或反向抑制状态;其内在机制主要在于非农就业过程中农村居民的需求层次逐渐由生存需要转向尊重和自我实现需要,但长期非农就业并不能显著提升外出务工农村居民的社会地位感知;非农就业对农村居民幸福感的促进效应,在本地非农就业和跨省流动的就业情境下更为显著,在女性群体、高中层次受教育程度群体中相对更高,且伴随农村居民的年龄增长呈现边际递减规律。基于此,文章提出创造本地就业市场、关注非农劳动力的就业需求变化、加强非农就业劳动力职业技能培训等针对性政策启示。     

Putting the social into urban regeneration policy

Urban regeneration is a policy area which has been dominated by property development and economic forces, and is therefore relatively ignored as an element of social policy. Social regeneration, meaning the improved and appropriate delivery of welfare services in poor neighbourhoods and the empowerment of local communities in regeneration processes, has never been a prominent feature. Social regeneration came briefly onto the policy agenda in the late 1960s and early 1970s but largely withered away in the welfare crisis and the Thatcherite decade. In recent years a revived movement for social regeneration has emerged, which is having some impact on policy. This article reviews the emergence of this movement and the changing policy contexts, arguing that practical and conceptual tools may now have been developed to support successful social regeneration.     

From Cause To Effect? A new agenda for urban regeneration in Scotland

Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs) are the most recent urban regeneration initiative in Scotland. This measure builds on the experience of previous initiatives, in particular the Urban Partnerships in peripheral public sector housing estates and the Priority Partnership Areas (PPA) initiative. However, SIPs would appear to present an advance on previous policy initiatives in that they aim to focus on the causes of urban decline rather than simply the symptoms of social, economic and physical distress. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether this is sufficient to address the complex processes associated with urban concentrations of social exclusion.     

女大学生就业难社会排斥视角分析

随着新就业政策的实施和大学扩招后大学生的陆续毕业,女大学生就业难问题已成为一个不争的事实。女大学生就业难问题是由多种原因造成的,在社会资本和社会性别理论的基础上,从社会排斥的视角对女大学生就业难问题进行深入分析,有助于探讨女大学生就业难的深层次原因。     

Making the link. Childcare, employment and area regeneration

Urban regeneration practitioners continue to search for ways to target a larger share of local employment opportunities towards residents in regeneration areas. This paper explores the potential contribution that childcare projects can make in this area. By evaluating the impacts of an innovative childcare project in the East End of Glasgow, the paper shows that the employment situation of many of the users has been improved and that some owe their foothold in the labour market to the service provided. It concludes that childcare merits more attention as a targeting measure and an element in area regeneration strategies.     

失地农民就业问题的经济学思考

随着我国经济的快速发展,在项目建设中政府征用了大量的土地,由于农村的社会保障体系不完善,农民失去了惟一的保障途径——土地,导致大量失地农民转化为城市贫民。而且随着城市化建设力度的加大,土地征用仍然不可避免,失地农民队伍将越来越大,失地农民的生活和出路问题也会越来越多。所以失地农民就业问题已经成为政府及经济学界亟待研究的重点课题。本文针对我国失地农民就业问题进行了经济学分析。     

Employment Effectiveness of China＇s Economic Stimulus Package

Using an input--output method, this paper simulates the impacts of the global financial crisis and the decline of exports on China＇s economy and employment. With shrinking external demand, boosting domestic demand becomes crucial for maintaining economic growth and promoting employment. Our simulated results indicate that an investment scenario with employment as a priority can achieve the objective of employment maximization without significantly reducing growth. Public investment should focus on employment, education, health, housing and social security to rebalance China＇s economy so that it can realize sustained and stable economic growth.     

Employment quality index for the South African labour market

ABSTRACT

While the South African government specifically set targets on job creation in its numerous economic strategies since the economic transition, various local studies examined the levels and trends in labour force, employment and unemployment to evaluate if these targets were met. However, the quality of employment has not been thoroughly examined. This is the first local study that fills the existing research gap by deriving a composite, multidimensional employment quality index by taking 18 indicators from seven dimensions into consideration: wage, work hours and flexibility, employment security, income security, social benefits, skills and participation. Using the 2010–16 Quarterly Labour Force Survey data, the empirical findings indicated that highly educated, white male workers aged at least 35 years, who lived in urban areas of the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces, and were involved in high skilled occupations in the formal, public sector enjoyed significantly better employment quality.     

新疆城乡居民收入与公共服务均等化分析

城乡居民收入问题既是一个经济问题,又是一个社会问题,它反映了一个国家和地区的综合经济实力及社会和谐稳定的程度。新疆地处边疆,城乡居民收入差距不断拉大带来了一系列问题,究其原因,公共服务非均等化是其重要因素。本文分析了新疆城乡在社会保障、城乡就业、教育科技、公共卫生、基础设施等公共服务方面存在的差距,提出了推进新疆公共服务均等化将有助于我们解决发展面临的突出矛盾、有助于我们明晰差距,增强责任感,进而找到路径,通过推进公共服务均等化,提高新疆城乡居民收入。     

地方高等教育事业发展对苏州经济发展的贡献

本地人才培养的战略研究在当前人才工作的转型阶段尤为重要,区域高等教育事业的发展在地方人才培养中起着关键的作用,本地的高等教育在地方经济中的作用正越来越明显起来。文章从地方高等教育的文化价值、教育的经济意义、老百姓的教育支出统计,就业与社会问题等方面分别论述     

Women “manufacture” economic spaces in Bethlehem

Education is an important factor in women's economic development. For Palestinian women, who may be denied access to wage labor because of societal conceptions of gender roles, education has added importance, since it increases women's ability to challenge these roles. This paper looks at differences in education and employment patterns between two groups of Palestinian women, refugees and nonrefugees, in the Bethlehem area, with the conclusion that while refugee women have made considerable gains in their education and employment options, nonrefugee women have lagged behind, and as a result have become relatively less economically powerful. A combination of social, economic and institutional factors have led to current education and employment patterns.