Social Investment and State Capacity. CEPS Working Document No. 419/February 2016

This paper looks at the difference between the levels and nature of social policy expenditure in northern and northwest European countries and the countries of southern, central, and eastern Europe, and examines the relationship between social investment and state capacity in these country groupings. The authors show that southern and eastern countries have a much greater preference for ‘compensating’ rather than ‘capacitating’ social policy spending. Furthermore, the state capacity in these countries is lower, which generates less state revenue. Based on these observations they conclude that low state capacity and low state revenue go hand in hand with the preference for capacitating social policies, as these policies involve less delegation and discretion than social investment policies. This paper shows that high state capacity is probably a necessary precondition for effective social investment policies, although some limited alternative paths do exist.

Privacy architectures in social networks’ state-of-the-art survey

The use of social networking has exploded, with millions of people using various web- and mobile-based services around the world. This increase in social networking use has led to user anxiety related to privacy and the unauthorised exposure of personal information. Large-scale sharing in virtual spaces means that researchers, designers and developers now need to re-consider the issues and challenges of maintaining privacy when using social networking services. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the current state-of-the-art privacy in social networks for both desktop and mobile uses and devices from various architectural vantage points. The survey will assist researchers and analysts in academia and industry to move towards mitigating many of the privacy issues in social networks.

The battle over deficits : the struggle to maintain Canada's social welfare state : a thesis /

Abstract This thesis seeks to answer a number of questions concerning the deficit and debt in Canada. It focuses pri.arily on the federal level of government but with SOBe discussion of provincial governaent policy as well. In ~997, Canada's federal debt caae close ro six hundred billion dollars - $594 billion or 74.4 % of Gross Do.estic Product (GDP) to be exact. The purpose of this theses is threefold: To find out why Canada accu.ulated such a debt, to discover if there is a so-called debt crisis; and to discover if it is possible to preserve Canada's national welfare state given the financial restraints that have been adopted by both federal and provincial governments. Politicians are torn between economist' two contrasting views regarding deficits: Neo-Keynesian and neo-conservative. The neoKeynesian school focuses al1llOst exclusively on the short term stability of the economy and tends to dismiss concerns regarding the level of debt. Neo conservatives focus almost exclusively on the perceived costs of growth in the national debt and are willing to forego any stabilization benefits to ensure that the debt is controlled. These polar view do have one thing in coa.on; both confix-. that deficits influence govermaent policies. Both of these econoBic theories will have far-reaching influences on the federal gover1lJlJent's decision-making process. These economic theories will be discussed throughout this thesis.

Transitional labour markets : a social investment and risk mitigation strategy for social policy

Drawing on transitional labor market (TLM) theory, this introductory chapter highlights major themes, overviews the contributions to this volume and suggests a future agenda for policy makers. The focus of applied research projects has been the impact of post-modem social transformations on systems of social protection, looking through the lens of the labor market and shifts in household and family structure. The Transitional Labor Market project uses the TLM model as a means of developing new thinking on how flexibility and innovation might be paired with social investment and new forms of social protection. TLM theory emphasizes the importance of institutions and of the links between different institutions which frequently operate as policy silos, rather than integrated systems to buffer risks and support capability and enhance employability. The great advantage of the TLM model is that it draws attention to the right places for strategic reform. It does not offer a standard set of institutions to facilitate transitions however.

Social investment funds in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Guía metodológica general para la preparación y evaluación de proyectos de inversión social = General methodological manual for the preparation and evaluation of social investment projects

Incluye Bibliografía

Social investment in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras

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