Governance, forced migration and welfare

This paper explores the welfare of forced migrants (i.e. refugees, asylum-seekers, those with humanitarian leave to remain, and “failed asylum-seekers/overstayers”) at three linked levels. First, it considers the governance of forced migrants at a supranational (in this case European Union) level. Second, particularly, but not exclusively in the context of the UK, it considers the extent to which the welfare rights of forced migrants in EU member states have been subject to a process of “hollowing out” or “dispersal”. Third, utilizing data from a recently completed qualitative research project, the paper outlines the complex local systems of governance that exist in relation to the housing and social security rights of forced migrants in the UK. The consequences of these networks are highlighted

O Programa de Ajustamento Estrutural na República da Guiné-Bissau: Uma avaliação política e Ética

Os guineenses assumiram o desenvolvimento como uma das metas a atingir e a estabilização e o ajustamento foi-lhes imposta como solução para os problemas estruturais existentes. No entanto, a forma como têm vindo a ser concebidos pelo Banco Mundial e pelo Fundo Monetário Internacional, direccionada sobretudo para a área económica, acabou por limitar o papel dos Programas de Ajustamento Estrutural (PAE) tidos como indutores do desenvolvimento, tornando-os num agregado de premissas austeras, com resultados não esperados. As propostas do FMI e do BM, tendendo para a liberalização económica e estímulo dos mercados em detrimento da intervenção estatal, traduzem-se em medidas de redução de taxas de utilização dos serviços públicos, supressão de subsídios, redimensionamento da administração pública, cortes, congelamentos salariais e privatizações. Os resultados destas reformas foram catastróficos, porquanto não só não melhoraram o défice orçamental, como os efeitos negativos das restrições orçamentais sobre o bem-estar, geraram um ambiente de promiscuidade social e o agravamento do sector informal como estratégia de sobrevivência Tendo em conta o objecto em estudo, isto é, a relação de forças que encontrámos entre o relacionamento entre os actores políticos guineenses e as Instituições Financeiras Internacionais, notámos que a ausência de comportamentos éticos também influiu nos resultados. Por um lado, o BM e o FMI, perante um Estado fragilizado, apresentaram condicionalismos à obtenção de empréstimos e ajudas, por outro lado, os actores guineenses, mesmo perante este dilema, não se coibiram do exercício da corrupção, do clientelismo e do neo-patrimonialismo, como estratégia para o enriquecimento fácil.Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empres

Household perspectives on risk and homeownership across the EU (draft version)

Workshop 3. Session A. Abstract. Home ownership sectors in most European countries have experienced a strong growth in recent decades and by the mid-1990s the majority of EU households were home owners. Whilst a great deal of attention has been paid to the rise in home ownership per se, the extent to which households in different European countries strategise about the positive and negative risks of home ownership, particularly in relation to other risks in their lives, has not been researched. Contemporary debate suggests that society is a riskier one than in earlier times and home owners face a number of risks associated with changes in labour markets and national social security systems. This paper draws on interviews with households across eight European member states and examines households\u92 perceptions of the security and insecurity aspects of home ownership and their responses to perceived risks. The assumption underlying this paper is that while home owners may all face insecurity to a greater or lesser degree, their perceptions of, and responses to, risk will be determined to some extent by the institutional context of each country

The impact of social and cultural difference in relation to job loss and financial planning: Reflections on the risk society

This paper is based on data collected as part of a research study which looks at how different social and cultural groups frame, and respond to, the risk of income and/or job loss. Writers like LASH, DOUGLAS and LUPTON have placed an emphasis on the importance of group membership and social categories in structuring response to different types of risk preferring to talk about "risk cultures" rather than "risk society". However, the writers acknowledge that there is little empirical research which explores this. As the first stage of our research, focus groups in two parts of the UK explored the relationship between risk and social difference with an emphasis on the risk of job or income loss. The groups were comprised of lesbian, gay and bisexual people; people from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds; Disabled people; and, people who actively practice a religion. Participants did not see strong links between their sexuality, race, or religion and their perceptions of, or responses to, risk. Income, and attitudinal factors were cited as being more important. Disabled people however were much more likely to make connections between being disabled and a range of barriers to responding to risky situations

Meeting the challenge: developing systematic reviewing in social policy

This article uses the experience of reviewing the evidence on the financial support available for defaulting home owners to consider the opportunities and challenges systematic review methods present to social policy. It addresses concerns about examining the strength of given evidence, and perceptions of it being a purely technical method to review existing research. It argues that there is merit in utilising the method to provide research users with transparent summaries of the most robust evidence with minimum bias. The article outlines the challenges presented and suggests that social policy researchers have a valuable contribution to make to the developing methods

Home owners' perceptions of and responses to risk

Home ownership sectors in most European countries have experienced growth in recent decades and by the mid-1990s the majority of EU15 households were home owners. While a great deal of attention has been paid to the rise in home ownership per se, the extent to which households in different EU member states strategize about the positive and negative risks of home ownership, particularly in relation to other risks in their lives, has not been researched. Contemporary debate suggests that society is a riskier one than in earlier times and home owners face a number of risks associated with changes in labour markets and national social security systems. This paper draws on interviews with households across eight European member states and examines households' perceptions of the security and insecurity aspects of home ownership and their responses to perceived risk. The analysis suggests that respondents' views are shaped by a wide range of factors, including at least to some extent the institutional context. Overall, however, respondents tended not to perceive negative risks and demonstrated a strong belief in the security aspects of home ownership