The purpose of this thesis is to analyze current housing and supplemental income programs on a national level to measure success and failures of different programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Housing Vouchers. Furthermore, this thesis attempt to discuss questions of ethics and precedent in determining to what degree the United States should engage in social safety net policies. This paper analyzes contemporary American social safety net policies on the basis of their cost to American taxpayers as well as how well it benefits those in poverty.

Yes

Trends towards ‘informalization’ are looming large in the world today. African cities have long been characterised by the presence of an ‘informal sector’ but are now experiencing new waves of ‘informalization’. Policies of liberalisation and structural adjustment are both changing the conditions under which urban dwellers make a living and encouraging states to abdicate from responsibilities for popular welfare. In this context, urbanites increasingly rely on informal ways of income earning and of social security provisioning. This book is about processes of ‘informalization’ in the West African city of Bissau in Guinea-Bissau. It begins with a historical account of the way conditions of informality have evolved through the encounter of locally specific forms of informal relations with colonialism and the socialist era. This is followed by an analysis of how disadvantaged groups who rely on informal ways of provisioning are faring in the context of contemporary changes. The study looks at both the informal income-generating activities and the social networks that urbanites engage in to sustain their income activities and their consumption. It seeks to assess whether these groups are coping with these wider changes or are becoming marginalised from networks of assistance and from activities that provide sufficient incomes. The social relations pervading access to support and livelihood resources as well as the informal rules governing such access are in focus. Forms of regulation in the informal sphere are also discussed. / <p>This thesis won the prize of “Best doctoral thesis in the Social Sciences at Stockholm University in 2001-2002”. Författaren är numera verksam vid Nordiska Afrikainstitutet</p>

Este trabalho busca revisitar as teorias existentes sobre reformas econômicas e democratização, em especial no que concerne às reformas financeiras liberalizantes. De acordo com o saber convencional, normalmente essas reformas afetam de modo negativo as democracias, colocando em perigo a construção de boas instituições para a sua consolidação. Ao analisar de forma mais detida a relação entre as reformas financeiras levadas a cabo pelo Banco Central do Brasil, a partir de uma conjuntura crítica ocorrida no início de 1999, e a padronização de instituições para o incremento da Supervisão Bancária, oriunda do BIS ? Banco para Compensações Internacionais, resolvemos questionar a validade universal dessa literatura ao argumentar que a construção de redes de proteção para o sistema financeiro brasileiro, num contexto de crise e oportunidades, foi possibilitado por uma maior cooperação entre esse organismo financeiro internacional e a autoridade monetária local. A contrapartida para o reforço de autoridade do Banco Central e a conseqüente implementação de instituições para a reforma financeira, no Brasil, foi um aumento da transparência das ações da autoridade monetária, concomitante a uma melhoria em seu processo de prestação de contas e responsabilização pública. A reconstrução das trajetórias que levaram a essa convergência entre um organismo internacional e uma autoridade local, numa democracia emergente de mercado, parece ser a chave para o entendimento das peculiaridades que redundaram nas falhas dos modelos unificadores de institucionalização, como aqueles preconizados pelo Consenso de Washington e adotados por outras organizações financeiras, por exemplo, o Fundo Monetário Internacional (FMI) / This thesis aims to review the well-established theories of economic reforms and democratization. The object will focus especially on the so called \"liberal financial reforms\". According to conventional wisdom, these reforms normally affect democracies deeply and jeopardize the building of sound institutions towards their consolidation. We decided to debate the universal validity of this conventional literature using the argument that the institutional building of safety nets for the Brazilian financial system - in a context of crisis and opportunities - was possible as a result of the cooperative game between an international financial organization (BIS) and the local monetary authority (BACEN). We will do that by analyzing the relation between these financial reforms led by Brazilian Central Bank more accurately, arising from a critical juncture occurred at the beginning of 1999, and the standardization of institutions for the improvement of banking supervision originated from BIS -Bank for International Settlements. The counterbalance to the reinforcement of central bank authority and the consequent implementation of institutions for the financial reform in Brazil was the increased monetary authority acts transparency and the simultaneous improvement of its mechanisms of political accountability. The study of path sequence that led to the convergence of the intentions of an international organization and a local political authority, in a emerging market democracy, seems to be the key to the comprehension of the peculiarities that resulted in the failure of the remedies that recommended a \"single model\" for the success of these reforms in new democracies, like the ones prescribed by the Washington Consensus, which were adopted by several organizations, including the International Monetary Fund - IMF

The challenge in most developing countries is lack of funding in education. This leaves no option for most learners except to drop out of school. Even when safety nets are provided for by governments, this does not fully address the issues of access, equity and retention in secondary education. Education for All, as pronounced in the Dakar Declaration (2000) calls on governments to address access, retention and equity in basic education, overlooking the provision of secondary education. Many policies were adopted by governments in post-colonial rule in Africa and Asia to address the colonial disparities in education. This had a tendency of drowning the budgets in educational matters, notwithstanding the issues of fully addressing access, equity and retention in secondary education. In the developing world, the bulk of the population lives in rural areas where infrastructure for teaching and learning still has to catch up with the urban setting. In view of the global economic meltdown in the 1980s, 1990s and mid-2008, education has seen a squeeze on its budget. It is in this context that funding for secondary education has to be analysed in order to establish policies and programmes which are most suitable and sustainable to enable access, equity and retention of learners in secondary education. Models of funding in various countries are carefully examined in this study, in order to draw on the best practices in funding secondary education as applicable to the Zimbabwean case, and possibly to other countries in a similar situation. The research was carried out in three administrative districts of the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. Using a mixed methods approach, this study examines the safety nets for the provision of secondary school education in Zimbabwe and proposes better ways to finance secondary school education. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Este trabalho busca revisitar as teorias existentes sobre reformas econômicas e democratização, em especial no que concerne às reformas financeiras liberalizantes. De acordo com o saber convencional, normalmente essas reformas afetam de modo negativo as democracias, colocando em perigo a construção de boas instituições para a sua consolidação. Ao analisar de forma mais detida a relação entre as reformas financeiras levadas a cabo pelo Banco Central do Brasil, a partir de uma conjuntura crítica ocorrida no início de 1999, e a padronização de instituições para o incremento da Supervisão Bancária, oriunda do BIS ? Banco para Compensações Internacionais, resolvemos questionar a validade universal dessa literatura ao argumentar que a construção de redes de proteção para o sistema financeiro brasileiro, num contexto de crise e oportunidades, foi possibilitado por uma maior cooperação entre esse organismo financeiro internacional e a autoridade monetária local. A contrapartida para o reforço de autoridade do Banco Central e a conseqüente implementação de instituições para a reforma financeira, no Brasil, foi um aumento da transparência das ações da autoridade monetária, concomitante a uma melhoria em seu processo de prestação de contas e responsabilização pública. A reconstrução das trajetórias que levaram a essa convergência entre um organismo internacional e uma autoridade local, numa democracia emergente de mercado, parece ser a chave para o entendimento das peculiaridades que redundaram nas falhas dos modelos unificadores de institucionalização, como aqueles preconizados pelo Consenso de Washington e adotados por outras organizações financeiras, por exemplo, o Fundo Monetário Internacional (FMI) / This thesis aims to review the well-established theories of economic reforms and democratization. The object will focus especially on the so called \"liberal financial reforms\". According to conventional wisdom, these reforms normally affect democracies deeply and jeopardize the building of sound institutions towards their consolidation. We decided to debate the universal validity of this conventional literature using the argument that the institutional building of safety nets for the Brazilian financial system - in a context of crisis and opportunities - was possible as a result of the cooperative game between an international financial organization (BIS) and the local monetary authority (BACEN). We will do that by analyzing the relation between these financial reforms led by Brazilian Central Bank more accurately, arising from a critical juncture occurred at the beginning of 1999, and the standardization of institutions for the improvement of banking supervision originated from BIS -Bank for International Settlements. The counterbalance to the reinforcement of central bank authority and the consequent implementation of institutions for the financial reform in Brazil was the increased monetary authority acts transparency and the simultaneous improvement of its mechanisms of political accountability. The study of path sequence that led to the convergence of the intentions of an international organization and a local political authority, in a emerging market democracy, seems to be the key to the comprehension of the peculiarities that resulted in the failure of the remedies that recommended a \"single model\" for the success of these reforms in new democracies, like the ones prescribed by the Washington Consensus, which were adopted by several organizations, including the International Monetary Fund - IMF

Between 45-57% of South Africans are estimated to be engulfed by poverty. In an attempt to identify policy instruments that could help change this status quo, the various strategies that have been implemented in countries (e.g. China, Vietnam and Uganda) that are known to have been relatively successful in reducing poverty are reviewed. In the process, this dissertation discusses the literature regarding poverty, with a particular emphasis on the definition, measurement and determinants thereof. Furthermore, South Africa's anti-poverty strategies are discussed. It turns out that these have met limited success. This is largely due to insufficient pro-poor economic growth, weak implementation/administration at the municipal level, slow asset redistribution, high income/wealth inequality, low job generation rate by SMME's, high HIV/AIDS infection rate, public corruption and inadequate monitoring of poverty. Therefore, if meaningful progress towards poverty reduction is to be achieved, the government needs to deal with the foregoing constraints accordingly. / Economics / M.Comm. (Economics)

A distressing consequence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and of the increasing numbers of orphans and decreasing numbers of caregivers is the emergence in ever larger numbers of child-headed households (CHHs). The complexity of issues affecting CHHs and the lack of research on this subject means that CHHs are not well understood. This sometimes prompts support agencies to provide emotionally driven recommendations suggesting that it is better for a child to be in an orphanage than to live in a CHH. This exploratory study, involving heads of 105 CHHs over a 12 month period and 142 participants in various focus group discussions (FGD) and interviews, suggests the need for a change in perspective. It addresses the question of CHH quality of life, coping strategies and household functioning and attempts to bring this into a productive dialogue with community child care activities, NGO and statutory support and child care and protection policies. Research data suggests that the key determining factor contributing towards the creation of a CHH is `pre-parental illness' family conflict. Another contributing factor is that siblings want to stay together after parental death. Quality of life assessments indicate that despite significant adversities, over 69% of CHHs reported a 'medium' to 'satisfactory' quality of life and demonstrate high levels of resilience. As regards vulnerability to abuse, it is found that while CHH members are more vulnerable to external abuse, they experience little within their household. Contrary to public perceptions about CHHs lacking moral values, CHH behaviour might actually be more responsible than non-CHH peer behaviour as their negative experiences appear to galvanize them into adopting responsible behaviour. Community care and neighbourhood support in older townships are better established compared with newer suburbs. Sufficient community care capacity enables CHHs to function, thus avoiding a situation where households disintegrate and household members end up as street children. CHH coping responses seem to be mainly influenced by individual and community factors, and by social, spiritual and material support. The interplay between these and the CHH's ability to engage in the required coping task impacts on the coping outcome at household level. National and international government and non-governmental child service providers in Southern Africa need to recognize that an adequately supported CHH is an acceptable alternative care arrangement for certain children in communities with high adult AIDS mortality and where adult HIV-prevalence exceeds 10%. / Development Studies / D. Ltt. et Phil. (Development Studies)

Between 45-57% of South Africans are estimated to be engulfed by poverty. In an attempt to identify policy instruments that could help change this status quo, the various strategies that have been implemented in countries (e.g. China, Vietnam and Uganda) that are known to have been relatively successful in reducing poverty are reviewed. In the process, this dissertation discusses the literature regarding poverty, with a particular emphasis on the definition, measurement and determinants thereof. Furthermore, South Africa's anti-poverty strategies are discussed. It turns out that these have met limited success. This is largely due to insufficient pro-poor economic growth, weak implementation/administration at the municipal level, slow asset redistribution, high income/wealth inequality, low job generation rate by SMME's, high HIV/AIDS infection rate, public corruption and inadequate monitoring of poverty. Therefore, if meaningful progress towards poverty reduction is to be achieved, the government needs to deal with the foregoing constraints accordingly. / Economics / M.Comm. (Economics)

A distressing consequence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and of the increasing numbers of orphans and decreasing numbers of caregivers is the emergence in ever larger numbers of child-headed households (CHHs). The complexity of issues affecting CHHs and the lack of research on this subject means that CHHs are not well understood. This sometimes prompts support agencies to provide emotionally driven recommendations suggesting that it is better for a child to be in an orphanage than to live in a CHH. This exploratory study, involving heads of 105 CHHs over a 12 month period and 142 participants in various focus group discussions (FGD) and interviews, suggests the need for a change in perspective. It addresses the question of CHH quality of life, coping strategies and household functioning and attempts to bring this into a productive dialogue with community child care activities, NGO and statutory support and child care and protection policies. Research data suggests that the key determining factor contributing towards the creation of a CHH is `pre-parental illness' family conflict. Another contributing factor is that siblings want to stay together after parental death. Quality of life assessments indicate that despite significant adversities, over 69% of CHHs reported a 'medium' to 'satisfactory' quality of life and demonstrate high levels of resilience. As regards vulnerability to abuse, it is found that while CHH members are more vulnerable to external abuse, they experience little within their household. Contrary to public perceptions about CHHs lacking moral values, CHH behaviour might actually be more responsible than non-CHH peer behaviour as their negative experiences appear to galvanize them into adopting responsible behaviour. Community care and neighbourhood support in older townships are better established compared with newer suburbs. Sufficient community care capacity enables CHHs to function, thus avoiding a situation where households disintegrate and household members end up as street children. CHH coping responses seem to be mainly influenced by individual and community factors, and by social, spiritual and material support. The interplay between these and the CHH's ability to engage in the required coping task impacts on the coping outcome at household level. National and international government and non-governmental child service providers in Southern Africa need to recognize that an adequately supported CHH is an acceptable alternative care arrangement for certain children in communities with high adult AIDS mortality and where adult HIV-prevalence exceeds 10%. / Development Studies / D. Ltt. et Phil. (Development Studies)