Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Economics, June 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Studies indicate that fraud is a growing issue in Sweden, outpacing law enforcement’s efforts to maintain it. There is limited research concerning welfare fraud, the aspects of prevention, and what processes have worked in Sweden. The prevention strategies need to progress towards this development considering that welfare fraud is a crime which affects every person in the welfare state. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate and analyse the prevention strategies against welfare fraud in Sweden through semi-structured interviews with six officials from the County Government of Kalmar and Skåne. The administration process was also investigated with the expectation to identify possible ways to develop preventive strategies. The Situational Action Theory was used as a tool to discuss and describe possible ways to prevent welfare fraud. The result showed that the tendency to report welfare fraud among officials is low. There is also a lack of cooperation between different governmental organisations and significant differences in the control work that varies between being thorough and absent. Although the county governments have started to examine the issue of welfare fraud, the results implicate that the issue is not as heavily prioritized as it needs to be. Future research is crucial. The controls and prevention strategies against welfare fraud within the County Governments needs to be developed further.

This study seeks to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of the process for providing government social grants to people with disabilities in the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Amathole District Municipality in order to determine the need for any improvement measures. Taylor’s scientific management theory and the Total Quality Management (TQM) concept were used to interpret efficiency in the functional activities of the officials working in the Disability Grant Unit in Amathole District. The study also sought to answer the question of whether exit programmes existed that were designed to assist the beneficiaries to support them and cater for their needs related to their disabilities. The study followed a qualitative method. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and the sample of this study consisted of ten participants who are working at Grant Administration. These participants included one General Manager; one District Manager; one SASSA doctor; one Head of Grants Administration in the district and six officials who are at lower levels of the hierarchy at Amathole District Municipality in East London service office. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the interviews. The findings of this study revealed that the majority of the respondents experienced challenges such as lack of assessment doctors, turn around-time, corruption, poor consultation, lack of managerial commitment and doctors regarding the assessment of applications. In this regards, the study made a set of recommendations on the measures and strategies that could improve efficiency in the provision of this service.