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This thesis is a comparative analysis of the impact of local government reorganisation on the overview and scrutiny functions across four unitary local authorities in England. The creation of new unitary authorities in England in 2009 gave an opportunity to compare how they have maintained and developed effective overview and scrutiny functions previously undertaken by the former district and county councils. Investigating how this was achieved allowed reflection upon New Labour’s aims and objectives within the overall local government modernisation agenda and the wider discourse on local government, new localism and democracy. This research contributes to the knowledge previously established on overview and scrutiny by harnessing original empirical data from the unitary authorities. At the time there were no in-depth studies of how the transition to unitary status has affected and challenged patterns of overview and scrutiny developed in local authorities after 2000. The research for the thesis included a critical examination of the existing literature on local government and the overview and scrutiny function, was undertaken partly as a participant observer within the overview and scrutiny team of one of the case study authorities and through semi-structured interviews of council members and officers. The research found the case study authorities have developed overview and scrutiny functions that: adhere to accepted good practice; reflect the culture of their authorities; is understood and valued by council members and officers; acknowledges the influence of party politics; is dependent upon dedicated officer support and finance and are playing a significant role in meeting New Labour’s aims of transparent, accountable and efficient local government. However it is unclear as to whether they are contributing to ‘new localism’ given their unsuccessful engagement of the general public and communities. The research has also augmented the typologies of effective overview and scrutiny advocated in the existing literature.

Most European countries now have independent children’s rights institutions, but there has been little attempt to systematically evaluate their impact. This study attempts to fill this gap by exploring the kinds of impact institutions make, and how this could be evaluated. Critical realism, case study and appreciative inquiry were the approaches to the research questions. The research had two phases: a survey of all members of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) to get a broad picture of how they understood their impact; and to recruit participants for phase 2; and case studies in two institutions. 67% of ENOC members responded to the survey, which was designed to shed light on the context in which IHRICs are working, mechanisms and their outcomes. It showed that contextual factors helping members are their staff, mandate and independence, frameworks and networks, especially NGOs. Impact was sought in terms of full implementation of the UNCRC, influencing law and policy, and raising awareness of children’s rights. As a result, the main focus of the case studies was on evaluating the organisations’ impact on law and policy, and how this was informed by children’s perspectives. The second phase of the research involved talking to staff of the two institutions and a range of stakeholders, and reviewing relevant documents. This revealed that key contextual factors were: powers and remits, staff, political independence and background of the Ombudsman and Commissioner. Participants mainly pointed to the greater visibility and priority of children’s issues in policy-making, greater participation, and raised awareness of children’s rights as impacts of the two institutions. The research showed that the impact of children’s rights institutions can be substantial but variable, that evaluation has to be highly contextual, and that generalised indicators have limited value. It produced a template for contextual evaluation, to help ICRIs and IHRICs show the evidence of their impact and reflect on what works well for them. The study also suggested that institutions can act as interlocutors between children and the State by empowering both to engage in more effective dialogue, and so enable children to have real impact on policy.

Rapid ageing of populations globally following reductions in fertility and mortality rates has become one of the most significant demographic features in recent decades. As a low- and middle-income country, Ghana has one of the largest and fastest growing older populations in sub-Saharan Africa, where ageing often occurs ahead of socioeconomic development and provision of health and social care services. Older persons in these contexts often face greater health challenges and various life circumstances including role loss, retirement, irregular incomes and widowhood, which can increase their demand for both formal and informal support. This thesis addresses the effects of the socio-political structure, informal social support and micro-level factors on health and health-seeking behaviour among community-dwelling older persons in Ghana. The theoretical perspectives draw on political economy of ageing, social convoy theory and Andersen5s behavioural model. Using multi-stage stratified cluster cross-sectional survey data of older cohorts (N= 1,200) aged 50 years and older, multivariate generalised Poisson and logit regression models estimated the associations among variables and interaction terms. Although Ghana’s national health insurance scheme (NHIS) enrollment was significantly associated with increased log count of healthcare use (β = 0.237), the relationship was largely a function of health status. Moreover, the NHIS was related with improved time from onset of illness to healthcare use (β = 1.347). However, even with NHIS enrollment, the intermediate (OR = 1.468) and richer groups (OR = 2.149) had higher odds of seeking healthcare compared with the poor. In addition, features of meaningful informal social support including contacts with family and friends, social participation and remittances significantly improved psychological wellbeing and health services utilisation. Somewhat counter-intuitively, spousal cohabitation was associated with decreased health services use (OR = 0.999). Whilst self-rated health revealed a strong positive association with functional status of older persons (fair SRH: β = 1.346; poor SRH: β = 2.422), the relationship differed by gender and also was moderated by marital status for women but not men. The employed and urban residents somewhat surprisingly had lower odds of formal healthcare use. The findings support the hypotheses that interactive impacts of aspects of structural and functional social support and removal of catastrophic healthcare costs are particularly important in older persons’ psychological health and health service utilisation. Nevertheless, Ghana’s NHIS currently apparently lacks the capacity to improve equitable attendance at health facility between poor and non-poor. In contributing to the public health and social policy discourse, this study proposes that, whilst policies to ensure improved health status of older people are recommended, multidimensional social support and NHIS policy should be properly resourced and strengthened so they may act as critical tools for improving health and health services utilization of this marginalized and vulnerable older people in Ghana. Moreover, policies targeting and addressing economic empowerment including universal social pensions and welfare payments should be initiated and maintained to complement the NHIS for older people. The achievement of age-relevant policies and Universal Health Coverage (UCH) as advocated by WHO could be enhanced by adopting some of these suggestions.

This dissertation examines the politics of local social policy making following Brazil's re-democratization. Decentralization in Brazil granted municipalities responsibility to design and tailor social policies to meet local demands. Yet instead of developing their own programs many governments chose to adopt those made famous elsewhere. What accounts for the diffusion of innovations across Brazil? This dissertation tests three approaches for understanding policy makers' emulation decisions: political incentives, ideology, and socialized norms. Each of these three motivations reflects a different paradigmatic response to the question, what drives political behavior? A conventional political incentives approach follows a rational choice framework that incorporates neoclassical behavioral assumptions and posits people will behave strategically to further their own self-interest. The classic assumption in this vein is that politicians will seek to win re-election. On the other hand, scholars who adopt an ideational approach examine the way people make choices because of their ideological convictions. Rather than seek their own political self-interest, actors can make decisions in spite of themselves or others because of deeply held beliefs about what is right and how to enact social change. Lastly, a sociological approach examines how individuals conform to shared norms and seek legitimacy in the eyes of their colleagues. To test these motivational approaches I examine the diffusion of Bolsa Escola, an education program, and Programa Saúde da Família, a family health program. Evidence for my argument is based on statistical event history analysis and qualitative case study research from four exemplary cities. The electoral incentives approach offers a surprisingly weak explanation for the diffusion of innovative social policies. Rather, diffusion occurs when elected executives feel ideologically compelled to replicate programs and when policy professionals engaged in relevant networks seek to demonstrate their adherence to professional norms. Both ideology and social networks can work together in mutually reinforcing ways to promote diffusion. / text

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Drawing upon insights of dominant ‘mainstream’ welfare state theories and models, and those of their feminist critiques, this study examines two pairs of similar welfare states, Sweden and Norway (two ‘social democratic’, Nordic welfare states), and Germany and France (two ‘conservative’, continental welfare states). The focus is on two central social policy domains; family policy and labour market policy. The study determines the characterizations of each welfare regime type and level of woman-friendliness. Sweden and Norway both welfare states fit in Esping-Andersen’s initial social democratic welfare state regime type. However, with the inclusion of gender as an analytic variable the classification as a social democratic nation is somewhat problematic. With levels of woman-friendliness considerably higher in Sweden compared to Norway. Germany remains true to its original classification as an ideal conservative welfare state with low levels of woman-friendliness. Yet, France can be said to be moderately conservative and moderately woman-friendly.

Drawing upon insights of dominant ‘mainstream’ welfare state theories and models, and those of their feminist critiques, this study examines two pairs of similar welfare states, Sweden and Norway (two ‘social democratic’, Nordic welfare states), and Germany and France (two ‘conservative’, continental welfare states). The focus is on two central social policy domains; family policy and labour market policy. The study determines the characterizations of each welfare regime type and level of woman-friendliness. Sweden and Norway both welfare states fit in Esping-Andersen’s initial social democratic welfare state regime type. However, with the inclusion of gender as an analytic variable the classification as a social democratic nation is somewhat problematic. With levels of woman-friendliness considerably higher in Sweden compared to Norway. Germany remains true to its original classification as an ideal conservative welfare state with low levels of woman-friendliness. Yet, France can be said to be moderately conservative and moderately woman-friendly.

This thesis draws on Esping-Andersen’s welfare regimes typology while incorporating new theoretical insights that extend its application to intra-provincial social policy analyses in Canada. We examine the jurisdictions of Québec, Alberta, and Manitoba across the domain of housing policy and attempt to ‘locate’ each province within the typology and account for the provincial variations observed. Québec was expected to approximate a ‘social-democratic’ model and Alberta was expected to approximate an ‘ultra-liberal’ approach. The expected ‘location’ of Manitoba was less certain but the longstanding social democratic provincial government (NDP) suggested that its approach might be closer to that in Quebec. Housing policy measures were selected on the basis of their capacity to support the process of de-commodification and evaluated on their eligibility criteria and the level of benefits provided. Housing policy measures in Québec, Alberta, and Manitoba generally ‘fit’ within their expected ‘locations’. However, some unexpected and contradictory findings in the areas of eligibility criteria and the level of benefit provided were also found.