175,240 research outputs found
From hospital contributory schemes to health cash plans: mutualism in health care in the post-war period.
No full textThe article traces the post-war history of the British hospital contributory schemes, which had developed during the inter-war years to the point where, through the accumulation of small weekly contributions from a mass membership, they provided substantial proportions of hospital income. A minority of contributory schemes remained in existence post-1948, but their subsequent development has received little attention. Some evolved into provident associations offering private health insurance; others remained committed to the provision of low-cost benefits to a blue-collar clientele, and continued to be known as hospital contributory schemes. This article outlines the principal features of the contributory schemes' contemporary history. We first explore why many schemes decided to continue in existence. The next section uses national and individual scheme records to delineate the market niche which they captured and to investigate their role in post-war health provision, relative to the state system. In particular we trace the decline of convalescent home benefit, and the gradual trend towards a more uniform benefit package, of which optical and dental grants were the most popular. We then survey patterns of membership and account for the main trends in support for cash plan products since 1950. Finally, we ask to what extent the schemes were able to retain their character as a ‘movement’ with distinctive mutualist and charitable features, particularly in the more competitive environment of the later twentieth century
Placing social capital
No full textThis paper reviews the contribution that the concept of social capital might make to geography, and the contribution geography might make to the analysis of social capital. We begin by summarizing the conceptual origins and dimensions of social capital, in the process of which we distinguish it from several other social properties (human and cultural capital; social networks). We then summarize key criticisms of the concept, especially those levelled at the work of Robert Putnam. The core of the paper is a discussion of the issue of whether there might be a geography of social capital. We consider links between geographical debates and the concept of social capital, and we assess the difficulties of deriving spatially disaggregated measures of social capital. We illustrate this discussion with reference to literature on three sets of issues: the question of 'institutional tissue' and its effects on regional development; the understanding of health inequalities; and the analysis of comparative government performance. In conclusion, we argue that the popularity of the concept reflects a combination of academic and political developments, notably the search for ostensibly 'costless' policies of redistribution on the part of centrist governments. We therefore conclude with a discussion of the practical applications of the concept in different contexts
Taking Control of Your Health: Review of Neoliberal Health Organizing: Communication, Meaning, and Politics by Mohan J. Dutta
No full textA review of Neoliberal Health Organizing: Communication, Meaning, and Politics by Mohan J. Dutta (Left Coast Press, 2015
[Report to Chief J. E. Curry, by an unknown author #1]
No full textReport to Chief J. E. Curry, by an unknown author. The report contains a list of officers who gave depositions to the United States Attorney
[Report to Chief J. E. Curry, by an unknown author #2]
No full textReport to Chief J. E. Curry, by an unknown author. The report contains a list of officers who gave depositions to the United States Attorney
Emerging contours of financial regulation: challenges and dynamics.
No full textThe current ongoing financial crisis is attributed to a variety of factors such as the developments in the subprime mortgage sector, excessive leverage, lax financial regulation and supervision, and global macroeconomic imbalances. At a fundamental level, however, the crisis also reflects the effects of long periods of excessively loose monetary policy in the major advanced economies during the early part of this decade. The theory and belief of efficient and rational markets have been severely discredited by the current crisis. There is, therefore, a growing agreement for much strengthened, and perhaps, intrusive regulation and supervision in the financial sector. Hitherto unregulated institutions, markets and instruments will now have to be brought under the regulatory framework. A more developed macroprudential approach will be important. Once the current financial crisis is beyond us, minimum regulatory capital requirements would need to be signifi cantly above existing Basel rules, with emphasis on Tier I capital, and supported by a maximum gross leverage ratio. Liquidity regulation and supervision must be recognised as of equal importance to capital regulation, reinforced by an effective global liquidity framework for managing liquidity in large, cross-border fi nancial institutions. The issue of remuneration in the fi nancial sector would require reforms on an industry-wide basis so that improved risk management and compensation practices by some systemically important firms are not undermined by the unsound practices of others. Whereas the suggested reform principles are being increasingly well accepted, many challenges will arise on their modes of implementation, and their practicality. For instance, once normalcy returns, the fi nancial industry will do its utmost to resist the requirements for higher capital at that time. From the point of view of emerging market economies (EMEs), the volatility in capital flows – mainly the outcome of extant monetary policy regimes in developed countries – has led to severe problems in both macro management and financial regulation. This will remain a challenge since there is little international discussion on this issue. Finally, as the global economy starts recovery, a calibrated exit from the prevalent unprecedented accommodative monetary policy will have to be ensured to avoid the recurrence of the financial crisis being experienced now.
Geographies of welfare and social exclusion
No full textIn this series of reports I shall focus on the nature of social exclusion and polarization. Given my background and expertise, much of what I do will be focused on anglophone, western societies. This review will attempt to distinguish between social polarization, segregation and exclusion. In the process it will make reference to contemporary debates about class, the concept of an underclass and the different explanatory frameworks advanced for social polarization. Future reports will emphasize the multifaceted nature of exclusion and polarization, consequences for the character of public space and policy responses in terms of welfare provision
Milburn, Powell and Hayek: for and against planning in the NHS
No full textThis paper contrasts the views of two prominent politicians on the ways in which the distribution of hospital services should be organised, and relates them to the views of Hayek on the nature of planning. It is argued that, in relying on an independent regulator to supervise access to health care under the new 'foundation' hospitals regime in the English National Health Service (NHS), not only is the Labour government distancing itself clearly from old-style top-down planning, it also risks greater variability in the definition of fair access to health care. There are relevant historical parallels with the mixed economy of the pre-NHS era that policy-makers should make explicit
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