Welfare Reform on the Web (March 2003): Social Care - Overseas

NON PROFIT ORGANISATIONS AS CONTRACTED LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS IN EASTERN EUROPE AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

R J Struyk

Public Administration and Development, vol. 22, 2002, p.429-437

Finds that local governments in Croatia and central European transition states are the only ones contracting out social services to non profit organisations (NPOs). Reluctance in other countries to contract out social services may be due to:

• the inexperience of the NPOs;
• weak legal systems;
• lack of support in local government for new public management;
•  resistance among in-house providers to facing competition.

WAGES OF VIRTUE: THE RELATIVE PAY OF CARE WORK

P England, M Budig and N Folbre

Social Problems, vol. 49, 2002, p.455-473

Paper examines the relative pay of occupations involving care, such as teaching, counselling, providing health services or looking after children. Paper provides evidence based on panel data from the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth showing that people working in these occupations face a relative wage penalty. This means that people involved in care work receive, on average, lower hourly pay than would be expected based on their qualifications and the skill demands of the jobs.