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Previous research generally concludes that early participants in the Social Security system received a very good "deal"—better than later participants received, and much better than future participants are likely to get. However, researchers do not know the values of those deals and their distribution across individuals and groups largely because the necessary data have not been available. The study here uses the Social Security Administration's 1988 Continuous Work History Sample (CWHS) to calculate early participants' real internal rates of return to contributions. The study analyzes sex, race, household type, income, and birth cohorts and employs new Census Bureau mortality projects to forecast more accurately how life expectancies and benefit streams vary by race as well as by sex and birth cohort. Results contribute to an understanding of how the Social Security system redistributes income. All sample groups received high real rates of return. However, the returns varied widely by household type, income level, birth cohort, and other factors. The authors calculate that persons born from 1895 to 1922 received a total transfer of £3.5 trillion, of which £1.3 trillion remained to be paid as of 1988.

This article aims to clarify the latent structure of support for redistribution. To this end, the author analyzed data from the National Survey of Social Stratification and Social Mobility in 2015 (SSM 2015), which was conducted in Japan, using finite mixtures of regression models. The results revealed that the population could be categorized into two latent groups: one that determines preferences for social policies based on self-interest and another that does so based on ideology. Surprisingly, the results also showed that, compared to those who supported redistribution of wealth based on ideology, those who supported them based on self-interest were more likely to hold inconsistent preferences (e.g., simultaneous support for redistribution of wealth and free-market competition). This observation implies that, even when individuals want to determine their policy preferences rationally, they often do not have enough information to correctly assess the influence of each social policy on their self-interest.

Federal statistics are integral to the adequate evaluation of public policy planning and performance in the United States. The Obama administration has determined that empirical science, including statistics, will be at the foundation of the president's policy agenda. However, to be useful, federal statistics must be reliable, relevant, timely, and unbiased, and the departments that produce them must be adequately funded. In this age of austerity, policies must be scrutinized for their efficiency, reach, and effectiveness. Furthermore, each department within the federal government must embrace the need for increased utilization of technology and innovation. This article lays out the need for increased utilization of statistical research of public policy; moreover, this utilization is exemplified by highlighting several FY 2010 budgetary decisions made in the policy areas of health and education. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright The American Academy of Political and Social Science.]

ABSTRACTThe realization that policy and law are tightly intertwined dates at least to de Tocqueville's observation that, in the United States, political questions often become judicial questions. Scholars have shown consistently that courts, both federal and state, play a role in public policy decision making. This is observed in social policy (e.g., same-sex marriage and abortion), environmental policy (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency regulations), economic policy (e.g., New Deal Era decisions), and more. Too often, however, graduate programs in public policy fail to prepare students for the role of the courts in the policy process. This study examines the requirements and core competencies from Masters of Public Policy programs to determine to what extent, if any, judicial policy making is taught. We find that there is a significant gap between the theory about the role of courts in the public policy process and what public policy programs teach their students. We conclude with recommendations for possible changes to curricula to close this gap.

Colloque organisé par le CES-Matisse / Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne les 11, 12 et 13 septembre 2006 à l'INHA ; This paper discuss the theories of crisis of the Social State. It examines the transformations of the norms of social control on production and distribution of income in France since thirty years. It show that Social State is no more the framework of french institutions. As consequence, the « rigidities of Social State » cannot be seen as the reasons of inefficiency of french economy. Perverse effects of neo-liberal policies must be pointed to explain such a bad performances. ; Cette contribution discute les théories de la crise de l'Etat social. Par un examen des transformations des normes de contrôle social de la production et la répartition des revenus en France au cours des trente dernières années, elle soutient que nous sommes déjà sortis de l'Etat social. L'inefficacité du modèle actuel n'est dès lors pas attribuable aux « rigidités » de l'Etat social, mais aux effets pervers des politiques néo-libérales dont l'impact sur les formes de contrôle de l'investissement et de la répartition des revenus est d'ores et déjà avéré.

Colloque organisé par le CES-Matisse / Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne les 11, 12 et 13 septembre 2006 à l'INHA ; This paper discuss the theories of crisis of the Social State. It examines the transformations of the norms of social control on production and distribution of income in France since thirty years. It show that Social State is no more the framework of french institutions. As consequence, the « rigidities of Social State » cannot be seen as the reasons of inefficiency of french economy. Perverse effects of neo-liberal policies must be pointed to explain such a bad performances. ; Cette contribution discute les théories de la crise de l'Etat social. Par un examen des transformations des normes de contrôle social de la production et la répartition des revenus en France au cours des trente dernières années, elle soutient que nous sommes déjà sortis de l'Etat social. L'inefficacité du modèle actuel n'est dès lors pas attribuable aux « rigidités » de l'Etat social, mais aux effets pervers des politiques néo-libérales dont l'impact sur les formes de contrôle de l'investissement et de la répartition des revenus est d'ores et déjà avéré.

Objective. The objective of this article is to examine whether public expenditure on higher education has an effect on income inequality by increasing enrollment.Methods. Combining data from the World Bank Development Indicators with data from the World Income Inequality Database version 2, we study the relation between government education expenditure and enrollment rates, as well as the relation between government education expenditure and the change in income inequality during the 1980s and the 1990s.Results. We find that public expenditure on higher education has no positive effect on enrollment. Increased enrollment is mainly explained by higher GDP per capita. Using carefully selected Gini coefficients to ensure comparability over time, we do not find a robust relation between higher education expenditure and lower income inequality, contrary to some previous studies.Conclusions. Government expenditure on higher education has very limited effects on enrollment and inequality. This finding, however, does not imply that there are no social benefits from such subsidies. For example, in countries where high marginal tax rates decrease the economic returns to education, governments may wish to compensate for this through subsidies.

Business organization and the British economy in the 1920s -- Government policy and the rationalization of industry in the 1920s -- The Labour government and the rationalization of industry, 1929-31 -- The national government and industry, 1931-9 -- The reorganization of coal -- The reorganization of steel -- The reorganization of cotton -- The reorganization of shipbuilding -- Conclusions