Social Sector Reform

This paper examines developments in aggregate income and the labor market of the 28 countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (CEE-FSU) in the period from 1990 to 2006. Income, employment, unemployment and labor market support services are examined in tabulations and time series regressions. Comparisons are made with developments in major countries from other regions of the world.

This report presents an actuarial framework for examining the costs of unemployment compensation (UC) programs. The framework, derived in Section 1, emphasizes three factors: (1) the unemployment rate, (2) the recipiency rate (the share of the unemployed who collect UC benefits) and (3) the replacement rate (weekly benefits relative to weekly wages). Sections 2 and 3 examine replacement rates in 20 high income countries from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Section 2 examines empirical replacement rates while Section 3 compares the empirical estimates from Section 2 with estimates published by the OECD. The two estimates differ substantially, and analysis of the cause(s) of the differences is recommended.

Charles Cadwell, a University of Maryland expert on the political economy of reform in developing nations, the relationship of institutions to economic development, and the implementation of legal and judicial reforms, has joined the Urban Institute as the director of its International Activities Center.

This brief provides an overview of the report, The International Charitable Nonprofit Subsector in the United States. It provides a snapshot of the international subsector through an analysis of trends in their size, resources, and scope from FY 2001 to FY 2003 in three major areas of operation: international development and assistance, international understanding, and international affairs. The brief confirms the central role of private support and financing for foreign aid and provides a window into the financial health of these organizations. It also gives an overview of the geographic concentrations and the depth of U.S. international nonprofit activities and enumerates the importance of small organizations.

A new report from the Urban Institute shows that despite widespread public concern in recent years about the plight of people in foreign lands, 40 percent of U.S.-based international nonprofits ran deficits in 2003.

The conference examines Social Security reforms in a number of OECD countries that have moved far ahead of the United States in dealing with the budget pressures associated with the aging of their populations.

This practical text provides analytic tools and real world examples to equip both students and professionals with the skills they need to develop —and implement —effective public policies. Focusing on transition economies, Morse and Struyk concentrate on the day to day tasks involved in tackling social and economic policy issues. They thoroughly cover the practicalities of activities such as allocating resources, balancing political and technical factors, introducing competition into the public sector, weighing costs and benefits, monitoring and evaluating programs, and even presenting policy recommendations, as well as the specifics of the actual decisionmaking process. Exercises and case studies allow readers to apply lessons learned to real situations. Published by Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Annette Brown, a senior manager in the Emerging Markets division of BearingPoint, Inc., has been appointed director of the Urban Institute's International Activities Center. Brown will oversee IAC's overseas-focused work on issues of public administration and local governance, municipal and intergovernmental finance, urban development and the environment, housing and land markets, civil society and democratic institutions, and social sector reform.