Showing papers by "Urban Institute published in 1986"

Remittances and Inequality

Abstract: In this paper the authors propose a framework and develop techniques for analyzing the impact of migrant remittances on the distribution of rural income by size and subsequently its impact on rural welfare. Household data are used to assign numerical coefficients to the impact of net remittances from both internal and international migrants on income inequality in 2 Mexican villages. The impact of migrant remittances on the distribution of rural income by size depends critically on the degree to which migration opportunities become diffused through the village population on the returns to human capital embodied in remittances and on the distribution of potentially remittance-enhancing skills and education across village households. Our empirical findings demonstrate that in a village where many households contain internal migrants but few have experience migrating to the U.S. remittances from Mexico-to-US migrants have an unequalizing impact on village incomes while remittances from internal migrants have a favorable effect on the village income distribution. By contrast in a village with a long historyh of sending migrants to the US and hence a more ready access to US labor markets US-to-Mexico remittances have an equalizing impact on incomes. Remittances from internal migrants in this village however embody a large human capital component and are highly correlated with household income. Hence internal migrant remittances account for a comparatively large share of inequalities in the 2nd village. The overall effect of remittances on income inequality is favorable in both villages. Migration type migration stage and interaction terms all appear to play a role in this context. The effects of small changes in remittances upon income inequality and rural welfare in the 2 villages are explored and some implications for migration and rural development policy are considered. (authors modified)

Interpreting the Estimates from Four National Surveys of the Number of People Without Health Insurance

Abstract: Four national surveys conducted be­ tween 1977 and 1980 seem to yield four different estimates of the number of people under 65 years old who lack health insurance. In this paper four explanations for the different estimates are as­ sessed. The sample framework designs and meth­ ods for ex post weighting of the surveys' respon­ dents are very similar. Nonresponses to the health insurance questions on the surveys were handled differently, and this remains a possible explanation of some of the differences in the estimates. But the most likely explanation of the differences is the following. Three of the four surveys ask people about their health insurance at the time of the in­ terview. The fourth, the Current Population Sur­ vey, asks people about their health insurance dur­ ing the previous year. But the Current Population Survey estimate of the uninsured population is re­ markably close to the point-in-time estimates from the other three surveys. The same holds true for the surveys' estimates of the Medicaid population and people covered by private health insurance. Hence, if we assume that the Current Population Survey respondents are answering the health in­ surance questions with respect to when they are interviewed, the four surveys' estimates of the un­ insured population at a point in time are very sim­

Government and the Voluntary Sector in an Era of Retrenchment: The American Experience

Abstract: Prevailing conceptions of the welfare state in the United States have failed to acknowledge the widespread partnership that exists between government and private voluntary organizations in the provision of human services. Thanks in large part to this partnership, voluntary organizations have retained a significant role in the American welfare state, delivering a larger share of government-financed human services than government agencies. By cutting back on government spending, therefore, the Reagan administration has significantly reduced the revenues of the nonprofit sector while calling on this sector to do more. Although nonprofits as a group have overcome the resulting cutbacks, they have done so chiefly by increasing their income from service charges, rather than their private charitable support. In the process, serious questions have been raised about the continued ability of nonprofit organizations to serve those in greatest need, and an important opportunity to strengthen the voluntary sector and rationalize government-nonprofit ties may have been lost, or at

Financing health care in the Sudan: Some recent experiments in the central region

Abstract: The macroeconomic difficulties facing the developing countries are having a direct impact on these countries' public health programs. Reduced budgets and rising demands for health care are forcing health ministries to either cut back on already inadequate health care services or identify alternative sources of revenue. This article describes and analyzes a set of experiments designed and implemented by the Sudan's Central Province that have effectively raised the operating budget of the regional health ministry. The seven experiments encompass imposition of fees, cost containment efforts, and local taxes earmarked for health. Together, the revenue generating efforts have improved the efficiency of service delivery, ensured more efficient resource allocation, raised much needed revenue for the health system, and honored the government's commitment to make free health care available to the Sudanese population.

The Impacts of New Federalism on Public/Private Partnerships

Abstract: A fundamental tenet of the New Federalism is that many social welfare problems are a result of federal usurpation of responsibilities belonging to those institutions nearest the people. According to the New Federalism, state and local governments and public/private partnerships involving private, nonprofit organizations are the most appropriate mechanisms for dealing with social welfare responsibilities. To remedy the problem offederal usurpation, the Reagan administration proposed severe cuts in federal spending for social welfare programs. New data suggest that, while significant, actual cuts were not as great as originally feared by some. Yet these cuts appeared to work counter to their stated objectives. The cuts weakened the extensive public/private partnerships already existing in many communities, and forced nonprofits to adopt more entrepreneurial strategies to make up for lost government funds. These changes have raised major questions about the future role of public/private partnerships and the nonprofit sector in addressing the needs of communities.