Commentaries on Employment and Social Policy

Tracking Migration Amid War and Disease

Researchers from RAND and RAND Europe have been working on a way to better track migrant numbers, country by country and state by state, in almost real time. They do it by tapping into one of the largest information-gathering operations on the planet, Facebook.

Domestic Violence Support Staff Need More Help

During the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns, European Union states had a 60 percent increase in emergency calls about intimate-partner violence. Amid a protracted second wave that has led to further lockdowns, it may not be too late to provide the funding and legislative changes necessary to ensure domestic violence service providers can offer crucial support.

Lillian Flemons, Shann Hulme

How Better Support Can Be Provided to Ex–Service Personnel in the Criminal Justice System

Former armed forces personnel make up the UK's largest group of male prisoners by occupation. What can police and government do to provide targeted support in the criminal justice system to those from a military background?

Sarah Grand-Clement

Learning from Existing Novel Approaches to Solving the Adult Social Care Crisis Is Better Than Reinventing the Wheel

The growing gap in the UK between the need for social care for older people and the provision of support arises not only from a crisis of funding, but also from a failure to learn from what is already being done well. Closing the gap might be achieved by learning from creative approaches already being tried and then implementing them.

Tom Ling, Jon Sussex, et al.

Long-Term Furloughs During COVID-19 Hold Risks for Employee Health and Well-Being

Governments around the world have offered furlough schemes to try to delay employers from making any restructuring decisions during the pandemic. The aims of such programs are laudable. But they may come with unintended consequences.

Carol Black, Christian Van Stolk

Health Funding—Finally Something We Can Agree On

At a time when it has become common to think of the UK as a divided society, there are important questions of policy on which a great many people agree. How to fund the ever-growing needs of the NHS and social care is one such area of agreement.

Jon Sussex

Tax Funding of Health and Social Care Internationally: Does Hypothecation Help?

The case for raising much more money to pay for health care and social care in the United Kingdom over the next few years is strong. Earmarking taxes for public funding of health care or social care is worth consideration.

Jon Sussex

Tackling EU Child Poverty Through a Child Guarantee

Nearly 26.4 percent of children across the EU are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, poverty or social exclusion. The proposed Child Guarantee initiative might help address this issue. But it could also be worthwhile to encourage member states to look at funding mechanisms that are already in place.

Joanna Hofman @JoannaBHofman, Katherine Stewart

Is Macron Set to 'Take Back Control' of UK-France Border After Brexit?

As French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in London for the 35th UK-France Summit, there is growing French discomfort with arrangements at the UK-France border. The UK's decision to leave the European Union has added new urgency to this already fraught debate.

James Black, Sarah Grand-Clement

New Options for Funding the NHS and Social Care in the UK: What Can We Learn from International Experiences?

International experiences show the complexity of policy choices around funding health and social care. What models are most feasible and appropriate to fund the UK's health and social care systems, both among policymakers and the public?

Jennie Corbett, Jon Sussex

Migrant Crisis in the Mediterranean: What You Need to Know

The countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea are facing unprecedented stress. A former lieutenant with the Italian Navy is now a RAND researcher, working to help others appreciate the scope of the crisis.

Does Social Spending Hold the Key to Better Health?

Many governments are cutting spending on social welfare programs, such as unemployment benefits, while protecting health care spending. This could actually be negatively affecting population health.

Alex Sutherland

Does Increased Social Spending Lead to Better Population Health?

Research adds further weight to existing evidence that bolstering expenditure on social programmes might give governments and people a better return on their investments in terms of population health.

Alex Sutherland, Charlene Rohr, et al.

Are EU Migrants Over-Qualified for the Jobs They Do?

Debates on EU mobility are focused on what EU migrants take away from their host countries, and the costs they may bring taxpayers. What may be ignored is the contribution migrants bring to local labor markets and how this can grow if they have jobs that make the most of their skills.

Barbara Janta, Joanna Hofman @JoannaBHofman

Why Now Is the Time for a Unified Response to Europe's Migrant Crisis

Some EU member states are re-instating temporary internal border controls in an attempt to control the flow of migrants. If the EU is to develop a coordinated plan to manage the crisis, it needs to achieve a more balanced redistribution of migrants and establish more efficient processing of asylum applications.

Giacomo Persi Paoli

Why Access to In-Work Benefits Is a Hard Nut to Crack in the UK's EU Negotiations

Likely opposition from EU member states and a lack of evidence over EU migrants coming to the UK to access benefits could put Prime Minister Cameron in a difficult negotiating position in seeking to change the rules on welfare benefits.

Barbara Janta, Emma Harte

What Are the Facts About EU Migration to the UK?

Discussions about European migration taking place during the EU Summit this week could benefit from the facts: that the actual number of EU migrants in the UK is considerably smaller than popular perception, and those that are in the UK have higher employment levels than UK nationals.

Barbara Janta

How to Solve the Mediterranean's Migrant Crisis

Destroying smugglers' vessels could contribute to reducing illegal migration and impact the business model that makes smuggling so profitable. But it won't stop smuggling altogether.

What Does It Take to Rescue Migrants at Sea?

EU leaders gathered today for an emergency summit to discuss a concerted response to the humanitarian disaster unfolding in the Mediterranean Sea. As a former officer serving aboard an Italian Navy warship deployed in Operation Mare Nostrum in Nov. 2013, Giacomo Persi Paoli is well aware of the challenges.

Giacomo Persi Paoli

Putting UK Mental Health Services on the Road to Recovery

If mental health problems are the most significant barrier preventing people on benefits from taking up employment, then why not transform how the system supports them? Policymakers could redirect some of the resources available to the benefit system towards improving mental health outcomes, and put more evidence-based interventions in place. The savings to the benefit system should logically pay for this investment.

Christian Van Stolk

We Need to Talk About the Taboo — 'Mental Health Matters'

The stigma surrounding mental health often leads young people to shy away from seeking the help and support they need. This year's celebration of the UN's International Youth Day (12th August) focuses on mental health and aims to raise awareness and remove the stigma.

Marie-Louise Henham

Every Parent Can Be a Better Parent

The 20th anniversary of the International Day of Families on 15th May 2014 provides an appropriate occasion to celebrate the important role parents play in children's lives and the parenting skills that help children achieve their full potential.

Barbara Janta

Could Britain See a Baby Boom?

The birth of Prince George, the first child of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, comes at a time when fertility in Britain is increasing after decades of decline. RAND Europe's Stijn Hoorens comments that the U.K.'s total fertility rate is the third highest in Europe, behind only France and Ireland, and asks why British couples have more babies than those in other European countries.

Stijn Hoorens @StijnHoorens

Investing in Children

The historic objective of Children's Day — celebrated in many European countries on the first day of June — was not simply to celebrate children for who they are, but to bring attention to children around the world who suffer from exploitation, violence, and discrimination, writes Barbara Janta. Raising awareness and strengthening children's rights have long been objectives for many international and national organizations.

Barbara Janta

The Value of Uncertainty: Assessing Global Societal Trends

Schuman Day recognises efforts made to lay the foundation of what we now know as the European Union (EU). Over the last 63 years we can see how global societal trends have shaped the EU and impacted European policymaking. Predicting future trends, while desirable for policymakers, is more difficult, if not impossible to do accurately. However, RAND Europe's research for the Bureau of European Policy Advisors will deepen understanding of future implications by looking at the causal mechanisms underpinning forecasts of global societal trends and challenges their assumptions.

Stijn Hoorens @StijnHoorens