SOCIAL BENEFITS ASSISTANCE

Social Benefits Assistance



Social Benefits Assistance

Introduction

Social assistance does not have a precise definition internationally. For the purposes of the study, it is defined as the range of benefits and services available to guarantee a minimum (however defined) level of subsistence to people in need, based on a test of resources. In some countries a key element of the social safety net comes through non-contributory citizens' benefits or pensions. These are not discussed in detail unless they are also resource-tested. The study also distinguishes between benefits described as `poverty-tested' (that is, aimed at providing a minimum income. which is often regarded as a de facto poverty line) and other income-related or means-tested benefits which may have a different purpose, or are withdrawn at a higher income level. The aims of the study were:

To provide detailed country-by-country descriptions of the structure of social assistance schemes, with data on expenditure and claimant numbers, recent policy developments and proposals. This information is provided mainly in Volume Two

To provide a comparative analysis of trend data: the legal and administrative structures of assistance schemes; and policy debates and issues affecting the development of social assistance

To analyze the comparative value of assistance payments, their components and their implicit incentive structures.

Data Analysis

Correlation Analysis

Correlations

welfare benefits

unemployment

welfare benefits

Pearson Correlation

1

.966**

Sig. (2-tailed)

.000

N

300

300

unemployment

Pearson Correlation

.966**

1

Sig. (2-tailed)

.000

N

300

300

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

The above table presents the findings of correlation analysis. The correlation among welfare benefits and unemployment (r = 0.966, p = .000<.05) reported in the table is positive and significantly different from 0 because the p-value of 0.000 is lower than 0.05. Unemployment and welfare benefits is directly proportional as the value of Pearson correlation is close to 1. So, strong relationship exists among the Unemployment and welfare benefits.

Regression Analysis

Model Summaryb

Model

R

R Square

Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

Durbin-Watson

1

.989a

.979

.976

32.15015

.383

a. Predictors: (Constant), welfare benefits

b. Dependent Variable: Unemployment

From the above table it can be observed that the modulus value of Pearson correlation is 0.989 which indicates that a positive relationship exists among the predictors and dependent variable. The value of R square is 0.979 which is close to 1 it depicts that the change in any one of the variable may strongly affect the other variable.

ANOVAb

Model

Sum of Squares

df

Mean Square

F

Sig.

1

Regression

1230925.696

44

410308.565

396.958

.000a

Residual

26874.437

256

1033.632

Total

1257800.133

300

a. Predictors: (Constant), welfare benefits

b. Dependent Variable: Unemployment

The value of significance is 0.000 reported in the above table which indicates that the change in predictors may affect the dependent variable.

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

t

Sig.

Collinearity Statistics

B

Std. Error

Beta

Tolerance

VIF

1

(Constant)

1288.997

159.649

-8.074

.000

welfare benefits

3.561

.691

.375

5.154

.000

.155

6.446

a. Dependent Variable: Unemployment

Regression Equation

Unemployment = 1288.997 + 3.561* welfare benefits

The shape of histogram is symmetric and the normal probability plot follows 45 degrees line so it can be said the assumption of normality isn't violated.

Discussion

There is growing international interest in selective and targeted approaches to social protection. Research has identified substantial levels of 'new poverty' in EL member countries, partly related to limitations in insurance-based protection in the context of long-term unemployment and social change. The view that high levels of social security expenditure damage economic effort have also become more influential internationally and financial institutions ...