The social security appointee system.
Abstract The aim of this article is to analyse the operation of the social security appointee system, evaluating it from the point of view of the claimant, the appointee and the public. Consideration is given to the criteria for appointment, the appointment process, the effect of the appointment and the controls after an appointment is made. The Law Commission's proposals in relation to the appointee system are discussed and further suggestions are made for reform. The background research to the article has focused on the Northern Ireland appointee system which is identical to that operated in Great Britain.
In the best interests of elderly people? The role of local authorities in handling and safeguarding the personal finances of elderly people with dementia
Abstract This article focuses upon local authority responses when elderly people with dementia are incapable of managing their own financial affairs. The article starts with a critique of existing legal and administrative arrangements for handling and managing other people's money and examines some of the recommendations contained within the Law Commission report Mental Incapacity. Drawing on research about the policies, procedures and guidance of twenty-seven local authorities, this article demonstrates the fragmented and variable response of local authorities to issues such as assessing mental and financial incapacity; ensuring best practice in handling and spending money on behalf of another person; regularly reviewing and monitoring the need for receivership or appointeeship and allowing residential and nursing-home managers and proprietors to act as appointees. The article asks whether local authorities should continue to be involved in this area and suggests that, if so, they need to urgently develo...
Complexity, Network-Decisions And Alternative Risk Premia: Some New Theories Of Structural Change And Portfolio Decisions.
Structural Change is the basis for many decisions such as government fiscal and monetary policies, government interventions, corporate-expenditure decisions, corporate strategic decisions, portfolio management decisions in finance; household allocation decisions, etc.. Structural change in industries and national economies is increasingly more difficult to detect partly because of the growth and dominance of Complex Systems and “Networks” in modern industries and economies – such Networks and Complex Systems include GVCs (global value chains), retail store networks; franchising networks; internet networks; services networks; credit-chains in industries; online social networks; etc.. The relationship between Complexity and Structural Change is well established in the physics, applied math and economic dynamics literatures. Traditional definitions and modeling of structural change have erroneously focused on changes in labor, technological progress, market share, and or capital – which are grossly inadequate in the new economy and post- global financial crisis (as confirmed by changes in the global retailing and housing industries and other industries). Also the modeling of structural change seems to be constrained by the availability of data, and often omits the relationship between structural change on one hand, and globalization, financial stability and international financial contagion. This article: i) introduces the Operations Strategy Model of structural change, explains how it differs from the Lewis Model of Structural Change; and explains the often omitted relationship between operations strategy (of companies and government agencies) and structural change; ii) introduces other new Complexity-based models/theories of Structural Change in industries; iii) reviews the relationships among Operations Research, Complexity and Structural Change; iv) explains the symbiotic relationship between structural change on one hand, and economic growth, financial stability, financial contagion and globalization; v) discusses the significant gap between academic research and practice and explains some issues and factors that should be considered in the development and testing of structural change models; vi) explains how alternative risk premia can be generated from new models of Structural Change.