Globalization has transformed the workplace at the same time that increasing numbers of children live in families in which all adults work for pay outside the home. Extensive research evidence demonstrates the importance of parental involvement in the early years of a child's life. Yet, parents caring for young children may face challenges in fulfilling both work and family responsibilities under current labor force conditions. In this article, we review the evidence on the importance of parental care for meeting young children's routine care needs, preventive health care needs, and curative medical treatment requirements. We examine the evidence regarding the impact of four policies in particular on young children's health and development: parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, early childhood care and education, and leave for children's health needs. Last, we examine the availability of these policies worldwide and discuss the potential economic implications.

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This article proposes an approach to assessing country action on economic and social rights based on transparent, comparable measures of law and policy. Using a new data set on rights, laws, and policies in 193 UN member states, this article applies a sample set of indicators to ICESCR rights to demonstrate the utility of this approach. For each indicator, we examine whether the 163 UN member states that are states parties to the ICESCR have enacted relevant laws and policies; we then compare their performance with that of countries that have not ratified the ICESCR and examine differences before and after ICESCR ratification within countries.

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Income protection during old age is a universally recognized human right. Are nations fulfilling their responsibility for income support for older adults? Using a new global dataset on social protection conceptualized and built by two of the authors, this paper examines whether countries have legislated for national pension systems, and the characteristics and adequacy of those systems.

Currently, the report-based monitoring system of the crc provides a wealth of qualitative information about country performance, but not in a form that is frequently updated, easily analysable and comparable across countries and over time. To date, a broad range of quantitatively comparable indicators of laws and policies relevant to the crc have not been widely available. Through the world Policy Analysis Center, we have collected and analysed primary legislative texts, international reports and other sources to create such indicators for all States Parties. In this article, we draw on this new data set to propose a complementary approach to monitoring progress on crc obligations using quantitatively analysable indicators of law and policy, and operationalise a sample set of indicators to demonstrate the feasibility and utility of this approach in assessing country action on children’s rights and compliance with the crc.

Monetary assistance is a common request from social ties and can be both an economic lifeline and a financial burden. This study examines the relational work at the heart of such exchanges, examining when and how attempts at mobilizing informal financial assistance are resisted. Using qualitative data from West African factory workers, we demonstrate that individuals who wish to resist the provision of assistance without causing relational damage employ rhetorical strategies designed to justify or obfuscate their refusal, relying heavily on socially legitimate reason-giving. The findings reveal that subjective calculations of resource availability are central to the mobilization of assistance, resistant givers differentiate between justification and obfuscation of refusals, and earmarks can play a role in protecting resources from social demands. More broadly, these findings suggest ways that a differential ability to resist social capital mobilization may generate inequalities within social groups.

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