The consolidation of public finance has become the most prevalent topic in recent policy discourse in the US. However, the political debate about fiscal "belt-tightening" stretches back to the last decades of the past millennium, induced by deteriorating economic conditions which followed the first oil price shock in the early 1970s. Retrenchment in the American Welfare State investigates to what extent different welfare state programs in the US were affected by cutbacks during the Republican Reagan era, on the one hand, and during the Democratic Clinton era on the other, and to what extent these cutbacks reveal certain "patterns" of retrenchment, and how the measured discrepancies can best be explained. (Series: Studies in North American History, Politics and Society/ Studien zu Geschichte, Politik und Gesellschaft Nordamerikas - Vol. 30)

Abstract: A GAO report provides an overview and perspectives on the U.S. Food Stamp Program (FSP) and highlights 5 major program issues. The issues are: accountability and integrity, program simplification, nutritional adequacy provided by the program, interrelationship of the FSP with other food assistance programs, and program coverage and eligibility requirements. The report discusses the implications of each of these issues and the related concerns of the issues, past efforts that have been undertaken to address them, actions yet to be implemented, based on prior recommendations, and other, related factors that need to be considered. A bibliography of documents used to develop the FSP issues is appended. (wz).

Abstract: A reference document for food and nutrition program managers and policy makers presents a US congressional report on US and world hunger. The report addresses: (1) the extent of US hunger and the effectiveness of US food and nutrition programs; and (2) the extent of world hunger and major international programs and policies designed to reduce world hunger. The report is based on a comprehensive review of major studies on domestic and international hunger conducted over the past 10 years. An annotated bibliography of 383 studies reviewed is included.