该研究由UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, proposes a novel solution to address inequities in welfare fund allocation, potentially increasing societal impact while eliminating disparities.
补贴福利项目对于确保经济上处于不利地位的个人和家庭能够获得儿童保育等基本服务至关重要, education, healthcare and housing. However, 目前的资金分配公式可能无法确保不同服务领域的公平结果.
Research led by Wei Wei, assistant professor of decision sciences at the UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics，提出了一种新的基于优化的模型，以帮助确保更公平的结果.
In a recent study published in Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 研究人员将基于优化的模型应用于一个涉及马萨诸塞州儿童保育补贴计划的案例研究, resulting in a 3% increase in societal impact while eliminating inequity.
To illustrate the difference between equity and equality, Wei describes three children trying to watch a baseball game over a fence. In an equal scenario, each child gets the same number of bricks to stand on, still leaving the shortest child unable to see. In an equitable scenario, bricks are distributed according to each child's height, ensuring all three can see the game.
“公平是指在不同的服务领域确保相似的社会影响和结果, not equal funding to each area,” Wei says.
各国目前使用基于公式的方法或简单办法，根据诸如每个地区的受益人或服务提供者的人数等因素，在不同地区平均或按比例分配资金.
这种方法的重点是统一地提供资源，而不考虑每个领域内的独特挑战, according to Wei. For example, 目前的方法忽略了接受补贴的提供者与不接受补贴的提供者的比例. Different areas may have different ratios of these providers, affecting how effectively the funds are used.
Additionally, 目前的分配方法没有考虑到每个领域不同类型投资的有效性. In particular, in some areas, 投资培训托儿服务提供者可能会显著提高托儿服务质量, while in others, investing in
增加接受补贴的医疗服务提供者的数量可能更有益.
When applied to the Massachusetts child care subsidy program, 该模型解决了这些不足，并提出了多项改进建议，以更好地平衡不同领域的社会影响, including:
- 解决独特需求：认识到不同服务领域的需求和挑战. For example, 由于人口密度较低和地理分布较广，儿童保育提供者较少的农村地区需要为流动儿童保育单位提供资金，以便到达偏远地区的家庭，并需要激励措施和资源来吸引更多的提供者参与补贴计划.
- 城市地区的挑战：认识到像波士顿这样的城市地区面临着更高的运营成本和对儿童保育服务的更大需求，需要资金来支付更高的租金, wages and utilities.
- Future funds consideration: Accounting for potential future funds, like federal grants from programs like the CARES Act, 确保资源能够有效分配，并能够根据资金变化和需求进行调整.
“我们向马萨诸塞州早期教育和护理部门提交了我们的研究结果, and they were interested in our findings,” Wei says. “Hopefully, we can nudge them to adopt our method.”
Wei acknowledges that changes like this can take time, and it could be challenging to convince stakeholders, including nonprofit organizations and government agencies, of the importance of equity, especially if the current funding allocations adequately address their needs.
“基于公式的方法被非营利组织和政府广泛接受，”魏说. “They are easy to use, 有时，结果可以产生可接受的社会影响和公平水平.”
Researchers believe their optimization-based model would ensure greater equity, 创造一个平衡和有效的系统，公平地惠及所有地区和家庭.
Wei collaborated on the research with Priyank Arora, assistant professor of management science at the University of South Carolina, and Senay Solak, 马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校运营与信息管理教授.
未来的研究可以将该模型的应用扩展到其他国家补贴计划，以验证其在不同背景下的有效性.
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Written By:
Aaron Sanborn | Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics | aaron.sanborn@topchoiceco.com
