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Abandoned Children and International Adoption: An Analysis of Unintended Consequences of Institutional Arrangements in Romania, 1990-2001

Tomescu, Irina

Abstract Details

2003, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Sociology.
Building on Merton’s notion of the unintended consequences of purposive social action, this thesis examines the causes and consequences of international adoption in Romania between 1990 and 2001. Based on archival data and interviews with actors in the Romanian child welfare system, I identify poverty, lack of parenthood-centered education and a communist-era cultural expectation that childrearing is the state’s responsibility, as primary reasons behind child abandonment. International pressure toward institutional isomorphism has resulted in inefficient childcare institutions, creating a tension between globalism and localsim that has generated multiple unintended consequences, such as corruption and child trafficking. Abandoned children’s weak political position further impedes effective governmental solutions, as is illustrated through the effects of a recently imposed moratorium on international adoption.
James W. Moody (Advisor)
Kazimierz M. Slomczynski (Committee Member)
Randy Hodson (Committee Member)
78 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Tomescu, I. (2003). Abandoned Children and International Adoption: An Analysis of Unintended Consequences of Institutional Arrangements in Romania, 1990-2001 [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392805477

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Tomescu, Irina. Abandoned Children and International Adoption: An Analysis of Unintended Consequences of Institutional Arrangements in Romania, 1990-2001. 2003. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392805477.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Tomescu, Irina. "Abandoned Children and International Adoption: An Analysis of Unintended Consequences of Institutional Arrangements in Romania, 1990-2001." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392805477

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)