"Social Policy Review" provides students, academics and all those interested in welfare issues with detailed analyses of progress and change in areas of major interest during the past year. Bringing together a selection of commissioned papers, the Review is organised in three parts. First, it concentrates on the main policy developments during 2005 in relation to five key areas of welfare provision, both in the UK and internationally. The second part, this year concentrating on the theme of health and well-being, draws on current research to explore key policy issues and challenges. The final section explores employment and later life - an often neglected area of social policy, yet one that will increasingly dominate the contemporary news agenda and that has long term implications for social policy.

This book examines developments in management and leadership in the social work environment, from both practice-based and academic perspectives. The chapters reflect developments in a range of international settings including those of Europe, South Africa and New Zealand. They represent a range of different approaches also, from the critical to the more affirmative and liberating. The book illustrates the impact of the development of management and leadership in social work, in the current context of marketisation and globalisation, together with the need to focus on service users. Social work has altered significantly as a result of such changes, presenting particular challenges for social work managers. These are detailed and discussed in this book.

This book is a powerful and incisive contribution to the debates on social capital, trust and the welfare state. The reader will find an informed, insightful explanation of how the Scandinavian welfare state has been largely able to escape its inherent social dilemma: how generous social provisions have not been accompanied by widespread free-riding. The answer lies, according to the authors, in social capital and trust. The authors not only offer a compelling argument about the inner workings of how the Scandinavian welfare state functions, but also an original theoretical approach - Bourdieuconomics - to the study of the forms of capital in general and of social capital in particular. This is social science research at its best.' - Francisco Herreros, Spanish National Research CouncilDenmark exemplifies the puzzle of socio-economic success in Scandinavia. Populations are thriving despite the world s highest levels of tax, generous social benefits and scarce natural resources. It would appear to be a land of paradise for free-riders and those who want 'money for nothing'. However, the national personality is characterized both by cooperation in everyday life and the numerous 'hard-riders' who make extraordinary contributions. Applying Bourdieuconomics, the authors focus on contemporary case studies to explain how social capital and trust are used to counteract free-riding and enable the flight of the Scandinavian welfare state 'bumblebee'. Insightful and interdisciplinary, the authors' approach offers qualitative case studies which explore trust, social capital and wealth in the Scandinavian welfare state. Key to the topic is the authors' discussion of free-riders versus 'hard-riders' as well as civic engagement in the welfare state. The application of Bourdieuconomics, a new theoretical approach, to a range of examples using economics, sociology, anthropology and history, will make this highly cross-disciplinary book accessible to a broad group of readers. This unique work will be of great value to researchers, students, policy makers and all of those who are interested in the fundamental question of how economies work, specifically how people build, exchange and convert tangible as well as intangible forms of capital.

This Handbook brings together leading scholars of European social policy to reinvigorate theoretical, conceptual and substantive debates around European welfare states and societies as well as the 'social dimension' of the European Union. This unique and original collection comes together at a time of substantial economic, social and political turbulence across Europe, changing narratives, ideas and attitudes towards welfare, increasing institutional complexity in the delivery of services, and a 'crisis of legitimacy' for the European project itself compounded by Brexit. It is against this backdrop that the Handbook draws together key commentators in European social policy to engage with and further develop theoretical, conceptual and substantive understandings of social policy in post-crisis Europe. Issues covered include, amongst others, varieties of welfare capitalism, cultural political economy, austerity, territoriality, engendering, multiculturalism, socio-ecological changes, social investment and public attitudes. The Handbook of European Social Policy offers a comprehensive and state-of-the-art reflection on theoretical debates on welfare regimes and the trajectories of the EU's social dimension. It is a key reading and teaching resource for students and academics in social policy. Contributors include: D. Bailey, E. Barberis, D. Beland, A. Borchorst, C. Bruzelius, D. Clegg, M. Daly, C. de la Porte, F. Dukelow, V. Fargion, B. Greve, E. Heins, A. Hemerijck, B. Hvinden, B. Jessop, Y. Kazepov, P. Kennett, B. Kovacs, J. Kvist, N. Lendvai-Bainton, T. Meyer, T. Modood, B. Nolan, K. Petersen, B. Pfau-Effinger, F. Roosma, C. Saraceno, M.A. Schoyen, M. Schroeder, M. Seeleib-Kaiser, B. Siim, M. Souto-Otero, N.-L. Sum, W. van Oorschot

Focusing on Alabama's textile industry, this study looks at the complex motivations behind the ""whites-only"" route taken by the Progressive reform movement in the South. In the early 1900s, northern mill owners seeking cheaper labor and fewer regulations found the South's doors wide open. Children then comprised over 22 percent of the southern textile labor force, compared to 6 percent in New England. Shelley Sallee explains how northern and southern Progressives, who formed a transregional alliance to nudge the South toward minimal child welfare standards, had to mold their strategies around the racial and societal preoccupations of a crucial ally - white middle-class southerners. Southern whites of the ""better sort"" often regarded white mill workers as something of a race unto themselves - degenerate and just above blacks in station. To enlist white middle-class support, says Sallee, reformers had to address concerns about social chaos fueled by northern interference, the empowerment of ""white trash,"" or the alliance of poor whites and blacks. The answer was to couch reform in terms of white racial uplift - and to persuade the white middle class that to demean white children through factory work was to undermine ""whiteness"" generally. The lingering effect of this ""whites-only"" strategy was to reinforce the idea of whiteness as essential to American identity and the politics of reform. Sallee's work is a compelling contribution to, and the only book-length treatment of, the study of child labor reform, racism, and political compromise in the Progressive-era South.

In this book a distinguished group of contributors discuss the changing political economy of pension reform. They focus on those countries which have launched a significant reframing of their pension system. Each chapter provides a detailed review of recent pension reforms and offers institutional evidence of the extent to which these reforms suggest a redirection of the welfare state towards a more public-private mix of policies. The countries were selected to represent the variety of new directions which mature industrial countries as well as countries in transition have taken. The book brings to light a number of surprising developments. These include the observation that pension systems do not conform to pure models of welfare system regimes; that a number of diverse developments have contributed to the extension of private pensions; that an emerging pattern of substituting private for public pensions can be detected but public provision still dominates in transition economies and that traditional employer-provided private pension schemes are undergoing significant change. One conclusion is that the design of the pension scheme may be more important than the mix of public-private in preventing the growth of inequality among the aged. This important book will be essential reading for scholars of economics, public policy, political science and finance as well as policymakers and practitioners involved in pension system reform.

Based on the findings of a two and half year research programme undertaken by the Norah Fry Research Centre, this timely report examines the strategic changes that are occurring within learning disability services as a result of the 2001 Valuing People White Paper. It offers evidence-based examples of good practice for all those involved in planning strategic changes to, or implementing change within, services for people with learning disabilities. in English learning disability services, with advice on what makes a good strategy; a review of Learning Disability Partnership Boards, with advice on practical issues of service user and carer involvement and how Boards can influence local services; an evaluation of the role of commissioners in the context of changing services; examples of good practice in relation to person-centred planning, housing options and day services modernisation. disability services and all those involved in Learning Disability Partnership Boards. It will also be valuable to anyone with an interest in services for people with learning disabilities.

This book explores the experiences of informal home carers in the different welfare systems of the former West Germany and East Germany, and Britain. It is innovative in using a biographical case study approach to compare caring situations and caring strategies in the three different societies. The detail and variety of the case studies show how particular social and welfare patterns give rise to recognisable 'cultures of care'. The authors: show how the social relations of caring are structured within and outside the home environment offer a research tool to take into account the significance of informal networks use separate analysis of 'lived' and 'told' life stories to highlight personal processes of continuity and change in meeting the challenge of caring link individual caring strategies to the structural features of welfare societies. European comparative research creates opportunities for fresh thinking about social policy, showing best practice and piecing together the strengths of each system. The findings of this book underline the significance of caring within social policy agendas and the need to extend and change the parameters of comparative social policy beyond a fixation on social insurance. Cultures of care makes an important contribution to debates about the need to 'strengthen the social' and to build a creative sense of moral agency in welfare systems. It provides a valuable new resource for both academic teaching and the training of social professionals.

This Handbook is a timely compilation dedicated to exploring a rare diversity of perspectives and content on the development, successes, reforms and challenges within China's contemporary welfare system. It showcases an extensive introduction and 20 original chapters by leading and emerging area specialists who explore a century of welfare provision from the Nationalist era, up to and concentrating on economic reform and marketisation (1978 to the present). Organised around five key concerns (social security and welfare; emerging issues and actors, including gender issues, NGOs, and philanthropy; gaps; and future challenges, such as population ageing and environmental pressures) chapters draw on original case-based research from diverse disciplines and perspectives, engage existing literature and further key debates. Key historical insights into welfare provision in the Chinese context serve as a starting point with the remaining chapters combining a review of the literature with original case studies. The book offers novel empirical research and includes topics often not discussed in the literature on welfare in China, including: mental health, highly educated rural-to-urban migrants, NGOs as welfare providers, China's overseas welfare aid, environmental challenges and welfare, amongst others. This comprehensive and multidisciplinary Handbook will be of immense value to researchers and scholars in the fields of China Studies, social policy, the welfare state, politics and related areas. Accessible to a non-specialist audience interested in China's welfare development and welfare states more broadly, it will also serve as a useful resource for undergraduates. Contributors Include: E. Baum, M. Blaxland, O. Bruun, B. Carrillo, J. Chen, S. Cook, X.-y. Dong, T.D. DuBois, M.W. Frazier, K.R. Fisher, R. Hasmath, T. Hesketh, J. Hood, J.Y.J. Hsu, H. Jia, E. Jeffreys, P.I. Kadetz, B. Li, Y. Li, J. Liu, S.-h. Liu, Y. Liu, A.W. MacDonald, A. Saich, X. Shang, D.J. Solinger, K. Suda, Y. Zeng, J. Zhao, Z. Zhao

Social Policy Review 15 continues the tradition of providing a different style and approach to policy issues from that found in most academic journals and books. Welfare and Welfare Reform in the USA, Europe and the UK combines issues such as globalization, Europe and pensions with examination of the current and historical contexts of social policy. Chapters have been purposely chosen to review a varied and interesting selection of topical social policy developments and to set these in a broader context of key trends and debates. Published in association with the UK Social Policy Association.

What happens to extensive and generous welfare states when they are faced with serious economic crisis and the effects of globalization? This thorough analysis of the processes of social policy restructuring in two Nordic welfare states endeavours to answer this and other questions related to their survival in a world of intensifying global competition. Virpi Timonen investigates both the changes that have taken place in central social policies in the areas of pensions, unemployment policies, social and health services, and the political and structural reasons for the pattern of policy change that emerged. A critical evaluation of the roles of globalization, political mechanisms and power relationships in shaping these social policies in Finland and Sweden is also featured. Welfare state specialists and those seeking to understand welfare states as a central constituent of politics in Nordic countries will find Restructuring the Welfare State to be of great interest. The book will also appeal to academics and researchers in the fields of social policy and comparative politics, as well as public and social policy analysts in international organizations such as the OECD and the World Bank.

This is a comparative account of social care services for children and older people in five key industrial nations (Finland, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States). The authors break new ground by moving beyond institutional description and seeking to understand the normative and moral qualities of welfare systems. The book builds on existing theories of welfare state regimes by extending the analysis to the arena of social care. A full and fascinating account is provided of the historical, economic and political origins of childcare and care for older people in each of the five countries. These analyses are then used as the basis for a theoretical account of the developmental trajectories of social care systems. The book proposes that there are common pressures at work in all industrial nations driving their welfare systems to similar forms of organisation and structure. However, these trends are mediated by important differences in culture and history. The Young, the Old and the State is an eminently readable and accessible book, and will be warmly welcomed by academics and researchers in social and public policy, health and social care and welfare economics. It will also be of interest to policymakers and NGOs involved in welfare and social care provision and provide a useful source for students on undergraduate and graduate programmes.

This unique book demonstrates how instruments of economics can be usefully employed to analyse social policy. The merits and limits of social policy programmes are discussed as answers to problems of market societies. Taking this enlightened approach, the author addresses key issues such as access to health services, pension programmes, unemployment, poverty and family support. Microeconomic tools are used to evaluate the rationale behind these programmes, underpinning the theoretical propositions with strong empirical research. Unusually, economic values are shown to harmonise with, rather than condemn, ideas of social protection. Providing information about institutional structures of social policy programmes in many countries, this book will be a must for academics and students interested in social policy and the welfare state. Furthermore, those who want to follow the political and scientific discussion of social policy matters will find this book invaluable.

The New Labour Government has placed great emphasis on service delivery. It has provided performance information in the form of Annual Reports, Public Service Agreements, Performance Assessment Frameworks, and a host of other targets. But has New Labour delivered on its welfare reform? Evaluating New Labour's welfare reforms: provides the first detailed and comprehensive examination of the welfare reforms of New Labour's first term; compares achievements with stated aims; examines success in the wider context; contributes to the debate on the problems of evaluating social policy. It is essential reading for academics and students of social policy and provides important information for academics and students in a wide range of areas such as politics, sociology, public policy, public administration and public management interested in welfare reform and policy evaluation.