Extensive welfare, law, and policy reforms characterized the making and unmaking of Keynesian states in the 20th century. This collection highlights the gendered nature of these regulatory shifts and, specifically, the roles played by women - as reformers, welfare workers, and welfare recipients - in the historical development of welfare states. The contributors are leading feminist socio-legal scholars from a range of disciplines in the US, Canada, and Israel. Collectively, their analyses of women, law, and poverty speak to long-standing and ongoing feminist concerns: the importance of historically informed research, the relevance of women's agency and resistance to the experience of inequality and injustice, the specificity of the experience of poor women and poor mothers, the implications of changes to social policy, and the possibilities for social change. Such analyses are particularly timely as the devastation of neo-liberalism becomes increasingly obvious. The current world crisis of capitalism is a defining moment for liberal states - a global catastrophe that concomitantly creates a window of opportunity for critical scholars and activists to reframe debates about social welfare, work, and equality, and to reinsert the discourse of social justice into the public consciousness and political agenda of liberal democracies. (Series: Onati International Series in Law and Society)

Like many countries in the world, India is mired in bureaucratic rigidities and hierarchical structures of exploitation and oppression, leading to a well-known problem of clogged pipes in the complex system of public welfare services. It is widely recognised that this clogged system requires innovative intervention, via transparent policies that are able to avoid political capture. This book reports on three overlapping pilot schemes in Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, including a special project in tribal villages, in which over 6,000 people were provided with a modest basic income paid monthly over 18 months. The project was funded by UNICEF and UNDP and implemented by SEWA (The Indian Self-Employed Women's Association). Written by Guy Standing who designed the pilot schemes and Renana Jhabvala, the head of SEWA, who implemented them, the book examines the effects of these pilot schemes at the individual, family and local economy levels. The pilots are discussed in the context of the new Food Security Act, the government's job guarantee plan, MGNREGA, and ongoing debate over the efficacy of the Public Distribution System and its ration shops disbursing rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene.The authors look at a number of alternative options for addressing rural poverty, including subsidies, targeting, selectivity and conditionality, contrasting them with the basic income model. They argue that the provision of basic incomes not only provides economic security but has many knock-on effects, allowing families to escape the debt trap, enrich food consumption and unlock constraints to schooling and healthcare. Above all it may enable individuals, including women, the disabled, the elderly and those in excluded castes or tribes, to engage more effectively in wider society.

Family-based service (FBS) programs have been developing rapidly across the country at a time of increasingly scarce human resources and in a politically volatile climate. Such a context has made evaluation of such programs imperative. The present volume reviews basic elements of evaluation in the light of current knowledge and then highlights the most useful research instruments for measuring changes in child and family functioning. Chapters focus on evaluation methods that can be employed to determine the success of existing policy and to influence the development of new policy. The authors assume that their readers will have a basic familiarity with research methods and program evaluation. They discuss the challenges they have encountered in conducting extensive research on family preservation, family support. and other related programs and pose practical solutions for administrators, practitioners, and evaluators confronted with similar difficult issues. Each chapter presents a brief conceptual framework for understanding issues related to assessment. Essential elements are reviewed, while research design, measurement variables, and qualitative and quantitative analyses are discussed in turn. The book concludes with a review of the limitations of evaluations.

This comprehensive and carefully organized collection provides an overview of the relationship between gender and economic stratification in seven industrialized countries. Everywhere, as a Polish commentator notes, `men have too much power, and women too much work.' Nevertheless, these studies reveal large differences in the circumstances of women in different countries and help to illuminate the several developments in the labor market, the family, and public policy which explain the extreme feminization of poverty in the United States. Frances Fox Piven, City University of New York Lucid, careful, and systematic, the book builds a compelling explanation for the needless impoverishment experienced by millions of American women and offers a sensible, realistic agenda for its reduction. Michael B. Katz, University of Pennsylvania This study asks whether the feminization of poverty, the tendency of women and their families to become the majority of the poor, is unique to the United States, where the phenomenon was first discovered. Seven industrialized nations, both capitalist and socialist, with different degrees of commitment to social welfare are compared: Canada, Japan, France, Sweden, Poland, the Soviet Union, and the United States. In each of the countries the authors analyze information about women, labor market conditions, equalization policies, social welfare programs, and demographic variables such as the rates of divorce and single parenthood. According to Goldberg and Kremen, it is possible to predict the feminization of poverty when three conditions are present: (1) insufficient efforts to reduce work place and wage inequities for women; (2) the absence or ineffectiveness of social welfare programs which can redress the cost, both economic and personal, of the dual role that women have assumed in industrialized societies; and (3) the presence of increasing rates of divorce and single motherhood. An array of labor market and social welfare programs in use in the six other industrialized nations are then reviewed by the authors for possible adaptation in the United States. This important work will be a valuable resource for scholars across the academic and professional disciplines of political science, sociology, economics, social work, and women's studies.

Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. Leaving her home, she took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered. Nickel and Dimed reveals low-rent America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity? exposing the darker side of American prosperity and the true cost of the American dream.

This book provides a novel approach to unemployment as a contested political field in Europe and examines the impact of welfare state regimes, conceived as political opportunity structures specific to this field, public debates and collective mobilizations in unemployment politics.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment and is renowned for being one of the most unequal societies in the world. In this context, training and education play critical roles in helping young people escape poverty and unemployment. Post-school Education offers insights about the way in which young people in South Africa navigate their way through a host of post-school training and education options. The topics range from access to, and labour market transitions from, vocational education, adult education, universities, and workplace-based training. The individual chapters offer up-to-date analyses, identify some of the challenges that young people face when accessing training and education and also point to gaps between education and the labour market. The contributors are all experts in their respective components but write with a holistic view of the post-school education system, using an unashamedly empirical lens. Post-school Education will be of interest to all researchers and policymakers concerned with the transformative role of further education and training in society.

This important book makes a vital academic and political statement in the cause of social justice. It begins with an appreciation of the seminal contributions of Peter Townsend (1928-2009), and applies them to contemporary policy debates. It brings together many of the leading contributors to current debates in this field and provides a compelling manifesto for change for students and researchers in the social sciences, policy makers and practitioners, and everybody with an interest in creating a more equal and socially just society.

Understanding the nexus between employment, living standards and poverty is a major challenge in Indonesia. Trends in poverty are heavily dependent on labour market opportunities and social spending in education and health. The question is how to create opportunities and spend money wisely - a subject of intense debate in Indonesia. The government has brought a renewed focus to poverty reduction since the end of the Asian financial crisis, especially under the current president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. This book shows how Indonesia is travelling with regard to employment, social policy and poverty. It identifies promising new directions for strategies to alleviate poverty, some of which are already showing results.

The last thirty years have witnessed an urban renaissance in America. Major cities have managed to drive down the murder rate, improve the schools, restore the built environment, and revitalize their economies. Middle class families are putting down roots in neighborhoods once given up for dead. But solutions to homelessness have eluded even the most successful cities. While the South Bronx was once synonymous across the globe for "slum," now, San Francisco and Los Angeles are just as internationally notorious for their homelessness crises. Indeed, the same cities with the worst homelessness crises rank among America's most successful. One of the crisis' more perplexing features is how cities that have met with so much success with respect to economic development, crime and public education have failed to even ease their homelessness crisis, much less end it. In Homelessness in America, Stephen Eides examines the history, governmental and private responses, and future prospects of this intractable challenge. The "chronic" nature of the challenge should be understood, he argues, by reference to American history and American ideals. The history of homelessness is bound up with industrialization and urbanization, the closing of the West, the Great Depression, and the post WWII decline and subsequent revival of great American cities. Though we've used different terms ("tramp" "hobo" "bum") at other times, something like homelessness has always been with us and the debate over causes and solutions has always involved conflicts over fundamental values. After explaining why homelessness persists in America and correcting popular misconceptions about the issue, Eides offers concrete recommendations for how we can do better for the homeless population. Homelessness in America engages readers by answering the most common questions their audience brings to the topic and exploring other questions that are no less important for being not as commonly asked. Homelessness intersects with multiple other policy areas: education, urban development, criminal justice reform, mental health. By exploring the intersection of homelessness with so many other policy areas, this book aspires to provide a comprehensive account of the challenge.

The current economic crisis has presented itself as a formidable challenge to the welfare states of Europe. It is more relevant than ever to ask: do existing minimum income protection schemes succeed in adequately protecting citizens, be it whether they are excluded from work, working, retired, or having children? Drawing on in-depth and up-to-date institutional data from across Europe and the US, this volume details the reality of minimum income protection policies over time. Including contributions from leading scholars in the field, each chapter provides a systematic cross-national analysis of minimum income protection policies, developing concrete policy guidance on an issue at the heart of the European debate.

LONGLISTED FOR A PEN/FAULKNER AWARD, 2020 A dazzling tribute to the resilience and determination of a remarkable community of women In the sprawling Bangalore slum of Heaven, five girls - Muslim, Christian and Hindu; gay and straight - form an unbreakable bond. These are girls who refuse to be silenced, no matter how much their city would like to forget they exist. But now Heaven is threatened by government bulldozers, and the friends must come together to protect the close-knit, vibrant community they call home. Sparkling with passion and courage and laced with humour, this is the story of five unforgettable young women and their fierce determination, not only to survive, but to triumph.

PLANT CLOSED--A sign of the times? These two words have had profound meaning for workers in every factory and office across the country. Millions of workers who have already been displaced by closings have had to pick up the pieces of shattered lives and get on with the business of living. Those who are still working are faced with the insecurity of wondering whether they might find the gates closed some morning when they arrive at work. The number of plant closings and the threat of future closings have raised many questions. What has been happening to the American economy that has resulted in major companies closing their doors? What forces within the international and national political economies are converging to reshape the labor force, eliminating jobs in manufacturing and expanding employment in the lower wage, insecure manufacturing sector? What happens to displaced workers, their families, and the community in which they work? In "Plant Closings," the authors examine the reasons plants close and the social, economic, and psychological consequences. A variety of causes are identified including capital flight, decreasing profit rates, and the pursuit of lower labor costs. Through the analysis of a case study the authors examine the changing health patterns, political attitudes, and financial stability of displaced workers. There is also discussion of the impact on the community at large and on the individual institutions within the community. Finally, the authors analyze legislation that addresses the human and social costs of unemployment. "Carolyn C. Perrucci" is professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Purdue University. "Robert Perrucci" is professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Purdue University. "Dena B. Targ" is professor in the Department of Child Development and Family Studies at Purdue University. "Harry R. Targ" is professor in the Department of Political Science at Purdue University.

While recent Labour and coalition governments have insisted that many unemployed people prefer state benefits to a job, and have tightened the rules attached to claiming unemployment benefits, mainstream academic research repeatedly concludes that only a tiny minority of unemployed benefit claimants are not strongly committed to employment. Andrew Dunn argues that the discrepancy can be explained by UK social policy academia leaving important questions unanswered. Dunn presents findings from four empirical studies which, in contrast to earlier research, focused on unemployed people's attitudes towards unattractive jobs and included interviews with people in welfare-to-work organisations. All four studies' findings were consistent with the view that many unemployed benefit claimants prefer living on benefits to undertaking jobs which would increase their income, but which they find unattractive. Thus, the studies gave support to politicians' view about the need to tighten benefit rules.

This volume looks at the three dimensions of social exclusion: economic, social and political. Exclusion is analyzed as a new approach to such issues as the "new" poverty, precariousness, long-term unemployment, social polarization and lack of citizenship. The book shows how relational and distributional aspects of poverty are interlinked.

At a time when the divide between the wealthy and the disadvantaged is widening, this major textbook provides students with a critical understanding of poverty and social exclusion in relation to wealth, rather than as separate from it. Raising fundamental questions about the organisation of society, social structures and relationships and social justice, the book is split into four main sections exploring key concepts and issues; 'people and place' (poverty and wealth across different groups and situations); the role of the state; and prospects for the future. This is the only textbook to focus on the links between wealth and poverty and contains an edited collection of chapters specially written by a distinguished panel of contributors including Pete Alcock, Daniel Dorling, Mary Shaw, Gill Scott and Jay Ginn. It is designed with the needs of students in mind and includes useful chapter summaries, illustrative boxes and diagrams, and pointers to relevant websites and other sources of further information. This is an essential textbook for level 1/2 undergraduate students studying social policy either as a main subject or as part of their course. It is a core text for level 3/4 specialist modules in this field.

Women's rough sleeping is a major issue across Europe and is especially problematic within the current economic climate. Based on a European Union DAPHNE III-funded project, this important book tells the story of the women and organisations that took part in the study. Revealing a number of truths about women's rough sleeping across Europe, the authors argue that there is little or no specific provision for this vulnerable and hard to reach group. The book focuses on the adoption of effective policy, strategies and services to meet the needs of homeless women, specifically women rough sleepers who are the victims of domestic abuse. It will be a valuable resource for academics and students of criminology, social policy, law, social work and probation, as well as housing/homelessness practitioners, policy makers, local authorities and NGOs.

Under the rule of the current economic order, social injustice is ever-increasing. Issues such as poverty, inhumane working conditions, inadequate wages, social insecurity and an unhealthy labor market continue to persist. Many states are also unable to produce policies capable of resolving these problems. The characteristics of the capitalist system currently render it unable to provide social justice. In fact, on the contrary, the system reinforces these injustices and prevents economic and social welfare from reaching the masses. Many Muslim scholars have analyzed and, indeed, criticized this system for years. This book argues that an alternative and more equitable theoretical and practical economical order can been developed within the framework of Islamic principles. On the other hand, the experiences of societies under the rule of Muslim governments do not always seem to hold great promise for an alternative understanding of social justice. In addition, the behaviors of Muslim individuals within their economic lives are mostly shaped by the necessities of daily economic conditions rather than by the tenets of Islam that stand with social justice. Until 1990s, studies of Islamic economics made connections between finance and the notion of social justice, but work conducted more recently has neglected this issue. It is therefore evident that the topic of social justice needs to be revisited in a more in-depth manner. Filling an important gap in existing literature, the book uniquely connects social justice and Islamic finance and economics on this topic. Theory, practice and key issues are presented simultaneously throughout this book, which is based on the writings of a number of eminent scholars.

A volume in Research on Hispanic and Latino Business Series Editors Michael William Mulnix and Esther Elena Lopez-Mulnix More than one in every five Latin Americans lives on less than $2 a day, and Latin America is the most unequal region in the world. The book tackles the problem of poverty and inequality in Latin America through the novel approach of using the decentralization of government functions to satisfy the basic needs of the poor. Decentralization can bring government closer to the people and strengthen the voice of the voiceless. Satisfying basic needs for services such as education and health care enhances productivity and imparts an indispensable opportunity to earn an income sufficient to emerge from poverty and to live a full life. Part 1 describes the poverty and inequality of Latin America and the Basic Needs Approach to Development. Part 2 introduces a model of decentralization as a step-by-step process, and it shows the policymaker how to implement decentralization in stages through matching its various degrees with real-world circumstances. Part 3 enriches the understanding of policymakers by analyzing real-world cases of decentralization in light of the decentralization model. The second edition includes two new chapters that cover the important but often neglected topic of taxation for inclusive development. Chapter 8 analyzes the influential tax advice of the World Bank in terms of its effect on decentralization and the satisfaction of basic needs. Appendix B of Chapter 8 presents an empirical analysis in support of the chapter's argument that the Bank's policy is in need of revision. Chapter 9 analyzes the effects of the World Bank's tax advice on El Salvador's tax reform and development process. Two other chapters have been extensively updated: Chapter 6 records and analyzes the rapid evolution of Mexico's Oportunidades program for health, education and nutrition, and Chapter 10 evaluates the progress of the United States' innovative program for foreign aid, The Millennium Challenge Account. Throughout the book, tables and references have been updated.

Winner of the British Academy Peter Townsend Prize for 2013 How do men and women get by in times and places where opportunities for standard employment have drastically reduced? Are we witnessing the growth of a new class, the 'Precariat', where people exist without predictability or security in their lives? What effects do flexible and insecure forms of work have on material and psychological well-being? This book is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between social exclusion, poverty and the labour market. It challenges long-standing and dominant myths about 'the workless' and 'the poor', by exploring close-up the lived realities of life in low-pay, no-pay Britain. Work may be 'the best route out of poverty' sometimes but for many people getting a job can be just a turn in the cycle of recurrent poverty - and of long-term churning between low-skilled 'poor work' and unemployment. Based on unique qualitative, life-history research with a 'hard-to-reach group' of younger and older people, men and women, the book shows how poverty and insecurity have now become the defining features of working life for many.

The stated aim of much development assistance is the reduction of poverty. This book examines how development interventions might be more effectively targeted to achieve this aim. Part One provides an overview of planning for poverty reduction, and evidence on the extent and causes of poverty. Part Two examines participatory approaches to development planning. Part Three assesses macro-economic strategies and programs for poverty reduction. Part Four concludes with a microeconomic analysis of the distribution of benefits from investment projects.

"Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year." - Malcolm X (a former auto worker) Written in a lively, accessible fashion and drawing extensively on interviews with people who were formerly incarcerated, Cars and Jails examines how the costs of car ownership and use are deeply enmeshed with the U.S. prison system. American consumer lore has long held the automobile to be a "freedom machine," consecrating the mobility of a free people. Yet, paradoxically, the car also functions at the cross-roads of two great systems of entrapment and immobility- the American debt economy and the carceral state. Cars and Jails investigates this paradox, showing how auto debt, traffic fines, over-policing, and automated surveillance systems work in tandem to entrap and criminalize poor people. The authors describe how racialization and poverty take their toll on populations with no alternative, in a country poorly served by public transport, to taking out loans for cars and exposing themselves to predatory and often racist policing. Looking skeptically at the frothy promises of the "mobility revolution," Livingston and Ross close with thought-provoking ideas for a radical overhaul of transportation.