This is a pioneering work on "karayuki-san", impoverished Japanese women sent abroad to work as prostitutes from the 1860s to the 1920s. The narrative follows the life of one such prostitute, Osaki, who is persuaded as a child of ten to accept cleaning work in Sandakan, North Borneo, and then forced to work as a prostitute in a Japanese brothel, one of the many such brothels that were established throughout Asia in conjunction with the expansion of Japanese business interests. Yamazaki views Osaki as the embodiment of the suffering experienced by all Japanese women, who have long been oppressed under the dual yoke of class and gender. This tale provides the historical and anthropological context for understanding the sexual exploitation of Asian women before and during the Pacific War and for the growing flesh trade in Southeast Asia and Japan today. Young women are being brought to Japan with the same false promises that enticed Osaki to Borneo 80 years ago. Yamazaki Tomoko, who herself endured many economic and social hardships during and after the war, has devoted her life to documenting the history of the exchange of women between Japan and other Asian countries since 1868. She has worked directly with "karayuki-san", military comfort women, war orphans, repatriates, women sent as picture brides to China and Manchuria, Asian women who have wed into Japanese farming communities, and Japanese women married to other Asians in Japan.

The number of poor people in China is huge, despite recent economic advances. This book investigates the problem of poverty in China's regions, discussing in particular the role of rural-urban migration in reducing poverty. It surveys the distribution and characteristics of poverty, examines anti-poverty initiatives by the Chinese government and includes the results of original research conducted in Shanxi, a typical province in Central China.

This important collection of Margaret Pelling's essays brings together her key studies of health, medicine and poverty in Tudor and Stuart England - including a number published here for the first time. They show that - then as now - health and medical care were everyday obsessions of ordinary people in the Tudor and Stuart era. Margaret Pelling's book brings this vital dimension of the early modern world in from the periphery of specialist study to the heart of the concerns of social, economic and cultural historians.

The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 is one of the most important pieces of social legislation ever enacted. Its principles and the workhouse system dominated attitudes to welfare provision for the next 80 years. This new "Seminar Study" explores the changing ideas to poverty over this period and assesses current debates on Victorian attitudes to the poor. David Englander reviews the old system of poor relief; he considers how the New Poor Law was enacted and received and looks at how it worked in practice. The chapter on the Scottish experience will be particularly welcomed, as will Dr Englander's discussion of the place of the Poor Law within British history.

In January of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a "War on Poverty." Over the next several years, the United States launched several programs aimed at drastically reducing the level of poverty throughout the nation. Now fifty years later, we have a number of lessons related to what has and has not worked in the fight against poverty. This book is a collection of chapters by both researchers and practitioners studying and addressing matters of poverty as they intersect with a number of broader social challenges such as health care, education, and criminal justice issues. The War on Poverty: A Retrospective serves as a collection of many of their observations, thoughts, and findings. Ultimately, the authors reflect on some of the lessons of the past fifty years and ask basic questions about poverty and its continued impact on American society, as well as how we might continue to address the challenges that poverty presents for our nation.

The fourth and final part of Helen Forrester's bestselling autobiography continues the moving story of her early poverty-stricken life with an account of the war years in Blitz-torn Liverpool In 1940 Helen, now twenty, is working long hours at a welfare centre in Bootle, five miles from home. Her wages are pitifully low and her mother claims the whole of them for housekeeping but she is still thrilled to be working and gaining some independence. The Second World War is affecting every part of the country and Hitler's Luftwaffe nightly seek to wreck havoc on her home city of Liverpool. Then, tragedy is brought shockingly close to home and Helen is left reeling when she receives some terrible news. But there is no let-up in the bombing and the Germans seem determined to bring the country to its knees. When a move brings more trouble for Helen, she is determined that she will face it, as ever, with courage and determination.

This book addresses the long-standing global issue of poverty. An introductory chapter explores concepts and definitions of poverty, the subsequent chapters providing detailed examinations of poverty in ten different countries: UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Malta, The Netherlands, The Philippines and Zimbabwe.
Each chapter follows a consistent format, to facilitate comparison and focuses on the following issues:-
* the socio-economic and historical context within which poverty exists
* the extent and nature of poverty
its causes
* the measures that have been taken to mitigate it.
This book will be essential reading for students of social policy and administration as well as development studies and anthropology.

Exploring the lived realities of both poverty and prosperity in the UK, this book examines the material and symbolic significance of welfare austerity and its implications for social citizenship and inequality. The book offers a rare and vivid insight into the everyday lives, attitudes and behaviours of the rich as well as the poor, demonstrating how those marginalised and validated by the existing welfare system make sense of the prevailing socio-political settlement and their own position within it. Through the testimonies of both affluent and deprived citizens, the book problematises dominant policy thinking surrounding the functions and limits of welfare, examining the civic attitudes and engagements of the rich and the poor, to demonstrate how welfare austerity and rising structural inequalities secure and maintain institutional legitimacy. The book offers a timely contribution to academic and policy debates pertaining to citizenship, welfare reform and inequality.

Addressing the topic of hunger and food security in Western Africa, the contributing authors to this volume are anthropologists who seek to understand the sociocultural factors involved in the environmental and economic aspects of food production. With an emphasis on technology and the changing patterns of resource use, case studies from regions of Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone reveal how local farmers are responding to change and to the problems of food security. The book also offers a comparative approach to discussions of diverse agricultural systems, both within and across cultural areas, to present wide-ranging implications for planning and policy.

Are poverty, misery, famine, disease and war inevitably part of the human condition? Will the creations of science become uncontrollable and socially dangerous, like Frankenstein's monster? Or can science and education create a world of material plenty - a war-free world, where the benevolent, creative and intellectual sides of human nature will have a chance to flourish?

The idea that Britain, the US and other western societies are witnessing the rise of an underclass of people at the bottom of the social heap, structurally and culturally distinct from traditional patterns of "decent" working-class life, has become increasingly popular in the 1990s. Anti-work, anti-social, and welfare dependent cultures are said to typify this new "dangerous class" and "dangerous youth" are taken as the prime subjects of underclass theories. Debates about the family and single-parenthood, about crime and about unemployment and welfare reforms have all become embroiled in underclass theories which, whilst highly controversial, have had remarkable influence on the politics and policies of governments in Britain and the US. This text addresses the underclass idea in relation to contemporary youth. It focuses upon unemployment, training, the labour market, crime, homelessness, and parenting. It should be of interest to students of social policy, sociology and criminology.

A senior editor at Mother Jones dives into the lives of the extremely rich, showing the fascinating, otherworldly realm they inhabit-and the insidious ways this realm harms us all. Have you ever fantasized about being ridiculously wealthy? Probably. Striking it rich is among the most resilient of American fantasies, surviving war and peace, expansions and recessions, economic meltdowns and global pandemics. We dream of the jackpot, the big exit, the life-altering payday, in whatever form that takes. (Americans spent $81 billion on lottery tickets in 2019, more than the GDPs of most nations.) We would escape "essential" day jobs and cramped living spaces, bury our debts, buy that sweet spread, and bail out struggling friends and relations. But rarely do we follow the fantasy to its conclusion-to ponder the social, psychological, and societal downsides of great affluence and the fact that so few possess it. What is it actually like to be blessed with riches in an era of plagues, political rancor, and near-Dickensian economic differences? How mind-boggling are the opportunities and access, how problematic the downsides? Does the experience differ depending on whether the money is earned or unearned, where it comes from, and whether you are male or female, white or black? Finally, how does our collective lust for affluence, and our stubborn belief in social mobility, explain how we got to the point where forty percent of Americans have literally no wealth at all? These are all questions that Jackpot sets out to explore. The result of deep reporting and dozens of interviews with fortunate citizens-company founders and executives, superstar coders, investors, inheritors, lottery winners, lobbyists, lawmakers, academics, sports agents, wealth and philanthropy professionals, concierges, luxury realtors, Bentley dealers, and even a woman who trains billionaires' nannies in physical combat, Jackpot is a compassionate, character-rich, perversely humorous, and ultimately troubling journey into the American wealth fantasy and where it has taken us.

"Hunger and Shame" is a passionate account of child malnutrition in a relatively wealthy populace, the Chagga in Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Views of family members, health workers and government officials provide insights into the complex of ideas, institutions and human fallibility that sustain the shame of malnutrition in the mountains.
Discussing the moral and practical dilemmas posed by the presence of malnourished children in the community, the authors explore the shame associated with child hunger in relation to social organization, colonial history and the global economy. Their discussions challenge the reader to ask fundamental questions concerning ethics, the politics of poverty and shame and social relations.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415916135

World Hunger explores the nature and extent of contemporary world hunger, explaining why hunger still persists while agricultural production increases and genetic engineering revolutionises food production and distribution. Numerous case studies, drawn from the North and South, illustrate the diversity of diets in the world and the connections between the global and local. Globalisation and access to food in the global supermarket is examined.
Explaining the essential political character of hunger, the author exposes popular myths and identifies positive changes where prevailing inequalities and ideologies are challenged and it becomes possible to envisage a world where hunger is history.

eBook available with sample pages: 020313687X

Series Information:
Nissan Institute/RoutledgeCurzon Japanese Studies

Calcutta is notorious for its pavement dwellers, street children, and scavengers that have become a portrait of the worst sort of human degradation. In this illuminating critique, Thomas investigates the standard solutions - improved housing, increased job creation, and intervention of social services agencies - only to come to the conclusion that such initiatives have little effect on the inherent nature of the problem of poverty. Based on historical and anthropological findings, and the author's visits to the slums of Calcutta, what becomes clear is that even in the midst of great poverty, there is a nobility of character, a vitality of ethnic and cultural ties, and an energy that bring out inventiveness and ingenuity in the lives of the poor. If Calcutta's poverty is not to be an intractable problem, these internal forces must be awakened to generate solutions. Illustrated with stunning photographs, Thomas's reflections provide new insight into an age-old problem.

Working For Full Employment draws upon contributions from experienced labour market experts and public policy analysts. Together they provide a readable and stimulating perspective on new ways to combat mass joblessness. Topics covered include the effects of new technology and increased trade, the increased participation of women in the labour market, the impact of labour market regulation on employment, worksharing, how welfare reforms can help the long-term unemployed into jobs, the role of industrial policy, and reform of pay bargaining. The book's central arguments are also relevant to the concepts of 'social cohesion' and the 'stakeholder economy' which are set to become dominant political themes in the next few years. This accessible book will be a valuable guide to economists, policy-makers and everyone with an interest in employment changes.

After more than 20 years of mass unemployment in Britain and throughout much of Europe can the aspiration of "jobs for all" once again become a reality? This text considers the feasibility of full employment in a modern market economy. The book is written by aothors who were pivotal in pushing full employment up the political agenda in the mid 1990s. They identify the hard choices which policy makers must face and discuss why full employment has been so elusive for the past 20 years. The authors examine: the effects of new technology and increased trade; the increased participation of women in the labour market; the impact of labour market regulation on employment; worksharing; how welfare reform can help the long term unemployed into jobs; the role of industrial policy; and reform of pay bargaining.

Over the last decade, the theory that poverty in the world's poorest regions could be alleviated by providing small loans to micro-entrepreneurs has become increasingly popular. This volume examines the effectiveness of this theory when put into practice. The book presents empirical evidence drawn from comparative experiences in seven developing countries and produces some startling conclusions. This work should be essential reading for all those interested in development, poverty-reduction, social welfare and finance. Volume One provides a detailed analysis of this theory and offers policy recommendations for practitioners in the field.

Over the last decade, the theory that poverty in the world's poorest regions could be alleviated by providing small loans to micro-entrepreneurs has become increasingly popular. This volume examines the effectiveness of this theory when put into practice. The book presents empirical evidence drawn from comparative experiences in seven developing countries and produces some startling conclusions. This work should be essential reading for all those interested in development, poverty-reduction, social welfare and finance. Volume One provides a detailed analysis of this theory and offers policy recommendations for practitioners in the field.

In two volumes these books review and expand the theory that poverty in the world's poorest regions could be alleviated by providing small loans to micro-entrepreneurs. Volume 1 provides detailed analysis of this theory and offers policy recommendations for practitioners in this field. Volume 2 presents empirical evidence drawn from comparative experiences in seven developing countries. The work assesses the success of this policy and provides some startling conclusions. This is essential reading for all those interested in development, poverty-reduction, social welfare and finance.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415095441

In this new edition of his acclaimed study of American poverty, Harrell Rodgers carefully analyzes the most recent data on the profile of poor families and the underlying causes of the dramatic increase in chronically poor, mother-only households. After evaluating the record of past anti-poverty efforts, Rodgers examines the many new and proposed approaches to welfare reform, their prospects of success, and the consequences of failure - both for the children of poverty and for a nation that leaves such a high proportion of its citizenry, its future, at risk.

This concise analysis of America's welfare crisis has been fully updated to evaluate the status of anti-poverty efforts on the eve of welfare reform.

"A very readable, well-organized overview of the factors which have created poverty among white, black, and hispanic female-headed families". -- Women & Politics (on a previous edition)

Every society has had to cope with poverty and the poor. Traditionally, most scholars have located the origins of modern philanthropies in the free-grain-distribution schemes common in ancient Greece and Rome, while most social workers see the history of philanthropic or welfare institutions as beginning with the Elizabethan Poor Laws. A few students know that the early Christian church made provisions for the poor, but few are aware of what occurred prior to the beginning of Christianity. This volume provides evidence that contemporary philanthropic and welfare institutions owe a greater debt to Judaism than to the Greco-Roman culture.By skillful use of source documents, the author explores Jewish influence on early Christian charities, seeing it as more important than previously believed. He traces the evolution of charitable institutions in ancient Judaism from the days of the monarchy until the conclusion of the Talmud, a period of about fifteen hundred years. He demonstrates how responsibility for support of the poor was initially placed on the individual, with every farmer obligated to provide for the poor from his field. Dramatic increases in the number and proportion of poor people made major structural changes imperative. A theme throughout the book is how communal institutions evolved in place of individual responsibility. The change was gradual and not without opposition. How these changes came about and in what functional areas they occurred are discussed, as well as an analysis of Jewish support for the non-Jewish poor and non-Jewish support for the Jewish poor. In an appendix, the author discusses the philanthropies of the early Christians.From Charity to Social Justice adds to current debates on the role of religious institutions in welfare programs. It will be of particular interest to those who are interested in the history of philanthropy and in the development of welfare institutions. For the first time relevant sections of the Talmud and other post-biblical Jewish writings are made available to those who cannot read these in the original.