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.

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.

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.

"Hunger in History" represents the culmination of two years' work in human hunger by the members of the World Hunger Program at Brown University. In bringing together original and specially commissioned articles by some of the world's leading authorities on this topic, Amartya Sen, David Herlihy, Peter Garnsey, among others, the editors have succeeded in providing a strong cross-disciplinary base for the study of hunger. The volume, which includes 16 papers, looks at the problem of hunger from the beginnings of human society, defining and redefining the problem in ancient society and again in early modern and then contemporary society, and ends with an essay by the editors on solutions to the contemporary problem of hunger.

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.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. The motivations of migrants for travelling to Europe vary, and the quality of the processes involved in their settlement and contribution to social and economic development are inextricably linked to their prospects of finding and sustaining good-quality work. This book explores the labour market integration of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers across seven European countries: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. Using empirical data from the Horizon2020 SIRIUS Project, it investigates how legal, political, social and personal circumstances combine to determine the work trajectory for migrants who choose Europe as their home.

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

'With its breadth and depth, The International Handbook of Gender and Poverty certainly deserves a place on the bookshelves of university libraries and of every academic and development professional with a specific interest in gender and development.' Gender in Management: An International Journal 'I recommend this book to be a staple of reference libraries.' British Politics and Policy 'These diverse, thoughtful essays go far beyond a mere summary of international scholarship. They outline a fascinating and provocative agenda for future policy-relevant research. This book will help redefine and revitalise the field of gender and development.' - Professor Nancy Folbre, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst In the interests of contextualizing (and nuancing) the multiple interrelations between gender and poverty, Sylvia Chant has gathered writings on diverse aspects of the subject from a range of disciplinary and professional perspectives, achieving extensive thematic as well as geographical coverage. This benchmark volume presents women's and men's experiences of gendered poverty with respect to a vast spectrum of intersecting issues including local to global economic transformations, family, age, 'race', migration, assets, paid and unpaid work, health, sexuality, human rights, and conflict and violence. The handbook also provides up-to-the-minute reflections on how to theorize, measure and represent the connections between gender and poverty, and to contemplate how gendered poverty is affected - and potentially redressed - by policy and grassroots interventions. An unprecedented and ambitious blend of conceptual, methodological, empirical and practical offerings from a host of established as well as upcoming scholars and professionals from across the globe lends the volume a distinctive and critical edge. Notwithstanding the broad scope of The International Handbook of Gender and Poverty, one theme in common to most of its 100-plus chapters is the need to 'en-gender' analysis and initiatives to combat poverty and inequality at local, national and international levels. As such, the volume will inspire its readers not only to reflect deeply on poverty and gender injustice, but also to consider what to do about it. This book will be essential reading for all with academic, professional or personal interests in gender, poverty, inequality, development, and social, political and economic change in the contemporary world.

This book describes and explains the extraordinary wave of popular protest that swept across the so-called Third World and the countries of the former socialist bloc during the period from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, in response to the mounting debt crisis and the austerity measures widely adopted as part of economic "reform" and "adjustment."

During the development decades of the 1960s and 1970s, governments around the world borrowed heavily to finance economic and social development, only to succumb to the global debt crisis and general recession of the 1980s. The last 15-20 years have witnessed the increasing adoption of neo-liberal austerity measures, led by the stabilization and structural adjustment programs of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which have averted a crisis for international banks by shifting the burden to the urban poor in the less developed or 'emergent, ' developing nations.

"Free Markets and Food Riots" explores this general proposition in a cross-national study of the austerity protests, or the 'IMF Riots' that have affected so many debtor nations since the mid-1970s. The book argues that modern austerity protests, like the classical "bread riots" in eighteenth-century Europe are political acts aimed at injustice, but acts that are an integral part of the process of international economic and political restructuring. Modern food riots are most important for what they reveal about global economic transformation and its social, and political, consequences.

Successive chapters provide a general framework (drawing on comparative and historical material) and then trace the cycle of uneven development, debt, neo-liberal reform, andprotest in Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Additional chapters focus on the role of women in structural adjustment and protest politics and the features of seemingly anomalous cases which qualify the general argument.

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.

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)

One of the main ideas behind this book was to trace continuities from the Soviet time to post-Soviet Russia. There are many similarities between Russia and Ukraine, indicating such a continuation. Russia and Ukraine had a lot in common in terms of culture, language and history, partly also because of their common origin. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, however, the two independent countries chose different routes of development. This makes it possible to distinguish between the effects of politics/reforms on the one hand, and the impacts from the Soviet system on the other. After some more or less chaotic development paths in the 1990s, showing clear differences between the two countries, and before the contemporary conflict broke out in Eastern Ukraine (2013), they had once again more similarities in terms of political leadership and policies in general. The chapters in this book focus on Ukraine and on two regions in Russia: Nizhny Novgorod and Archangelsk. Contributors look at attitudes towards poverty and poor people; strategies of the poor; and policies against poverty. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe.

A collection of papers that address unemployment as a social phenomenon. It suggests there are solutions if society is willing to take the steps necessary to find and implement them. Focus is on the persistent unemployment in the USA and the UK.

A collection of papers that address unemployment as a social phenomenon. It suggests there are solutions if society is willing to take the steps necessary to find and implement them. Focus is on the persistent unemployment in the USA and the UK.

Naomi Eisenstadt and Carey Oppenheim explore the radical changes in public attitudes and public policy concerning parents and parenting. Drawing on research and their extensive experience of working at senior levels of government, they argue convincingly that a more joined-up approach is needed to improve outcomes for children: both reducing child poverty and improving parental capacity by providing better support systems.

Jane Addams, the co-founder of Hull House, the famous settlement home, writes about her experiences and insights in her autobiography, Twenty Years at Hull House. As a child growing up in Illinois, Addams suffered from Pott's Disease, which was a rare infection in her spine. This disease caused her to contract many other illnesses, then because of these aliments, Addams was self-conscious of her appearance. She explains that she could not play with other children often due to a limp, a side effect to her illnesses. Still, she is able to provide relatable and even amusing childhood anecdotes. Addams was very close to her father. She admired him for his political work, which likely inspired her own interest and attention to the social problems of her society. In a time invested with xenophobia and cruelty towards immigrants, Addams bought land in Chicago and co-founded a settlement house named Hull House. There, Addams sought to improve the lives of immigrants and the poor by providing shelter, essential social services, and access to education. Addams served as an advocate not only for the impoverished and immigrants, but also for women. She was a leader within the women's suffrage movement, determined to expand the work she did for her community to a national scale. Twenty Years at Hull House provides both a conversation about social issues and an example of how to act against them. Though originally published in 1910, Addams autobiography provides social discourse that is not only still relevant, but also considered radical by some. Addams' autobiography was well received when it was first released, impacting many key reform movements. Twenty Years at Hull House still carries that effect today, inspiring its readers to improve their community and advocate for those in need. This edition of Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Addams features a new, eye-catching cover design and is printed in a readable font, ready to inspire readers to follow the footsteps and musings of activist Jane Addams.

This new updated and expanded edition challenges many widely held views on the links between poverty and child health. It brings together new evidence, both historical and current, and considers the practical implications for health and social policy, outlining innovative approaches to future development. Poverty and Child Health is vital reading for paediatricians and child health workers, doctors and health service managers, social service professionals, social scientists and everyone with an interest in shaping health and social policy.

This title was first published in 2003. The rapid demographic aging of populations worldwide, and most dramatically in developing countries, will result in unprecedented increases in the absolute and relative numbers of the aged in these countries. Whilst developed economies already have the basic infrastructure in place through which to support their ageing populations, developing nations frequently do not, and it should not be assumed that their best course of action is to attempt to duplicate the supportive infrastructures of developed countries. In developing nations these may be culturally inappropriate, geographically inaccessible, economically or politically unsustainable, or all of these. Effective and sustainable support services must be designed with reference to the circumstances of the client group, and it is increasingly evident that knowledge of the lives of the aged in developing countries is currently very limited. This book aims to inform the reader on the livelihoods of elders in developing countries and to stimulate a discussion of appropriate methods of supporting them in maintaining their quality of life during and beyond the coming decades of demographic change. It does so through reporting the lives and livelihoods of the aged population of Kikole (a pseudonym), a highly impoverished village in Uganda. Individual livelihoods are explored from a lifecourse perspective, with present day quality of life being shown often to be the result of earlier enforced changes in circumstances arising in economic, social or cultural marginalization, political or physical insecurity, or macro-economic change, rather than in the physical or mental changes that may accompany advancing age.

Title first published in 2003. This informative volume addresses the impact of the EU on national policies to combat poverty in European member states. The editors bring together leading academics to discuss the issue of and fight against poverty in Germany in particular, within the context of ongoing trends and debates across other European states.

Unemployment is the most serious economic and social problem currently confronting the European Union. Although the extent varies from region to region, it is generally most extreme in large cities. Over recent years it has continued to increase, despite a plethora of active labour market policies to combat it. The author looks at unemployment in Europe, asks why it is so high and looks at the policies designed to curb it. The volume examines a number of issues including unemployment in Europe contrasted with other developing economies; the special factors at a local level that can affect the level of urban unemployment; European Union policy on unemployment and the allocation of funds; case studies of five major European cities currently experiencing high levels of unemployment; and an analysis of proposals for the future. This work should be a valuable guide for all those interested in the wider aspects of urban unemployment in Europe.

This title was first published in 2000: Marking the centenary of Seebohm Rowntree's first study of poverty in York, this volume examines the modern impact of poverty on health, nutrition, crime, gender and ethnicity.

First published in 1981. Professor Crowther traces the history of the workhouse system from the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 to the Local Government Act of 1929. At their outset the large residential institutions were seen by the Poor Law Commissioners as a cure for nearly all social ills. In fact these formidable, impersonal, prison-like buildings - housing all paupers under one roof - became institutionalised: places where routine came to be an end in itself. In the early twentieth century some of the workhouses became hospitals or homes for the old or handicapped but many continued to form a residual service for those who needed long-term care. Crowther pays attention not only to the administrators but also to the inmates and their daily life. She illustrates that the workhouse system was not simply a nineteenth-century phenomenon but a forerunner of many of today's social institutions.

This title was first published in 2003. The working poor of the world are observed to engage in long hours in hard jobs and to work more if wages are further reduced. Mainstream economics brushes off this tendency to increase labour supply as wages fall as perverse because it does not fit the conventional wisdom and tries to explain it as a result of "subsistence mentality", "limited aspiration", or "target income" behaviour of the poor. This however ignores the observed fact that the poor work long hard hours but most of the time, fail to meet their minimum needs of subsistence and live impoverished lives in absolute poverty deficient of both food and physical rest. This book postulates that the observed behaviour is the result of economic distress the working poor suffer and analyses it as a rational behaviour using the conventional utility maximization framework and derives both theoretical and empirical results consistent with the observation. This book aims to correct a serious misconception persisting in the literature relating to the working-poor labour-supply behaviour that is almost universally observed. It also goes onto develop, using the supply function, a methodology to determine the standard of subsistence income and physical rest for the worker.