The phenomenon of poverty and its consequences affects the entire world and is on the agenda of many authorities and researchers. The repercussions of the economic and health crisis caused by COVID-19 are perceptible and has led several countries to regress their social indicators to 1990 levels. Economic development and inequality reduction programs have not been able to provide solutions that could minimize the impact of the pandemic on social indicators, even in more advanced economies. The issue prompted authorities to close their borders to avoid displacement, further aggravating regional differences. The phenomenon of poverty, despite being aggravated by the crisis, is recurrent and very harmful in peripheral countries and there seems to be no single solution, as each country faces its specificities, requiring an immersion in its causes and consequences. This book discusses the results of research conducted on the causes of hunger and poverty and how the pandemic has aggravated this problem. It explores the local development initiatives that have been implemented to mitigate the problem and identifies the different causes for the chronic problem of hunger and underdevelopment in the countries studied to present proposals in public policies to intervene, combat and improve poverty situations. It includes points in different scientific areas, such as sociology, economics, management, entrepreneurship, marketing, education, among others, that add to the efforts to combat poverty and current means and methods to modernize countries that are less developed. This book is intended for those who work or study within the scientific fields related to the phenomenon of hunger, poverty and local development, as well as for universities, students, teachers and researchers. Additionally, the book is aimed at policy makers related to the topic under study and practitioners dealing with the problem so that they can utilize the wide range of studies that will be presented in the book, which will also be of interest to the general public.

This book provides an extensive and comparative account of how governments go about combating poverty and social exclusion in Europe. Contributions to the volume display robust theoretical anchorage to ground the analysis of the complexities of both multi-level and multi-actor governance, while the perspectives and experiences of target groups are also assessed. Research results elicit enduring problematic aspects that are not likely to disappear when full economic recovery takes place and constitute a must-read for all those interested in how to fight social inequality.' - Ana M. Guillen, University of Oviedo, Spain'The authors of this book have succeeded in developing a new and original approach to the study of combating poverty and social exclusion. Using a framework that combines insights from multi-level and network governance theory, the book analyses and compares the governance arrangements that European countries introduced in the context of active inclusion policies, and evaluates why these arrangements work or fail - an ambitious and very relevant project!' - Rik van Berkel, Utrecht School of Governance, the Netherlands Discovering methods to combat poverty and social exclusion has now become a major political challenge in Europe. Combating Poverty in Europe offers an original and timely analysis of how this challenge is met by actors at European, national and subnational levels. Building on a European study comparing Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the UK, this book provides new insights into the processes and mechanisms that promote or hinder interaction between the increasingly multi-layered European system for responding to poverty and social exclusion in EU member states. The contributors present systematic and comparative analyses of social policy design, institutional frameworks and delivery practices from a multi-level governance perspective. Original and diverse, this book will appeal to researchers and scholars in comparative social policy, as well as policy officials in the EU, national government and anti-poverty NGOs. Contributors include: A. Angelin, H. Bennett, D. Clegg, M. Ferrera, R. Halvorsen, B. Hvinden, M. Jessoula, H. Johansson, M. Koch, W. Kozek, J. Kubisa, F. Maino, A. Panican, D. Spannagel, E. Ugreninov, M. Ziele ska

This book brings together interdisciplinary perspectives with the aim of broadening understandings of poverty. It contains both empirical and conceptual chapters, including those by local researchers, on a range of topics highlighting the relationship between poverty and sustainability. It cover themes such as: changes in the environment that pose an existential risk to humans; new concepts in tourism development that consider it as one of the key contributors in the prosperity and well-being of all stakeholders; natural, social and economic aspects of human behaviour and environmental sustainability; the impact of global warming on human well-being; immigration and integration policies and analyses of public discourse on migrants; and overconsumption and its impact on sustainable development. It will be a helpful resource for students and researchers of environmental management, tourism, global justice and sustainable development.

This book presents the key issues, debates, concepts, approaches, and questions that together define the lives of rural people living in extreme poverty in the aftermath of political violence in a developing country context. Divided into nine chapters, the book addresses issues such as the complexities of human suffering, losing trust, psychic wounds, dealing with post-traumatic stress situations, and disillusionment after change. By building knowledge about human and social suffering in a post-conflict environment, the book counters the objectification of human and social suffering and the moral detachment with which it is associated. In addition, it presents practical ways to help make things better. It discusses new methodological concepts based around empathy and participation to show how the subjective reality of human and social suffering matter. Finally, the book maps a burgeoning field of enquiry based around the need for linking psychosocial approaches with the actual lived experience of individuals and groups.

First published in 1973, this book presents a systematic treatment of the conceptual framework as well as the practical problems of measurement of inequality. Alternative approaches are evaluated in terms of their philosophical assumptions, economic content, and statistical requirements. In a new introduction, Amartya Sen, jointly with James Foster, critically surveys the literature that followed the publication of this book, and also evaluates the main analytical issues in the appraisal of economic inequality and poverty.

London in the eighteenth century was the greatest city in the world. It was a magnet that drew men and women from the rest of Britain, and from further afield, in huge numbers. If for a few the streets were paved with gold, for the majority it was a harsh world with little guarantee of money or food. For the poor and destitute, London's streets offered only the barest livelihood. Yet men, women and children found a great variety of ways to eke out their existence, sweeping roads, selling matches, singing ballads and performing all sorts of menial labour. Many of these activities, apart from the direct begging of the disabled, depended on an appeal to charity, but one often mixed with threats and promises. Down and Out in Eighteenth-Century London provides a remarkable insight into the lives of Londoners, for all of whom the demands of charity and begging were part of their everyday world.

This book examines female-headed households (FHHs) in the world economy, aspects of their poverty, and the implications of those for sustainable development. Following a general discussion of FHHs in the world community, the work discusses FHHs in two regions of India, one being an example of unsuccesssful development and the other of successful development. The research is based on fieldwork in five rural villages. One village, comprising mostly female-headed households, provided a unique case study. The other four villages include both male- and female-headed households with a high proportion of female-headed households.

The authors found that female-headed households dominate the poorer sections of the community, and women's access to resources is limited by cultural, social, and economic influences. Women, particularly those in FHHs, bear the heaviest burdens in times of economic hardship. These women face more forms of discrimination outside the home than women from male-headed households. They have fewer customary rights but greater freedom of movement and more opportunities for paid employment. The authors go on to show that the benefits of government development programs have not reached remote areas. The trickle-down approach has not worked, but sustainable development programs focusing on women's development and self-responsiblity have helped to lift the economic status of women in general and FHHs in particular.

This book assesses the global significance of China's decade-long campaign to reduce poverty. After showing how the country's unique approach to poverty alleviation brought about unparalleled progress toward achieving both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the authors shed light on how China's experience can help other countries around the globe as they try to permanently rid humanity of the scourge of poverty under ever more challenging social, economic and environmental conditions.

Against the backdrop of a robust economy, hundreds of thousands of people in this country remain out of work for long periods of time, causing economic and psychological hardships for entire families. "Hardest TimeS" examines in depth what happens to men, and to their families, when they remain out of work for longer than six months, a period the government designates as long term unemployment. Cottle examines long term unemployment as a traumatic event, which creates in those who experience it conditions resembling symptoms of loss and post-trauma. Through the words of men who have experienced long term unemployment, he demonstrates that work is crucial to the formation of a man's identity, and that without work, many men often find no purpose for living. The in-depth studies that Cottle undertook reveal here why some men abandon their families or, in some instances, are driven to commit murder or suicide in the face of lingering unemployment. These often heart wrenching stories encourage readers to consider the implications of long term unemployment for the men who experience it, the families who endure it, and the society that tolerates it.

Cottle's approach demonstrates that unemployment cannot be examined strictly in statistical terms, but that ultimately it must be explored in human terms, for it affects both the unemployed worker and his family. Instead of treating long term unemployment as simply another social problem, Cottle argues that it must be treated as a serious, often life-threatening, disorder, whose cure is clearly discernible. By reading the words of these men, the reader will understand how, even in this time of shifting gender roles, men in large measure still define themselves by the work they do, rather than the relationships that they cultivate. This unique approach to the problem of long term unemployment gives a human face to the problem and encourages readers to rethink the nature of working and not working and its special importance to men.

This book discusses critical policy issues that need to be addressed if India wishes to achieve the SDG 1 based elusive goal of ending poverty in the country. In its nine chapters, it takes the readers through trends and estimates of poverty in India, explains changes in the way it has been measured over time and the factors that lead to persistence of poverty, draws attention to the fact that hunger is both a cause and an effect of poverty and has gender and age dimensions too. The book revisits strategies that were successful in addressing poverty emanating from situations of conflict, presents a discussion on migration as a critical coping mechanism among poor, analyses the links between ill health and poverty as well as education and poverty to draw attention to the policy imperatives that need attention. India's report card on poverty remains dismal even though there is recognition of the importance of reducing or eliminating or ending it at both national and global levels. Despite rapid economic growth and improvement on a range of development indicators, an unacceptably high proportion of India's population continues to suffer poverty in multiple dimensions. SDG 1 or "ending poverty in all its forms everywhere" cannot be achieved unless policies and poverty alleviation programmes understand and address chronic poverty and its dynamics. This requires that we estimate and understand the extent of poverty, the factors that lead to people getting stuck in it and the ways this can be addressed. It also requires understanding the dynamic nature of poverty or the fact that many of those who are poor are able to move out of poverty as well as the fact that many others who are not poor become impoverished. These are the issues that are comprehensively examined and addressed in this book. In addition to students, teachers and researchers in the areas of development, economic growth, equity and welfare, the book is also of great interest to policy makers, planners and non-government agencies who are concerned with understanding and addressing poverty-related issues in the developing countries.

This book discusses youth unemployment in post-revolutionary Tunisia, paying particular attention to the so-called skill mismatch. Youth unemployment was one of the major factors triggering the Tunisian revolution, and continues to be a central socio-economic challenge. The Tunisian labour market is marked by a strong increase of higher education graduates while the economic system is dominated by sectors mainly employing a less qualified labour force. This study investigates current labour market trends, and provides insights into the underlying causes of persisting high youth unemployment. The author argues that economic crisis, difficult political conditions since 2011, and inefficient labour market policies did not foster sufficient job creation, and that special attention needs to be paid to the educational causes of the skill mismatch in youth employment in future sustainable development models.

The number of children living in families with incomes below the federal poverty level increased by 33 percent between 2000 and 2009, resulting in over 15 million children living in poverty. Some of these children are able to overcome this dark statistic and break the intergenerational transmission of poverty, offering hope to an otherwise bleak outlook, but this raises the question-how? In Fostering Resilience and Well-Being in Children and Families in Poverty, Dr. Valerie Maholmes sheds light on the mechanisms and processes that enable children and families to manage and overcome adversity. She explains that research findings on children and poverty often unite around three critical factors related to risk for poverty-related adversity: family structure, the presence of buffers that can protect children from negative influences, and the association between poverty and negative academic outcomes, and social and behavioral problems. She discusses how the research on resilience can inform better interventions for these children, as poverty does not necessarily preclude children from having strengths that may protect against its effects. Importantly, Maholmes introduces the concept of "hope" as a primary construct for understanding how the effects of poverty can be ameliorated. At the heart of the book are interviews with family members who have experienced adversity but managed to overcome it through the support of targeted programs and evidence-based interventions. Student leaders provide unique perspectives on the important role that parents and teachers play in motivating youth to succeed. Finally, professionals who work with children and families share their observations on effective interventions and the roles of culture and spirituality in fostering positive outcomes. Excerpts from these interviews bring research to life and help call attention to processes that promote hope and resilience. This book will be invaluable for policymakers, educators, and community and advocacy groups, as well as scholars and students in family studies, human development, and social work.

President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty did more than offer aid to needy Americans; in some cities, it also sparked both racial conflict and cooperation. "Race and the War on Poverty" examines the African American and Mexican American community organizations in Los Angeles that emerged to implement War on Poverty programs. It explores how organizers applied democratic vision and political savvy to community action, and how the ongoing African American, Chicano, and feminist movements in turn shaped the contours of the War on Poverty's goals, programs, and cultural identity.

Robert Bauman describes how the Watts riots of 1965 accelerated the creation of a black community-controlled agency, the Watts Labor Community Action Committee. The example of the WLCAC, combined with a burgeoning Chicano movement, inspired Mexican Americans to create The East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU) and the Chicana Service Action Center. Bauman explores the connections that wove together the War on Poverty, the Watts revolt, and local movements in ways that empowered the participants economically, culturally, and politically. Although heated battles over race and other cultural issues sometimes derailed the programs, these organizations produced lasting positive effects for the communities they touched.

Despite Nixon-era budget cuts and the nation's turn toward conservatism, the War on Poverty continues to be fought today as these agencies embrace the changing politics, economics, and demographics of Los Angeles. "Race and the War on Poverty" shows how the struggle to end poverty evolved in ways that would have surprised its planners, supporters, and detractors--and that what began as a grand vision at the national level continues to thrive on the streets of the community.

This is the first book to examine debates about, and the practice of, state supplementing of wages. It charts the historical development of such policies from prohibition in the 1830s and how opposition to it was overcome in the 1970s, thereby allowing the increasing supplementation of the wages of poorly paid working people.

The greatest problems facing humanity today are climate change, poverty, and the increasing separation between the rich and poor. The aim of this book is to examine the social constructions that have led to these breakdowns, and provide potential solutions that are based on a fundamental change in the structure of society and the values on which a new and better social system can be built. Unless we as a society set a drastically different course soon, human life as we know it will suffer greatly, perhaps even cease altogether. Excess consumption is becoming anti-social as the effects of global warming and increasing poverty become apparent. What, then, will form the new social values on which society replaces the present emphasis on work and material consumption that now prevail? This book's answer to that question is accomplishment and aesthetic consumption. This proposed refocused existence will necessitate a new economic order that provides access to a livelihood beyond the market system. This groundbreaking book will appeal to students and scholars of sociology, leisure studies, political science, and social work.

Within the United States alone, almost fifteen percent of the population lives in poverty. Ethics in an Age of Savage Inequalities investigates what moral obligations the middle class might have to the poor. While there are no simple ethical prescriptions, the fact remains that many of us afford small luxuries while others in the world struggle to live on less than a dollar a day. James J. Winchester suggests that we can and should give not only charity, but restitution to the poor. Looking at extraction of minerals and the plight of service workers in the United States among many other things, this book demonstrates how the middle class benefits from the exploitation of the poor and harms the environment in ways that threaten people in poverty. Winchester argues that now is the time to take political action to reduce the savage inequalities in this world. Of interest to anyone involved in ethics, social justice, sociology, and even political science, Ethics in an Age of Savage Inequalities explores the idea that money is only a small part of what we owe to the poor.

This provocative volume is the first book to offer an extensive examination of the nature of poverty and its relationship to gender and ethnicity in five post-communist societies. As nations make the difficult transition from socialism to capitalism, the extent and nature of poverty tends to change and, because of this, the proportion of the population living in poverty tends to change. As a result, the proportion of the population living in poverty has increased sharply in these countries. The contributors contend that a "new poverty" is in the making and that the growing underclass is strongly related to ethnicity, as such an underclass is more likely to form if there is a sizeable Roma (Gypsy) minority. The question of whether gender interacts with poverty the same way ethnicity does is the subject of intense controversy and is addressed here in lucid, accessible prose. In this comprehensive analysis of the interaction between poverty, ethnicity, and gender in East European transitional societies, the contributors thoughtfully address the relevant issues and relationships and conclude that poverty has become deeper and increasingly long-term in Eastern European nations. Although it is clear that poverty increased in Eastern Europe during the market transition, the extent and nature of the changes have not yet been illuminated. Covering Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, the contributors analyze the interaction between poverty, ethnicity, and gender in an effort to explain the changing nature of poverty and the formation of an underclass in these countries. Roma (Gypsies) arise as the most likely candidates for membership in the new underclass, as they were alwayseconomically disadvantaged and the targets of discriminatory practices. On the other hand, however because they were often better educated than men during socialism, women may have been relatively advantaged, at least temporarily, during the market transition. Thus while poverty may be "racialized" during the transformation, it may not yet be "feminized." In this comparative assessment of social trends in this region, the contributors consider what they mean for the countries where they occur.

This book focuses on urban crime and policing in Turkey since the steady economic decline of the 1990s. Concentrating on the attempts to 'modernize' the policing of Izmir, Zeynep Gonen highlights how the police force expanded their territorial control over the urban space, specifically targeting the poor and racialized segments of the city. Through in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations of these 'targeted' populations, as well as rare ethnographic data from the Turkish police, surveys of the media and politicians' rhetoric, Gonen shows how Kurdish migrants have been criminalized as dangerous 'enemies' of the order. In studying the ideological and material processes of criminalization, The Politics of Crime in Turkey makes the case for the neoliberal politics of crime that uses the notion of 'security' to legitimize violence and authoritarianism. The book will be of interest to criminologists, as well as those investigating the modern Turkish state and its relationship to the Kurds in the wider region. The multilayered methodology and conceptual approach sheds light on parallel developments in penal and security systems across the globe.

Burton offers a thorough and thoughtful review of research and arguments concerning poverty in the United States. He cites and summarizes the views of influential conservative thinkers and he provides solid evidence to defeat their arguments. While conservative writers have traditionally presented the poor as lazy and unfortunate offshoots of a generally prosperous nation, Burton convincingly demonstrates that poverty in America is widespread and that it is not caused by a lack of ambition. The text begins with an overview of the true extent of poverty in America, including an examination of how poverty is defined and measured. Burton then analyzes the cultural characteristics of the poor, the homeless, and the underclass. He then turns his attention to welfare, workfare, and the generation of jobs. A final set of chapters probes more deeply into the political dimension of poverty and the role of government in alleviating it. Throughout the study, Burton refers to numerous influential works by conservative authors, and he deftly addresses their shortcomings. An extensive bibliography adds to the usefulness of the text. The result is a clear and comprehensive treatment of poverty in America.

In many respects, the United States remains a nation of immigrants. This is the first book length treatment of the impact of the 1996 welfare reform act on a wide range of immigrant groups in North America. Contributors to the book draw on ethnographic fieldwork, government data, and original survey research to show how welfare reform has reinforced socio-economic hardships for working poor immigrants. As the essays reveal, reform laws have increased the social isolation of poor immigrant households and discouraged large numbers of qualified immigrants from applying for health and welfare services. All of the articles highlight the importance of examining federal policy guidelines in conjunction with local enforcement policies, labor market dynamics, and immigrant attitudes toward government agencies.

Drawing from long term ethnographic work and practice in Guatemala, this incisive and interdisciplinary text brings in perspectives from critical disability studies, postcolonial theory and critical development to explore the various interactions and dynamics between disability and extreme poverty in rural areas.

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.

Employment security is under pressure in public and private sectors because of fluctuating economic conditions and unstable markets. According to Loseby, the proponents of employment security have been lacking in substantive evidence justifying its existence. The majority of big business explicitly displays its disbelief in the practice through employee lay-off at first sign of economic adversity. Lay-offs are shown to create and prolong a number of socio-economic problems for society. Lack of employment affects personal ego, personal and family stress, and self-identity, as well as financial and economic factors associated with basic needs and success. The analyses of data provides focus on intangible and difficult-to-identify criteria such as employee morale and company loyalty. Productivity and financial ratios are also identified, analyzed, and compared. The author continues to review recommended and widely used strategies. Strengths and weaknesses are analyzed and compared, and successful national and global application of strategies are cited. The evolving corporation of the twenty-first century is reviewed to discern its needs, and to determine applicability of employment security to public or private enterprise. The book will be of interest to executives and all levels of management, human resource executives and personnel staff, in addition to professors of management and their students.

This book discusses poverty reduction and inclusive development in China. The relevant research reports included here combine unique perspectives and thorough analysis, and include both comparative and empirical analyses. Although China is the first country to have achieved the UN's Millennium Development Goals, it still faces enormous problems and challenges in terms of narrowing the income gap, reducing poverty and attaining sustainable development. This book not only provides valuable theoretical material to help readers understand inclusive development and poverty reduction in today's China, but also offers relevant government authorities a solid theoretical and practical basis for informed decision-making.