The politics of austerity has seen governments across Europe cut back on welfare provision. As the State retreats, this edited collection explores secular and faith-based grassroots social action in Germany and the United Kingdom that has evolved in response to changing economic policy and expanding needs, from basic items such as food to more complex means to move out of poverty. Bringing together scholars from different disciplines and practitioners in several areas of social intervention, the book explores how the conceptualization and constitutive practices of citizenship and community are changing because of the retreat of the State and the challenge of meeting social and material needs, creating new opportunities for local activism. The book provides new ways of thinking about social and political belonging and about the relations between individual, collective, and State responsibility.

The essays in this volume explore continuities and changes in the role of philanthropic organizations in Europe and North America in the period around the French Revolution. They aim to make connections between research on the early modern and late modern periods, and to analyze policies towards poverty in different countries within Europe and across the Atlantic. Cunningham and Innes highlight the new role for voluntary organizations emerging in the late eighteenth century and draws out the implications of this for received accounts of the development of welfare states.

Originally published in 1997 Working for Women? examines the ways in which women's patterns of paid and unpaid work have been mediated by the policies of governments throughout the 20th century. It looks at the state in defining what is women's work and men's work, and at equal pay and opportunities policies. This book will appeal to academics of sociology, gender and women's studies.

1) This is a comprehensive book on understanding equity in the context of the northeastern states in India. 2) It contains case studies from all seven states in the north eastern region. 3) This book will be of interest to departments of South Asian studies and Development Studies across UK and USA.

The Poverty of Privacy Rights makes a simple, controversial argument: Poor mothers in America have been deprived of the right to privacy. The U.S. Constitution is supposed to bestow rights equally. Yet the poor are subject to invasions of privacy that can be perceived as gross demonstrations of governmental power without limits. Courts have routinely upheld the constitutionality of privacy invasions on the poor, and legal scholars typically understand marginalized populations to have "weak versions" of the privacy rights everyone else enjoys. Khiara M. Bridges investigates poor mothers' experiences with the state-both when they receive public assistance and when they do not. Presenting a holistic view of just how the state intervenes in all facets of poor mothers' privacy, Bridges shows how the Constitution has not been interpreted to bestow these women with family, informational, and reproductive privacy rights. Bridges seeks to turn popular thinking on its head: Poor mothers' lack of privacy is not a function of their reliance on government assistance-rather it is a function of their not bearing any privacy rights in the first place. Until we disrupt the cultural narratives that equate poverty with immorality, poor mothers will continue to be denied this right.

Poverty is a multi-dimensional concept which is complex in its origin as well as in its manifestations. Oppression and denial of Human Rights can contribute to poverty. However, this oppression and exploitation of the poor is not to be understood simplistically but as a systemic injustice rooted within the context of well organized socio-political and cultural structures of oppression. This study is a concerted effort to identify, articulate and highlight the existence, the causes and effects of poverty in Nigeria, particularly in Igboland, where Human Rights infringements have contributed to poverty. It also aims at alerting the respective governments to their administrative inadequacies that are contrary to social ethics and have given rise to poverty. It concludes by discussing viable strategies of alleviating poverty in Igboland.

Reduction of poverty is a tremendous and persistent challenge for the global community. Given that the livelihood of millions is at stake, there is an urgent need to reconsider the causes of and the remedies for poverty. Poverty and its reduction are closely linked to the natural-resources base. The quality and bounty of the local environment certainly affect living conditions of the poor and their poverty is often seen as a contributing factor to the degraded condition of the local environment. Teasing apart the direction of causality in this resourcea "poverty nexus is a serious empirical challenge.

This book contributes to an improved understanding of the economic dimensions of environmental and natural-resource management and poverty alleviation. The ten chapters of the book offer an overview of the current knowledge concerning the relation between poverty, environment and natural-resource use. Three sides of the debate receive particular attention. First, the relation between resource use and poverty is discussed from a theoretical point of view. Second, it is questioned whether payments for environmental services or considering values of resources can be an effective tool for stimulating both sustainable resource use and poverty alleviation. Third, alternative strategies to break the land degradationa "poverty cycle are discussed.

What does day-to-day life involve for those who receive out-of-work benefits? Is the political focus on moving people from 'welfare' and into work the right one? And do mainstream political and media accounts of the 'problem' of 'welfare' accurately reflect lived realities? For whose benefit? The everyday realities of welfare reform explores these questions by talking to those directly affected by recent reforms. Ruth Patrick interviewed single parents, disabled people and young jobseekers on benefits repeatedly over five years to find out how they experienced the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and whether the welfare state still offers meaningful protection and security in times of need. She reflects on the mismatch between the portrayal of 'welfare' and everyday experiences, and the consequences of this for the UK's ongoing welfare reform programme. Exploring issues including the meaning of dependency, the impact of benefit sanctions and the reach of benefits stigma, this important book makes a timely contribution to ongoing debates about the efficacy and ethics of welfare reform.

1) This is a comprehensive book on understanding equity in the context of the northeastern states in India. 2) It contains case studies from all seven states in the north eastern region. 3) This book will be of interest to departments of South Asian studies and Development Studies across UK and USA.

This book develops a political economy and a genealogy of school exclusion in order to reveal exclusion to be a symptom of more fundamental issues relating to poverty and inequality, reflected in the role of the state in managing their consequences, particularly regarding juvenile delinquency. It uses archival and documentary evidence to uncover the roots of exclusionary practices in political and economic struggles going back to the 19th century. These conflicts have had decisive effects on key shifts in social and educational policy from the Poor Law Reforms of 1834 to the emergence of the welfare state and the current neoliberal reconstitution of society according to the model of the market. In arguing that competing views of an equitable and just society underlie exclusion, the analysis opens up a space for envisaging radical new approaches and practices for dealing with children in trouble.

Research on Economic Inequality, Volume 22 begins with papers of widespread interest on the impact of the Great Recession. The first paper addresses the impact of "asset meltdown" on the wealth of the US middle class, with disparate racial and ethnic impacts. The second studies poverty and inequality in the US in the aftermath of the Great Recession. The next topic is on the evolution of poverty and inequality in the world. One paper proposes a new methodology to measure global poverty and inequality, while the second analyzes the importance of considering not only the desperately poor but also those just above the subsistence level. Great interest for inequality researchers lies on the use of wealth data. Two approaches to this issue are presented. Firstly, several papers study wealth inequality directly. Secondly, a paper uses annuitized wealth data to augment the income measure of economic well-being. An emerging field in the study of economic well-being is the use of self-reported status and perceptions data. Three papers employ this type of data, investigating happiness inequality, perception of income inequality, and the existence of a "Great Gatsby Curve" for job mobility.

Surviving Poverty carefully examines the experiences of people living below the poverty level, looking in particular at the tension between social isolation and social ties among the poor. Joan Maya Mazelis draws on in-depth interviews with poor people in Philadelphia to explore how they survive and the benefits they gain by being connected to one another. Half of the study participants are members of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, a distinctive organization that brings poor people together in the struggle to survive. The mutually supportive relationships the members create, which last for years, even decades, contrast dramatically with the experiences of participants without such affiliation. In interviews, participants discuss their struggles and hardships, and their responses highlight the importance of cultivating relationships among people living in poverty. Surviving Poverty documents the ways in which social ties become beneficial and sustainable, allowing members to share their skills and resources and providing those living in similar situations a space to unite and speak collectively to the growing and deepening poverty in the United States. The study concludes that productive, sustainable ties between poor people have an enduring and valuable impact. Grounding her study in current debates about the importance of alleviating poverty, Mazelis proposes new modes of improving the lives of the poor. Surviving Poverty is invested in both structural and social change and demonstrates the power support services can have to foster relationships and build sustainable social ties for those living in poverty.

Ways in which poverty can be reduced in both countries and regions through business, entrepreneurship and government has been a hot issue for researchers and policymakers in recent years. Governments can play an important role in helping the poor people by non-profit organizations and others that help to seed business among the poor. Businesses increasingly also see the large number of people in severe poverty not only as an issue for social concern, but also as a potentially large untapped market of consumers for goods and services. Some scholars have called for poverty reduction through entrepreneurship owing to the fact that it can be an efficient path to also change the poor's attitudes and behaviours from a passive mode, to a more active mode towards poverty reduction economically and socially. In addition, the sharing economy brings opportunities where everyone is a micro-entrepreneur. There is a recognition that these types of entrepreneurship above could offer the greatest single potential means to move individuals out of poverty in the nations and regions in the next 5-10 years. This book provides new and valuable analyses of poverty and business, entrepreneurship and innovation in current nations and regions including developing and developed countries. As business, entrepreneurship and innovation can help to generate greater business activity in settings of severe poverty, they will help to solve poverty, as individuals in severe poverty are able to both generate greater incomes and accumulate greater assets as they participate with large firms in those activities. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Entrepreneurship & Regional Development.

Comprehensive and interdisciplinary, this collection explores the complex, and often problematic, ways in which the news media shapes perceptions of poverty. Editor Sandra L. Borden and a diverse collection of scholars and journalists question exactly how the news media can reinforce (or undermine) poverty and privilege. This book is divided into five parts that examine philosophical principles for reporting on poverty, the history and nature of poverty coverage, problematic representations of people experiencing poverty, poverty coverage as part of reporting on public policy and positive possibilities for poverty coverage. Each section provides an introduction to the topic, as well as a broad selection of essays illuminating key issues and a Q&A with a relevant journalist. Topics covered include news coverage of corporate philanthropy, structural bias in reporting, representations of the working poor, the moral demands of vulnerability and agency, community empowerment and citizen media. The book's broad focus considers media and poverty at both the local and global levels with contributors from 16 countries. This is an ideal reference for students and scholars of media, communication and journalism who are studying topics involving the media and social justice, as well as journalists, activists and policy makers working in these areas.

This book provides an overview of poverty and well-being in Russia. Increasing poverty rates during the 1990s were followed by greater attention to social policies in the 2000s and increased efforts to engage people in socially oriented NGOs and 'encourage' them to contribute to the fulfillment of social aims. What impact did these developments have on the prevalence of poverty in contemporary Russian society? Tracing continuities from the Soviet system alongside recent developments such as the falling price of oil, economic sanctions, and changes in directions of social policy, this book explores the impact of poverty, inequality and social programmes. The author examines the agency of people living in poverty and those engaged in social policy, using official statistics, survey data and interviews from four Russian regions to explain the reasons and consequences of poverty and people's attempts to get out of it. The approach is based on institutional theory, complemented by Amartya Sen's capability approach highlighting the importance of agency and an institutional framework as a means for change. A timely book that will be of interest to students of contemporary Russian politics as well as those engaged in social policy issues.

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.

Although the absolute number of poor people in the world has declined significantly in recent decades, poverty reduction continues to be a very important issue. There still are very large numbers of poor people, relative poverty is an increasingly concerning problem, and progress on poverty reduction varies enormously from one part of the world to another. Factors contributing to poverty reduction include economic growth, economic integration, and specific poverty-reduction programs, which are often initiated by Western countries. This book considers poverty reduction from a global perspective. Development and Poverty Reduction looks at a wide range of specific subjects, across all continents. It highlights in particular how the issues are perceived from a non-Western perspective and especially how the rise of China is both having a profound impact on poverty reduction globally and also changing the overall way in which development and poverty reduction are approached.

The British welfare state is traditionally understood to be comprised of five main services: health, housing, social security, education and the 'personal social services', such as social care and child protection. In this book, Paul Spicker offers an original take on the role of the state in relation to these services, along with three other areas where institutional services have been developed: employment services, equalities and public services, such as roads, parks, libraries and rescue services. Dismissing false and misleading narratives, this book profiles the real problems that need to be addressed and offers inspiration for a better path forward.

This volume captures the innovative, theory-based, and grounded work being done by established scholars who are interrogating how teacher education can prepare teachers to work in challenging and diverse high-poverty settings. It offers articles from the US, Australia, Canada, the UK and Chile by some of the most significant scholars in the field. Internationally, research suggests that effective teachers for high poverty schools require deep theoretical understanding as well as the capacity to function across three well-substantiated areas: deep content knowledge, well-tuned pedagogical skills, and demonstrated attributes that prove their understanding and commitment to social justice. Schools in low socioeconomic communities need quality teachers most, however, they are often staffed by the least experienced and least prepared teachers. The chapters in this volume examine how pre-service teachers are taught to understand the social contexts of education. Drawing on the individual expertise of the authors, the topics covered include unpacking poverty for pre-service teachers, issues related to urban schooling as well as remote and regional area schooling.

This book examines the underlying assumptions and implications of how we conceptualise and investigate poverty. The empirical entry point for such inquiry is a series of research initiatives that have used mixed method, combined qualitative and quantitative, or Q-Squared ( Q(2)) approaches, to poverty analysis. The Q(2) literature highlights the vast range of analytical tools within the social sciences that may be used to understand and explain social phenomena, along with interesting research results. This literature serves as a lens to probe issues about knowledge claims made in poverty debates concerning who are the poor (identification analysis) and why they are poor (causal analysis). Implicitly or explicitly, questions are raised about the reasons for emphasising different dimensions of poverty and favouring different units of knowledge, the basis for distinguishing valid and invalid claims, the meaning of causation, and the nature of causal inference, and so forth. Q(2) provides an entry point to address foundational issues about assumptions underlying approaches to poverty, and applied issues about the strengths and limitations of different research methods and the ways they may be fruitfully combined. Together, the strands of this inquiry make a case for methodological pluralism on the grounds that knowledge is partial, empirical adjudication imperfect, social phenomena complex, and mixed methods add value for understanding and explanation. Ultimately, the goals of understanding and explanation are best served if research questions dictate the choice of methodological approach rather than the other way around.

Poverty in Contemporary Economic Thought aims to describe and critically examine how economic thought deals with poverty, including its causes, consequences, reduction and abolition. This edited volume traces the ideas of key writers and schools of modern economic thought across a significant period, ranging from Friedrich Hayek and Keynes to latter-day economists like Amartya Sen and Angus Deaton. The chapters relate poverty to income distribution, asserting the point that poverty is not always conceived of in absolute terms but that relative and social deprivation matters also. Furthermore, the contributors deal with both individual poverty and the poverty of nations in the context of the international economy. In providing such a thorough exploration, this book shows that the approach to poverty differs from economist to economist depending on their particular interests and the main issues related to poverty in each epoch, as well as the influence of the intellectual climate that prevailed at the time when the contribution was made. This key text is valuable reading for advanced students and researchers of the history of economic thought, economic development and the economics of poverty.

'One of the most exciting and provocative books that I've read in a long time' - Mike Davis, author of Planet of the Slums Can people who live in shantytowns, shacks and favelas teach us anything about democracy? About how to govern society in a way that is inclusive, participatory and addresses popular needs? This book argues that they can. In a study conducted in dozens of South Africa's shack settlements, where more than 9 million people live, Trevor Ngwane finds thriving shack dwellers' committees that govern local life, are responsive to popular needs and provide a voice for the community. These committees, called 'amakomiti' in the Zulu language, organise the provision of basic services such as water, sanitation, public works and crime prevention especially during settlement establishment. Amakomiti argues that, contrary to common perception, slum dwellers are in fact an essential part of the urban population, whose political agency must be recognised and respected. In a world searching for democratic alternatives that serve the many and not the few, it is to the shantytowns, rather than the seats of political power, that we should turn.

This book is about the courageous decision taken by the Government of a Ceara, Brazil, to tackle the painful economic and social conflict caused by the enormous gap between rich and poor. Instead of confining their attempts to easy solutions like transfer payments, the Governor of the State, Tasso Ribeiro Jereissati, decided in 2001 to cut straight into the roots of the problem, aiming to develop a genuine understanding of the conflict between growth and distribution, and thereby provide real, long-term solutions to the state's problems. Pedro Sisnando Leite, then Secretary of Rural Development, led this effort together with other state secretaries, particularly Monica Clark Nunes Cavalcante, Carlos Matos Lima and Alex Araujo.The book presents the results of a unique harmonic integration between academic research, public policy elaboration, and concrete implementation of public measures. The policies devised, implemented and evaluated in this book are focused on potential solutions to this market failure, at both the regional level and the local level. Studied and endorsed by many academics and policy makers around the world, the model of Ceara provides a unique and exemplary solution to conflict and inequality.

Since the publication of John Rawls's A Theory of Justice in 1971, political philosophers in the English-speaking world have shared a broad consensus that social justice should be understood as a matter of fair distribution of social resources. Many contemporary political philosophers disagree sharply about what would count as a fair distribution of social resources, yet agree that if social resources were to be distributed fairly, then social justice would exist. In Beyond Redistribution, Kevin M. Graham argues that political theories operating on a distributive understanding of social justice fail to address adequately certain forms of social injustice related to race. Graham argues that political philosophy could understand race-related injustice more fully by shifting its focus away from distributive inequities between whites and nonwhites and toward white supremacy, the unfair power relationships that allow whites to dominate and oppress nonwhites. Beyond Redistribution offers a careful, detailed critique of the positions of leading contemporary liberal political philosophers on race-related issues of social justice. Graham's analysis of the racial politics of police violence and public education in Omaha, Nebraska, vividly illustrates why the search for racial justice in the United States must move beyond redistribution.