In the 1990s many Latin American countries decided upon full or partial pension privatisation, and a similar wave of reforms is currently taking place in Eastern Europe. Privatising Old-Age Security aims to examine what may account for this paradigm change in an area previously considered difficult to reform. Attempting to explore and explain the similarities and differences in pension policy both intra- and inter-regionally, this book analyses the political economy of radical pension reform in using case studies from Argentina, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Peru, Poland and Uruguay. By shedding light on the political viability of market-oriented reforms the book is a valuable and unique contribution to the understanding of the political economy of policy reform. With its unprecedented selection of case studies and application of theoretical insights, this book will appeal to researchers and academics of economics, public finance, social policy administration and transition studies. Moreover, policymakers will be intrigued by the up-to-date analysis of recent pension reforms.

Foreword by Eric Maskin (Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2007)This book is a collection of articles written by the two authors on the topic of equality of opportunity. All articles build on the idea that a just society should equalize the resources that determine the opportunities agents face in order to follow their goals. Resources are either external, like financial resources, or internal, like preferences or skills. The authors propose to define "equality of opportunity" as the combination of ethical principles of compensation and responsibility. The principle of compensation requires external resources to be used to compensate low-skilled agents (considering that inequalities due to skill differences are unjust). The principle of responsibility requires external resources to be allocated without regards to inequalities due to differences in preferences (considering that these inequalities are not unjust). The articles present different ways of combining the two principles in different economic contexts.The book offers many possible aspects of the analysis of equality of opportunity, ranging from axiomatic discussions in abstract compensation models, to the design of redistribution policies in concrete labor income taxation models.

This volume of Research on Economic Inequality contains research on how we measure poverty, inequality and welfare and how these measurements contribute towards policies for social mobility. The volume contains eleven papers, some of which focus on the uneven impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on poverty and welfare. Opening with debates on theoretical issues that lie at the forefront of the measurement of inequality and poverty literature, the first two chapters go on to propose new methods for measuring wellbeing and inequality in multidimensional categorical environments, and for measuring pro-poor growth in a Bayesian setting. The following three papers present theoretical innovations for measuring poverty and inequality, namely, in estimating the dynamic probability of being poor using a Bayesian approach, and when presented with ordinal variables. The next three chapters are contributions on empirical methods in the measurement of poverty, inclusive economic growth and mobility, with a focus on India, Israel and a unique longitudinal dataset for Chile. The volume concludes with three chapters exploring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as an economic shock on income and wealth poverty in EU countries and in an Argentinian city slum.

Combating Poverty critically analyses the growing divergence between Quebec and other large Canadian provinces in terms of social and labour market policies and their outcomes over the past several decades. While Canada is routinely classified as a single, homogeneous 'liberal market' regime, social and labour market policy falls within provincial jurisdiction resulting in a considerable divergence in policy mixes and outcomes between provinces. This volume offers a detailed survey of social and labour market policies since the early 2000s in Canada's four largest provinces - Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta - showing the full extent to which Canada's major provinces have chosen diverging policy paths. Quebec has succeeded in emulating European and even Nordic social democratic levels of poverty for some groups, while poverty rates and patterns in the other provinces remain close to the high levels characteristic of the North American liberal, market-oriented regime. Combating Poverty provides a unique and timely reflection on the political implications and sustainability of Canada's fragmented welfare state.

Pieter Hennipman, the leading Dutch economist of the post-war period, made many substantial contributions to economic policy, welfare economics and, latterly, the methodology and history of economic thought during a long and distinguished career.Welfare Economics and the Theory of Economic Policy brings together a key selection of Professor Hennipman's papers - many of which have not been published in English before - which express his profound analysis of the theory of economic policy and his masterful discussion of its definition, character and scope. The pioneering work featured here developed his argument that normative economic statements and economic policies can be analysed scientifically and evaluated with the use of objective criteria. Prominent among these papers are the contributions to welfare economics and Pieter Hennipman's examination of the transition from the view that welfare was exclusively dependent on production to one which saw it as a subjective phenomenon dependent upon consumption. This volume also includes his rigorous and insightful essays on the history of the theory of welfare economics. With a thorough introduction by Donald Walker, this comprehensive volume will improve access to Professor Hennipman's outstanding contributions on the nature of the theory of economic policy as well as papers which place welfare theory in relation to other sections of economic theory in a penetrating and sophisticated manner.

The Housing Outlook discusses the major factors affecting housing activity, housing demand, supply responses, and housing costs. This book: establishes benchmarks for evaluating national housing performance; suggests goals for public policy; and provides a core of information for both the public and private sectors on decisions affecting housing. The authors examine housing demand and changes in inventory over the decade, and isolates the specific effects of new construction, rehabilitation and conversion, and losses on the decrease of the housing supply.

This book attempts to develop a recognition of the scale of the problem of prison suicide internationally, and to set in the context of the prison as an institution. The sequel to this book, "Deaths in Custody: Caring for people at risk" is, also published by Whiting and Birch.

Schorr provides an informed examination of the sources of welfare reform, its successes and considerable failures, and the economic and social forces that shaped the 1996 welfare reform. He summarizes developments in the history of welfare that led to an overwhelming public call for reform. Having participated in many of these developments as a high government official and as a policy practitioner, Schorr brings a unique perspective to these issues.

Assessment of accomplishments and damage rests on reports, research, and extensive data. Concluding that the 1996 legislation was the wrong way to go, Schorr explores underlying policy issues; Should all mothers be required to work at all times? How do we define poverty? How are wages related to welfare?--to frame solutions. In the process, Schorr underscores why welfare recipients are not a population distinct from the working poor population; that low wages, poor welfare, and our unequal distribution of income are tightly linked; and that reforming welfare will require major economic and social changes. Schorr offers a chilling forecast of the society we will have if we continue on our current course and, as an alternative, outlines deeply changed, more constructive policies. Must reading for scholars, students, and policy makers as well as those in the general public concerned with social welfare policies.

Pardeck and his contributors approach the topic of family health from a macro perspective. Family health is a holistic approach to treatment embracing aspects of family functioning not typically considered in other more traditional approaches to assessment and treatment. They place particular emphasis on the ecological context in which the family functions, including the neighborhood, community, and other larger social systems. Family health is defined as the development of, and continuous interaction among, the physical, mental, emotional, social, economic, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the family, that result in the holistic well-being of the family and its members. The chapters in the book are guided by a number of key premises, including (a) Family health social work practice is grounded in a biopsychosocial approach to assessment and treatment; (b) Family health is based in a systems-ecological approach to assessment and intervention because of the role that various systems play in the well-being of the family; (c) Family health views the family system as the most important system for promoting the growth and development of the person; (d) Family health social work practice requires close collaboration between social work practitioners and other professionals. Based on these basic premises, Pardeck focuses on the macro level issues of family health practice that include community intervention, policy and program development, and program administration. The book is an important resource for social work professionals, scholars, students, and other researchers involved with social work practice and human services.

Under Siege is one of the first books of its kind. It vividly describes the devastating consequences of living in a public housing community damaged by the disappearance of manufacturing jobs, government cutbacks, and other alarming structural transformations that currently plague the United States and Canada. Walter DeKeseredy and his colleagues build on the rich theoretical perspectives developed by feminist scholars as well as those constructed by Jock Young, Robert Sampson, and William Julius Wilson as they present both the qualitative and quantitative results of a case study of six public housing estates located in an impoverished urban area. This groundbreaking book provides an in-depth analysis of predatory crime victimization, intimate partner victimization, public racial and sexual harassment, and the relationship of all these harms to the residents' perceptions of their neighborhood social disorganization/collective efficacy. Under Siege is uniquely valuable both for its rich theoretical basis and for its transparent presentation of the authors' research methodology. It is a thought-provoking sociological contribution that offers progressive strategies for ameliorating both poverty and crime in North American public housing complexes."

Housing fulfills a basic human need for shelter. It protects us from the weather and from hostile intruders. Often it is an expression of personal identity and social status. A home is a major personal financial investment and housing is an important part of the economy. The home is also invested with profound psychological and social meaning. It helps meet our needs to feel rooted and to belong. It is a center of privacy, a refuge from the world, and at the same time the place where we interact with our family, friends, and acquaintances. As such the home is an important factor in personal and social development, particularly in childhood.

Because of the complex role of housing in human life, residential environments are an important area of study in a wide variety of fields, including anthropology, architecture, economics, environmental design, geography, psychology, and sociology. The dwelling is the nucleus around which the discourse about residential environments is articulated, but it is not its only component. Residential environments also involve other elements such as the neighborhood, neighbors, and the larger urban community. This multidisciplinary study of residential environments conveys the complex nature of people's experiences with thier residences, neighborhoods, and communities.

The transformation of women's lives over the past century is among the most significant and far-reaching of social and economic phenomena, affecting not only women but also their partners, children, and indeed nearly every person on the planet. In developed and developing countries alike, women are acquiring more education, marrying later, having fewer children, and spending a far greater amount of their adult lives in the labor force. Yet, because women remain the primary caregivers of children, issues such as work-life balance and the glass ceiling have given rise to critical policy discussions in the developed world. In developing countries, many women lack access to reproductive technology and are often relegated to jobs in the informal sector, where pay is variable and job security is weak. Considerable occupational segregation and stubborn gender pay gaps persist around the world. The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy is the first comprehensive collection of scholarly essays to address these issues using the powerful framework of economics. Each chapter, written by an acknowledged expert or team of experts, reviews the key trends, surveys the relevant economic theory, and summarizes and critiques the empirical research literature. By providing a clear-eyed view of what we know, what we do not know, and what the critical unanswered questions are, this Handbook provides an invaluable and wide-ranging examination of the many changes that have occurred in women's economic lives.

Drawing on the principles of welfare economics and public finance, this second edition of Cost-Benefit Analysis: Theory and Application provides the theoretical foundation for a general framework within which costs and benefits are identified and assessed from a societal perspective. With a thorough coverage of cost-benefit concepts and their underlying theory, the volume carries the reader through the steps of a typical evaluation process, including the identification, measurement, and comparison of costs and benefits, and project selection. Topics include alternative measures of welfare change, such as the concepts of consumer surplus and compensating and equivalent variation measures, shadow pricing, nonmarket valuation techniques of contingent valuation and discrete choice experiment, perspectives on what constitutes a theoretically acceptable discount rate, the social rate of time preference, income distribution, and much more. The book also focuses on real-world applications of cost-benefit analysis in two closely related areas-environment and health care-followed by an examination of the current state of the art in cost-benefit analysis as practiced by international agencies.

This intriguing book introduces the first Social Security reform proposal tailored to meet the nation's fiscal challenges and care for an aging population. Tackling one of the most difficult and divisive issues facing America today, A Well-Tailored Safety Net: The Only Fair and Sensible Way to Save Social Security seeks to transform the political debate over Social Security reform by introducing the first proposal tailored to meet both the nation's fiscal challenges and the responsibility of caring for an aging population. As the first batch of 77 million baby boomers begins to collect its social security benefits in the midst of the explosion of national debt from economic recovery expenditures, Social Security reform becomes increasingly urgent. Jed Graham takes apart each of the current leading proposals and shows how all of them fall short by the key criteria of affordability, effectiveness, and fairness. Graham proposes a bold new approach that would erase more debt than any other proposal, yet avoid benefit cuts in very old age, when people can least afford them. Short on actuary speak and long on common sense, A Well-Tailored Safety Net makes the Social Security debate accessible to general readers. At the same time, it advances innovative solutions with such command of analytic detail and ideological impartiality as to merit serious study by legislators and policymakers. More than 50 charts and tables detail the debate over Social Security reform, including the cash benefits retirees would get under various proposals

Social investment is a strategy that addresses neoliberal austerity by putting private capital to public purpose. An investment state serves as a sequel to the welfare state by maximizing capability, expanding employee benefits, implementing evidence-based policy, democratizing polity and commerce, and advancing social and institutional inclusion. The Investment State provides a template for future social policy, which can be adapted to cities, states, nations, and international trade agreements. It serves as a sequel to the author's previous book, The Dynamic Welfare State (OUP, 2016) - which included a theory of welfare state decline - by envisioning a new paradigm for social programs.

No other reference provides such a comprehensive and timely overview of theory and research on family relationships, the contexts of family life, and major turning points in late-life families. It includes many suggestions for theoretical and practical applications for future research on a score of important topics. This multidisciplinary survey is an invaluable library reference and teaching resource intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, and practitioners -- for gerontologists, family scholars, psychologists, sociologists, historians, social workers, health-care providers, and policy makers.

Approaching the problem of homelessness from a broad public policy perspective, Lang focuses on the American political economy and how it permits community development patterns based on racism and self-interest. This interdisciplinary study challenges the belief that homelessness is entirely due to the Reagan administration's cutbacks. Instead, it suggests the need for reform in our housing and employment policies. The book reviews competing socioeconomic paradigms that can explain why meaningful and effective programs are difficult to enact. "Homelessness Amid Affluence" discusses housing, community development patterns, economic segregation, and problems of the urban underclass, as well as proposed solutions. The interdisciplinary nature and historical perspective of this volume make it informative reading for sociologists, social workers, policymakers, and researchers.

This volume is divided into five sections. The first section provides a conceptual overview. Section Two deals with the urban policy context from which a solution to homelessness must emerge. Section Three covers low-cost housing while Section Four deals with specific policies and programs developed in response to the needs of the homeless. A case study based on the author's experience with the efforts of Camden County, New Jersey is included. The last section analyzes some new policy approaches and ends with an assessment of the likely policy outcomes to emerge from this continuing debate.

Noted scholars of environment-aging relations and environmental psychology examine the value of selected classic, contemporary, and in one instance, completely new theories for enhancing both research and service provision on housing for elderly populations. The contributors examine the housing needs of older populations and provide theory-driven innovative solutions for improving the fit between older persons and their residential environments. Some issues covered are the need for greater understanding of the psychological needs of older individuals seeking environmental support; for a holistic understanding of elder-environment relations in physical, social, and phenomenological contexts; for inclusion of ignored perspectives; and for recognition of the continuing value of major founding theories. This book will be of interest to students, scholars, and professionals in psychology, gerontology, environmental policy, housing, and social services.

The idea of "competitive flexibility" fostered by open market economics has deeply eroded the established social security systems of the developed nations. The confidence of wage-earners, who depend on an administrative "safety net" to protect them from loss of income, has virtually disappeared. Social exclusion and poverty have become inescapable threats for the average worker. It was to tackle this important issue that the European Institute of Social Security (EISS), a leading multidisciplinary research group dedicated to exploring the frontiers of social security, met in June 2000 in Goteborg in Sweden. Twenty members of the Institute prepared papers for delivery at the conference, all of which are now printed in this book. These papers include discussion of such elements as the following: the shift in emphasis from compensation for loss of income to a more preventive approach based on income security; measures against social exclusion enacted by the European Union; the meaning of the term "employability" as revealed in EU Member States' National Action Plans (NAPs); the growing pressure on beneficiaries to "perform" rather than "conform"; the interplay in international law between human rights and social security; labour market participation according to gender and educational level; labour market participation among families with young children; the promise of a "federal" social security system in Europe; and objective standards versus "moral hazard" in labour market insurance. Various reform initiatives (including the controversial debate on private sector funding) are also covered.

This thoroughly updated second edition incorporates key ideas and discussions on issues such as wider economic impacts, the treatment of risk and the importance of institutional arrangements in ensuring the correct use of technique. Gines de Rus considers whether public decisions, such as investing in high-speed rail links, privatizing a public enterprise or protecting a natural area, may improve social welfare. Key features include: A comprehensive overview of the philosophy of the Cost-Benefit Analysis approach to appraisal to engage students with a basic model for informing responsible decision-making Expert blending of relevant case studies with insightful analysis, enabling students to see the model's application to real-world scenarios An accessible and readable style, which encourages classroom discussions as well as insights for the practical application of this economic tool. Introduction to Cost-Benefit Analysis is an ideal textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate students of economics, engaging with important ideas and the latest thinking in the field. It will also benefit economists and practitioners involved in the economic evaluation of projects. Acclaim for the first edition: 'In Introduction to Cost-Benefit Analysis, Gines de Rus provides the conceptual foundations of a cost-benefit analysis undertaken for public investments. . .This book serves well as an introductory textbook for courses in urban planning, public economics, and policy and program evaluation for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. . .economists may find it useful as a guide of the basics of cost-benefit analysis.' - Uma Kelekar, Journal of Planning Education and Research 'Gines de Rus has produced an excellent book which will be very useful to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in public economics as well as to professional economists working with project evaluations. The book can serve as a manual for how to undertake best-practice project analysis within a broad range of projects but in particular within the transportation sector. This text is highly recommended.' - Per-Olov Johansson, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden 'This book shows that cost-benefit analysis does not need to be an esoteric and arcane subject. In a step-by-step presentation, with little more than introductory microeconomics, some clear reasoning, and many examples, Professor Gines de Rus presents the essentials of applied welfare economics concepts. Any undergraduate student or practitioner who wants to start their training in CBA should consider reading this text.' - Massimo Florio, University of Milan, Italy

Currently, works on poverty constitute only a small part of contemporary economic research; however, the field of poverty and deprivation is undoubtedly one rising in popularity and relevance. Encompassing chapters that address both unidimensional and multidimensional poverty, this timely Research Handbook explores all aspects of poverty and deprivation measurement, not only detailing broad issues but also scrutinising specific domains and aspects of poverty, such as health, energy and housing. Succinct and highly focused, it brings together a diverse range of authors to employ a combination of theoretical and empirical methodologies to offer well-rounded explorations of complex topics. Expansive in scope, the Research Handbook includes case studies that examine poverty across the globe, with a particular focus on covering Africa, China, India and Latin America, producing a comprehensive, rigorous and interdisciplinary resource. The Research Handbook will be an invaluable resource for not only economics researchers and graduate students but also policy makers dealing with issues related to poverty and deprivation. Chapters are designed to provide the reader with foundational knowledge of a topic that they can subsequently deepen by exploring the cited literature.

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.

This volume focuses on the necessity of family health counseling in providing effective, efficient health care in our technologically advanced, diverse, and complex society. Clinicians must have a broad understanding of all factors that affect individuals and families at all levels to provide culturally competent, collaborative care. Theoretical framework/paradigms are presented that guide clinical practice. A postmodern perspective provides skills for dialogical conversations and collaborative relationships with families. The book widens the health-care perspective by providing a foundational view incorporating both the family within its cultural/ethnic context and the multiple systems with which they interact as resources for health. The goal is to provide a foundation in the concepts and skills of health-related counseling with families from diverse cultures, to learn how these concepts are used in clinical practice, to learn how to work with families and communities during and after disasters, and to see how these concepts affect political decisions at the local, state, and federal level, as well as how these concepts drive family social policy or predict the future of family health care.

The book also provides information on common psychiatric medications, the types, ranges, uses, side effects, interactions with other drugs, effects on counseling, and the collaboration needed among health professionals. This will be a valuable resource for those in the fields of counseling, clinical and family psychology, family therapy, psychiatry, family and primary-care medicine, social work and nursing.

Welfare is commonly conceptualized in socio-economic terms of equity, highlighting distributive issues within growing economies. While GDP, income growth and rising material standards of living are normally not questioned as priorities in welfare theories and policy making, there is growing evidence that Western welfare standards are not generalizable to the rest of the planet if environmental concerns, such as resource depletion or climate change, are considered. Sustainability and the Political Economy of Welfare raises the issue of what is required to make welfare societies ecologically sustainable. Consisting of three parts, this book regards the current financial, economic and political crisis in welfare state institutions and addresses methodological, theoretical and wider conceptual issues in integrating sustainability. Furthermore, this text is concerned with the main institutional obstacles to the achievement of sustainable welfare and wellbeing, and how these may feasibly be overcome. How can researchers assist policymakers in promoting synergy between economic, social and environmental policies conducive to globally sustainable welfare systems? Co-authored by a variety of cross-disciplinary contributors, a diversity of research perspectives and methods is reflected in a unique mixture of conceptual chapters, historical analysis of different societal sectors, and case studies of several EU countries, China and the US. This book is well suited for those who are interested in and study welfare, ecological economics and political economy.