ePDF and ePUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND license. The perpetuation of poverty across generations damages lives. It weakens social cohesion and the economy and undermines environmental sustainability. This book examines why poverty is carried on from one generation to the next and what needs to be done to eradicate it. This book draws on a wide variety of sources and academic disciplines (social sciences, economics, law, community development, neuroscience and developmental psychology) along with the lived experience of people in poverty. Challenging the myths and prejudices about poverty that hinder progress, it calls for a comprehensive approach based on ensuring real equality of opportunity for all. It stresses the need to intervene early to combat child poverty and break the vicious cycles that perpetuate poverty and disadvantage.

Social cohesion is one of the declared objectives of the European Union and, with some 16% of EU citizens at risk of poverty, the need to fight poverty and social exclusion continues as a major challenge. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the EU Social Inclusion Process, the means by which it hopes to meet this objective, and explores the challenges ahead at local, regional, national and EU levels. It sets out concrete proposals for taking the Process forward. The book provides a unique analysis of policy formulation and assessment. Setting out the evolution and current state of EU cooperation in social policy, it examines what can be learned about poverty and social exclusion from the EU commonly agreed indicators. Taking the position of outside, but informed, observers, the authors explore the further development of the common indicators, including the implications of Enlargement, and consider the challenges of advancing the Social Inclusion Process - strengthening policy analysis, embedding the Process in domestic policies and making it more effective. Proposing the setting of targets and restructuring of National Action Plans and their implementation, they emphasise the need for widespread "ownership" of the Process at domestic and EU level and for it to demonstrate significant progress in reducing poverty and social exclusion. The book will be invaluable to academics, students and policy-makers at sub-national, national and EU levels as well as to social partners, and NGOs working towards a more inclusive society.

Social cohesion is one of the declared objectives of the European Union and, with some 16% of EU citizens at risk of poverty, the need to fight poverty and social exclusion continues as a major challenge. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the EU Social Inclusion Process, the means by which it hopes to meet this objective, and explores the challenges ahead at local, regional, national and EU levels. It sets out concrete proposals for taking the Process forward. The book provides a unique analysis of policy formulation and assessment. Setting out the evolution and current state of EU cooperation in social policy, it examines what can be learned about poverty and social exclusion from the EU commonly agreed indicators. Taking the position of outside, but informed, observers, the authors explore the further development of the common indicators, including the implications of Enlargement, and consider the challenges of advancing the Social Inclusion Process - strengthening policy analysis, embedding the Process in domestic policies and making it more effective. Proposing the setting of targets and restructuring of National Action Plans and their implementation, they emphasise the need for widespread "ownership" of the Process at domestic and EU level and for it to demonstrate significant progress in reducing poverty and social exclusion. The book will be invaluable to academics, students and policy-makers at sub-national, national and EU levels as well as to social partners, and NGOs working towards a more inclusive society.

How can Europe 2020, the EU's new Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, lead to a stronger Social EU with less poverty and greater social cohesion? This book by a number of eminent scholars and experts is the first to attempt to answer this question. The adoption in June 2010 by EU leaders of a target to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and exclusion by 2020 is an important step forward. However, delivering on this and the Union's four other mutually reinforcing targets, and achieving the EU's ambitious social objectives, raises many political and technical challenges. These are examined in depth in this book. A key objective of the book is to take a critical look at and draw lessons from the past, 2000-2010 Lisbon Strategy. Another important objective is to explore the format and role of EU coordination and cooperation in the social field in the new EU governance framework, in a context marked by slow recovery after the global economic crisis. Finally, the book also makes proposals for the further reinforcement of this coordination and cooperation and for the improvement of the different instruments available at EU, national and sub-national levels. The analysis and concrete proposals presented in the book will be invaluable to policy-makers, researchers and other stakeholders interested in contributing to building a more Social EU. They will help to encourage new ideas and innovative approaches.

Cet ouvrage porte sur la cohesion sociale et territoriale au Luxembourg. Ses seize chapitres abordent les facettes socio-economiques et spatiales de ces concepts. Ils couvrent ainsi des domaines aussi varies que les inegalites monetaires (revenus, salaires, richesse, pauvrete), les inegalites non monetaires (logement, emploi, education, integration des migrants) ou encore les inegalites en matiere de mobilite et d'acces aux services publics. Grace a un travail editorial et explicatif minutieux, cet ouvrage reussit le pari d'etre accessible au grand public tout en etant scientifiquement rigoureux. Un de ses atouts majeurs est son approche resolument interdisciplinaire. Pres de quarante auteurs du Centre de recherche luxembourgeois CEPS/INSTEAD y ont contribue. L'economie, la geographie, la sociologie et les statistiques sociales s'y cotoient et apportent des eclairages complementaires en croisant reellement les savoirs. En ancrant bon nombre de ses analyses dans une perspective internationale (englobant les pays limitrophes ou meme l'ensemble de l'Union europeenne), ce livre se penche aussi sur la mise en oeuvre des politiques publiques en matiere de cohesion (sociale et territoriale) dans un cadre supranational. Cet ouvrage est preface par Jean-Claude Juncker, Premier ministre du Grand-Duche de Luxembourg et ancien president permanent de l'Eurogroupe.

The European social agenda is at a crucial stage. This book, which will be the definitive work on social indicators, describes the Action Plans on Social Inclusion submitted to the European Union by national governments in June 2001 and investigates the indicators that can be used to assess social progress. It deals in a new way with key issues for social policy in Europe: poverty, income inequality, non-monetary deprivation, low educational attainment, unemployment, joblessness, poor health, poor housing and homelessness, functional illiteracy and innumeracy.

The European social agenda is at a crucial stage. This book describes the Action Plans on Social Inclusion submitted to the European Union by national governments in June 2001 and investigates the indicators that can be used to assess social progress. It deals in a new way with key issues for social policy in Europe: poverty, income inequality, non-monetary deprivation, low educational attainment, unemployment, joblessness, poor health, poor housing and homelessness, functional illiteracy and innumeracy.