The Third World debt crisis, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's adjustment policies have compelled many countries to move towards a contraction of public sector expenditure in favour of market orientated development policies. Women in general and the poorest amongst them in particular have borne a disproportionate burden of the ensuing hardships. This book addresses the shortcomings in the current gender blind analytical frameworks of governments and financial organisations and offers alternative strategies for combating recession and poverty.

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between the recidivism of adult female offenders and economic marginalization. Initially, the study proposed to explore why some female offenders continue to commit crime; for example, the literature supports the concept that women reoffend to support themselves and their children. The study seeks to understand if female offenders continue to commit crime because they suffer from economic marginalization. Data collection included qualitative in-depth personal interviews of 20 female offenders at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, North Carolina. Applying a qualitative grounded theory methodology, a theory emerged explaining the impact of economic marginalization upon adult female recidivism. Traditionally, research of recidivists primarily focuses on male offenders and male rehabilitation programs; therefore, this study will make a needed contribution to the gap in the literature related to female recidivists.