What is social policy, and why are welfare systems important? How have they been affected by the global financial crisis?
The fourth edition of this well-respected textbook provides an excellent introduction to social policy in the twenty-first century. Expert contributors examine the development, delivery, and implications of welfare, as well as the social and economic context by which it is shaped. With numerous helpful learning features and an attractive two-colour text design it is an ideal starting point for students new to the subject, and for those looking to take their learning further.
The fourth edition includes three new chapters on the history and development of social policy, making social policy in a global context, and how to research and write about social policy. It is up-to-date with the coalition government's social policy agenda, and offers increased coverage of the important issues of equality, gender, ethnicity, migration, globalization and sustainability.
Social Policy is also supported by an accompanying Online Resource Centre with the following features:
- Updates on recent developments in the field
- Searchable glossary
- Web links

Any attempt by governments to stem the tide of early retirement will need to focus as much on employers management of human resources as on the impacts of social policy. This report focuses on the previously neglected area of employers policies and practice as a dynamic force in retirement decisions. Drawing on data from a series of organizational case studies that situate the individuals decisions and experience in the context of employers age management policies, the report: examines how the retirement process is currently managed in a range of organizations; identifies barriers to effective planning for retirement; considers whether individuals feel there is enough choice when facing decisions about retirement; and addresses the concerns of both researchers and academics in the fields of human resource management and social policy. Policy makers, employers and all those interested in the relationship between employers policies, individual decisions and social policy should read