251 That’s the way the money goes TWELVE That’s the way the money goes: expenditure patterns as real incomes rise for the poorest families with children Paul Gregg, Jane Waldfogel and Elizabeth Washbrook Introduction As prior chapters of this volume have documented, there has been a raft of new initiatives in UK labour market and welfare policies (see Chapters Two, Three and Seven in this volume), many of which will have had a particular bearing on mothers’ labour market status and child poverty. These include the National Minimum Wage (NMW), Child and Working
Targeted as the ‘grey consumer’, people retiring now participated in the creation of the post-war consumer culture. These consumers have grown older but have not stopped consuming.
Based on extensive analysis over two years, this unique book examines the engagement of older people with consumer society in Britain since the 1960s. It charts the changes in the experience of later life in the UK over the last 50 years, the rise of the ‘individualised consumer citizen’ and what this means for health and social policies.
The book will appeal to students, lecturers, researchers and policy analysts. It will provide material for teaching on undergraduate courses and postgraduate courses in sociology, social policy and social gerontology. It will also have considerable appeal to private industry engaged with older consumers as well as to voluntary and non-governmental organisations addressing ageing in Britain.
Research into minimum income standards and reference budgets around the world is compared in this illuminating collection from leading academics in the field.
From countries with long established research traditions to places where it is relatively new, contributors set out the different aims and objectives of investigations into the minimum needs and requirements of populations, and the historical contexts, theoretical frameworks and methodological issues that lie behind each approach.
For policymakers, practitioners and social policy and poverty academics, this essential review of learnings to date and future prospects for research is all the more relevant in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, testing health and social protection systems around the globe.
Social Policy Review 14 continues the tradition of providing a different style and approach to policy issues from that found in most academic journals and books. Chapters have been purposely chosen to review a varied and interesting selection of social policy developments in Britain and internationally, and to set current policy developments in a broader context of key trends and debates.
This major new book provides, for the first time, a detailed evaluation of policies on poverty and social exclusion since 1997, and their effects. Bringing together leading experts in the field, it considers the challenges the government has faced, the policies chosen and the targets set in order to assess results. Drawing on research from the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, and on external evaluations, the book asks how children, older people, poor neighbourhoods, ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups have fared under New Labour and seeks to assess the government both on its own terms - in meeting its own targets - and according to alternative views of social exclusion.
Eastern welfare systems have largely been neglected by Western social policy. There is very little information in the West about their operation and the differences between them. Yet, as China and South-East Asia emerge as a major regional economic block, it is vital to understand the social models that are in operation there and how they are developing.
This book puts the spotlight on the Chinese and South-East Asian welfare systems, providing an up-to-date assessment of their character and development. In particular it examines the underlying assumptions of these systems and how the processes of globalisation are impacting on them. As well as specific country case studies, there is a valuable comparative analysis of Eastern and Western welfare states.
The book provides a unique insight into the main South-East Asian welfare systems written by experts living and working within them. It focuses on ‘Confucianism’ and globalisation to provide an account of tradition and change within the South-East Asian cultural context.
Eastern welfare states in transition will be essential reading for students of social policy requiring an understanding of non-Western welfare systems. Policy makers and practitioners who are interested in how Eastern welfare systems are adapting to globalisation will also find it an important read.
Poverty rates vary dramatically across the UK’s ethnic groups - an issue of concern both for poverty-reduction policies and for social justice. This book provides a comprehensive account of these variations and explores the reasons why they occur.
Drawing on a wealth of research conducted since 1991, and with a particular focus on the most recent evidence, the report reviews what we know about poverty and ethnicity and provides a detailed and considered insight into the factors contributing to the differing rates of poverty. In addition to outlining the policy implications of existing research, the author also reflects on the limitations to our knowledge and understanding of the issues, which serves as a useful framework for a future research agenda.
The book is valuable both as a comprehensive assessment of the topic and as an up-to-date and searchable resource on relevant research writings. It is essential reading for all those wishing to know more about ethnic differences in poverty experience and the contributing factors. It provides a sophisticated reading of the literature for students and researchers and a policy-informed take on the research for policy-makers.
The COVID-19 virus outbreak has rocked the world and it is widely accepted that there can be no return to the pre-pandemic society of 2019. However, many suggestions for the future of society and the planet are aimed at national governments, international bodies and society in general.
Drawing on a decade of research by an internationally renowned expert, this book focuses on how cities and communities can lead the way in developing recovery strategies that promote social, economic and environmental justice.
It offers new thinking tools for civic leaders and activists as well as practical suggestions on how we can co-create a more inclusive post COVID-19 future for us all.
Recent social trends and policy developments have called into question the divide between the provision of income support and social care services. This book examines this in light of key trends. The book presents new evidence on the links between cash - whether from earnings from paid work, social security benefits, and payments for disabled people and carers - and social disadvantage, care and disability. It presents theoretical perspectives on the need for and provision of care, which some commentators have described as a ‘new social risk’ and offers new insights into traditional forms of risk, such as poverty, disability, access to credit and money management. It provides an analysis of childcare and informal support for sick, disabled or elderly people in the context of increasing female labour market participation and the introduction of cash allowances to pay for care and posits a new look at both disabled people and older people in their roles as active citizens, whose views and experiences should help shape both policy and practice. “Cash and care" is essential reading for students, lecturers and researchers in social policy, applied social science, social work, and health and social care.
This book examines views about what poverty is and what should be done about it. ‘Poverty’ means many different things to different people - for example, material deprivation, lack of money, dependency on benefits, social exclusion or inequality. In “The idea of poverty", Paul Spicker makes a committed argument for a participative, inclusive understanding of the term.
Spicker’s previous work in this field has been described as ‘entertaining and sometimes controversial’, and his new book certainly lives up to this. Some of the book’s ideas are complex and will be of particular interest to academics and others working in the field, but the book has been written mainly for students and the interested general reader. It challenges many of the myths and stereotypes about poverty and the poor, and helps readers to make sense of a wide range of conflicting and contradictory source material.
