David Roodman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195168006
- eISBN:
- 9780199783458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195168003.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter presents an overview of the sovereign-debt initiatives from the last twenty-five years. It examines the programs devised by creditors, namely the World Bank and IMF, during the 1980s and ...
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This chapter presents an overview of the sovereign-debt initiatives from the last twenty-five years. It examines the programs devised by creditors, namely the World Bank and IMF, during the 1980s and 1990s, that aimed at addressing the mounting problem of developing-country debt. The “austerity” lending of the 1980s and the structural adjustment programs of the 1990s are discussed, and the inherent failings that characterized those efforts, including reduced public investment which has led to economic stagnation, are criticized.Less
This chapter presents an overview of the sovereign-debt initiatives from the last twenty-five years. It examines the programs devised by creditors, namely the World Bank and IMF, during the 1980s and 1990s, that aimed at addressing the mounting problem of developing-country debt. The “austerity” lending of the 1980s and the structural adjustment programs of the 1990s are discussed, and the inherent failings that characterized those efforts, including reduced public investment which has led to economic stagnation, are criticized.
Duana Fullwiley
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691123165
- eISBN:
- 9781400840410
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691123165.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
In the 1980s, a research team led by Parisian scientists identified several unique DNA sequences, or haplotypes, linked to sickle cell anemia in African populations. After casual observations of how ...
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In the 1980s, a research team led by Parisian scientists identified several unique DNA sequences, or haplotypes, linked to sickle cell anemia in African populations. After casual observations of how patients managed this painful blood disorder, the researchers in question postulated that the Senegalese type was less severe. This book traces how this genetic discourse has blotted from view the roles that Senegalese patients and doctors have played in making sickle cell “mild” in a social setting where public health priorities and economic austerity programs have forced people to improvise informal strategies of care. The book shows how geneticists, who were fixated on population differences, never investigated the various modalities of self-care that people developed in this context of biomedical scarcity, and how local doctors, confronted with dire cuts in Senegal's health sector, wittingly accepted the genetic prognosis of better-than-expected health outcomes. Unlike most genetic determinisms that highlight the absoluteness of disease, DNA haplotypes for sickle cell in Senegal did the opposite. As the book demonstrates, they allowed the condition to remain officially invisible, never to materialize as a health priority. At the same time, scientists' attribution of a less severe form of Senegalese sickle cell to isolated DNA sequences closed off other explanations of this population's measured biological success. This book reveals how the notion of an advantageous form of sickle cell in this part of West Africa has defined—and obscured—the nature of this illness in Senegal today.Less
In the 1980s, a research team led by Parisian scientists identified several unique DNA sequences, or haplotypes, linked to sickle cell anemia in African populations. After casual observations of how patients managed this painful blood disorder, the researchers in question postulated that the Senegalese type was less severe. This book traces how this genetic discourse has blotted from view the roles that Senegalese patients and doctors have played in making sickle cell “mild” in a social setting where public health priorities and economic austerity programs have forced people to improvise informal strategies of care. The book shows how geneticists, who were fixated on population differences, never investigated the various modalities of self-care that people developed in this context of biomedical scarcity, and how local doctors, confronted with dire cuts in Senegal's health sector, wittingly accepted the genetic prognosis of better-than-expected health outcomes. Unlike most genetic determinisms that highlight the absoluteness of disease, DNA haplotypes for sickle cell in Senegal did the opposite. As the book demonstrates, they allowed the condition to remain officially invisible, never to materialize as a health priority. At the same time, scientists' attribution of a less severe form of Senegalese sickle cell to isolated DNA sequences closed off other explanations of this population's measured biological success. This book reveals how the notion of an advantageous form of sickle cell in this part of West Africa has defined—and obscured—the nature of this illness in Senegal today.
Paul Pierson (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297567
- eISBN:
- 9780191600104
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297564.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The welfare states of the affluent democracies now stand at the centre of political discussion and social conflict. In this book, which grew out of two conferences held at the Center for European ...
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The welfare states of the affluent democracies now stand at the centre of political discussion and social conflict. In this book, which grew out of two conferences held at the Center for European Studies, Harvard University, in November 1997 and October 1998, an international team of leading analysts reject simplistic claims about the impact of economic ‘globalization’. Whilst accepting that economic, demographic, and social pressures on the welfare state are very real, they argue that many of the most fundamental challenges have little to do with globalization. In contrast to many popular accounts, the authors detect few signs of a convergence of national social policies towards an American‐style lowest common denominator. The contemporary politics of the welfare state takes shape against a backdrop of both intense pressures for austerity and enduring popularity. Thus, in most of the affluent democracies, the politics of social policy centre on the renegotiation, restructuring, and modernization of the post‐war social contract rather than its dismantling. The authors examine a wide range of countries and public policy arenas, including health care, pensions, and labour markets. They demonstrate how different national settings affect whether, and on what terms, centrist efforts to restructure the welfare state can succeed. The 13 chapters of the book are arranged in four main sections, each with three chapters, and a concluding section: I. Sources of Pressure on the Contemporary Welfare State; II. Adjustment Dynamics: Economic Actors and Systems of Interest Intermediation; III. Adjustment Dynamics: Parties, Elections, and Political Institutions; IV. Comparing Policy Domains; and V. Conclusions.Less
The welfare states of the affluent democracies now stand at the centre of political discussion and social conflict. In this book, which grew out of two conferences held at the Center for European Studies, Harvard University, in November 1997 and October 1998, an international team of leading analysts reject simplistic claims about the impact of economic ‘globalization’. Whilst accepting that economic, demographic, and social pressures on the welfare state are very real, they argue that many of the most fundamental challenges have little to do with globalization. In contrast to many popular accounts, the authors detect few signs of a convergence of national social policies towards an American‐style lowest common denominator. The contemporary politics of the welfare state takes shape against a backdrop of both intense pressures for austerity and enduring popularity. Thus, in most of the affluent democracies, the politics of social policy centre on the renegotiation, restructuring, and modernization of the post‐war social contract rather than its dismantling. The authors examine a wide range of countries and public policy arenas, including health care, pensions, and labour markets. They demonstrate how different national settings affect whether, and on what terms, centrist efforts to restructure the welfare state can succeed. The 13 chapters of the book are arranged in four main sections, each with three chapters, and a concluding section: I. Sources of Pressure on the Contemporary Welfare State; II. Adjustment Dynamics: Economic Actors and Systems of Interest Intermediation; III. Adjustment Dynamics: Parties, Elections, and Political Institutions; IV. Comparing Policy Domains; and V. Conclusions.
Paul Pierson
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297567
- eISBN:
- 9780191600104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297564.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Starts by discussing the new era of austerity in the contemporary welfare state, the reasons for it, and the political problems that it creates. Describes the project that gave rise to the book as ...
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Starts by discussing the new era of austerity in the contemporary welfare state, the reasons for it, and the political problems that it creates. Describes the project that gave rise to the book as bringing together leading researchers from Europe and North America, who seek to increase knowledge about the politics of the contemporary welfare state. The focus is on four overlapping themes, which are covered in the four main parts of the book: (1) the sources and scope of pressures on national welfare states; (2) the role of economic interests, and of systems for representing those interests, in the politics of reform; (3) the implications of electoral politics and the design of political institutions for welfare state adjustment; and (4) the distinctive policy dynamics of particular areas of social provision. These themes are intimately linked, and the linkages between them are made explicit both within and across the chapters of the book. This introduction outlines the four themes and introduces the contributions of the chapters to follow.Less
Starts by discussing the new era of austerity in the contemporary welfare state, the reasons for it, and the political problems that it creates. Describes the project that gave rise to the book as bringing together leading researchers from Europe and North America, who seek to increase knowledge about the politics of the contemporary welfare state. The focus is on four overlapping themes, which are covered in the four main parts of the book: (1) the sources and scope of pressures on national welfare states; (2) the role of economic interests, and of systems for representing those interests, in the politics of reform; (3) the implications of electoral politics and the design of political institutions for welfare state adjustment; and (4) the distinctive policy dynamics of particular areas of social provision. These themes are intimately linked, and the linkages between them are made explicit both within and across the chapters of the book. This introduction outlines the four themes and introduces the contributions of the chapters to follow.
Paul Pierson
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297567
- eISBN:
- 9780191600104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297564.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This concluding chapter argues that the contemporary politics of the welfare state takes shape against a backdrop of both intense pressures for austerity and enduring popularity. In this context, ...
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This concluding chapter argues that the contemporary politics of the welfare state takes shape against a backdrop of both intense pressures for austerity and enduring popularity. In this context, even strong supporters of the welfare state may come to acknowledge the need for adjustment, and even severe critics may need to accept the political realities of continuing popular enthusiasm for social provision. Thus, in most of the affluent democracies, the politics of social policy centre on the renegotiation, restructuring, and modernization of the terms of the post‐war social contract rather than on its dismantling. The crucial issue is whether particular national settings facilitate the emergence of such a centrist reform effort, and if so, on what terms. The argument proceeds in three stages: in the first, a basic framework is outlined for studying the politics of reform in a context of permanent austerity; in the second, two complications are discussed — the need to incorporate different dimensions of social policy reform and the need to recognize three quite distinct configurations of welfare state politics among the affluent democracies; in the third, these arguments are applied to analyse the politics of restructuring in the liberal, social democratic, and conservative ‘worlds’ (regimes) of welfare capitalism.Less
This concluding chapter argues that the contemporary politics of the welfare state takes shape against a backdrop of both intense pressures for austerity and enduring popularity. In this context, even strong supporters of the welfare state may come to acknowledge the need for adjustment, and even severe critics may need to accept the political realities of continuing popular enthusiasm for social provision. Thus, in most of the affluent democracies, the politics of social policy centre on the renegotiation, restructuring, and modernization of the terms of the post‐war social contract rather than on its dismantling. The crucial issue is whether particular national settings facilitate the emergence of such a centrist reform effort, and if so, on what terms. The argument proceeds in three stages: in the first, a basic framework is outlined for studying the politics of reform in a context of permanent austerity; in the second, two complications are discussed — the need to incorporate different dimensions of social policy reform and the need to recognize three quite distinct configurations of welfare state politics among the affluent democracies; in the third, these arguments are applied to analyse the politics of restructuring in the liberal, social democratic, and conservative ‘worlds’ (regimes) of welfare capitalism.
Coopey Richard, Sean O‘Connell, and Dilwyn Porter
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198296508
- eISBN:
- 9780191716638
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198296508.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
This chapter presents an account of the rapid expansion of mail order in the quarter of a century after 1950. With the outbreak of war in 1939, Britain's mail order retailers were faced with severe ...
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This chapter presents an account of the rapid expansion of mail order in the quarter of a century after 1950. With the outbreak of war in 1939, Britain's mail order retailers were faced with severe difficulties. Not only were goods in short supply but consumption was subject to rationing and other forms of restrictions. The continuing climate of economic austerity in the immediate post-war period ensured that it was not until 1950 that mail order retailing resumed an upward momentum. Thereafter, it took off, experiencing rapid growth in the 1950s and 1960s as consumer spending reached hitherto unprecedented levels and consumers took what has been called ‘the great leap forward’ into affluence.Less
This chapter presents an account of the rapid expansion of mail order in the quarter of a century after 1950. With the outbreak of war in 1939, Britain's mail order retailers were faced with severe difficulties. Not only were goods in short supply but consumption was subject to rationing and other forms of restrictions. The continuing climate of economic austerity in the immediate post-war period ensured that it was not until 1950 that mail order retailing resumed an upward momentum. Thereafter, it took off, experiencing rapid growth in the 1950s and 1960s as consumer spending reached hitherto unprecedented levels and consumers took what has been called ‘the great leap forward’ into affluence.
Stephen J. Collier
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691148304
- eISBN:
- 9781400840427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691148304.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter focuses on budgetary reform. In debates about neoliberalism and neoliberal reform, the government budget is often viewed as a key locus in which it is possible to observe the absolute ...
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This chapter focuses on budgetary reform. In debates about neoliberalism and neoliberal reform, the government budget is often viewed as a key locus in which it is possible to observe the absolute antinomy between substantive provisioning and formal rationalization. “Budgetary austerity”—understood as a key component of structural adjustment and, thus, of neoliberal reform—presents an image of social welfare goals sacrificed to demands of scarcity (or the demands of international capital markets). However, seen in a somewhat broader view, it becomes apparent that the government budget—far from being a site in which these two forms of rationalization are opposed—is among the most critical sites in which the tricky relationship between formal rationality and substantive provisioning is constituted as an explicit target of technocratic reflection and management in modern states.Less
This chapter focuses on budgetary reform. In debates about neoliberalism and neoliberal reform, the government budget is often viewed as a key locus in which it is possible to observe the absolute antinomy between substantive provisioning and formal rationalization. “Budgetary austerity”—understood as a key component of structural adjustment and, thus, of neoliberal reform—presents an image of social welfare goals sacrificed to demands of scarcity (or the demands of international capital markets). However, seen in a somewhat broader view, it becomes apparent that the government budget—far from being a site in which these two forms of rationalization are opposed—is among the most critical sites in which the tricky relationship between formal rationality and substantive provisioning is constituted as an explicit target of technocratic reflection and management in modern states.
Stephen Haliczer
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195148633
- eISBN:
- 9780199869923
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195148630.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Despite the restraints placed on women in the Counter‐Reformation era, many women mystics developed strategies to achieve recognition as leaders. These included exercising harsh moral authority, ...
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Despite the restraints placed on women in the Counter‐Reformation era, many women mystics developed strategies to achieve recognition as leaders. These included exercising harsh moral authority, using their visions to gain power and instill fear, and becoming adept at performing the sufferings of Christ and the perils of demonic possession. Once leadership was attained, the women sought to gain a positive reputation with the aristocracy through assuming a life of severe austerity and writing autobiographies and devotional works. Even with their success, however, many women suffered from intense self‐loathing, possibly associated with their repression of sexuality, and developed serious illnesses. The mystical life was understood to be one that detached itself from the world and helped ensure a good death.Less
Despite the restraints placed on women in the Counter‐Reformation era, many women mystics developed strategies to achieve recognition as leaders. These included exercising harsh moral authority, using their visions to gain power and instill fear, and becoming adept at performing the sufferings of Christ and the perils of demonic possession. Once leadership was attained, the women sought to gain a positive reputation with the aristocracy through assuming a life of severe austerity and writing autobiographies and devotional works. Even with their success, however, many women suffered from intense self‐loathing, possibly associated with their repression of sexuality, and developed serious illnesses. The mystical life was understood to be one that detached itself from the world and helped ensure a good death.
Mark Baldassare
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520214859
- eISBN:
- 9780520921368
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520214859.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Research and Statistics
When Orange County, California, filed for Chapter 9 protection on December 6, 1994, it became the largest municipality in United States history to declare bankruptcy. Providing a comprehensive ...
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When Orange County, California, filed for Chapter 9 protection on December 6, 1994, it became the largest municipality in United States history to declare bankruptcy. Providing a comprehensive analysis of this momentous fiscal crisis, the book uncovers the many twists and turns from the dark days in December 1994 to the financial recovery of June 1996. Utilizing a wealth of primary materials from the county government and Merrill Lynch, as well as interviews with key officials and players in this drama, it untangles the causes of this $1.64 billion fiasco. It identifies three factors critical to understanding the bankruptcy: one, the political fragmentation of the numerous local governments in the area; two, the fiscal conservatism underlying voters' feelings about their tax dollars; and three, the financial austerity in state government and in meeting rising state expenditures. The book finds that these forces help to explain how a county known for its affluence and conservative politics could have allowed its cities' school, water, transportation, and sanitation agencies to be held hostage to this failed investment pool. Meticulously examining the events that led up to the bankruptcy, the local officials' response to the fiscal emergency, and the road to fiscal recovery—as well as the local government reforms engendered by the crisis—this book is a dramatic and instructive economic morality tale. It underlines the dangers inherent in a freewheeling bull economy and the imperatives of local and state governments to protect fiscal assets. As this book shows, Orange County need not—and should not—happen again.Less
When Orange County, California, filed for Chapter 9 protection on December 6, 1994, it became the largest municipality in United States history to declare bankruptcy. Providing a comprehensive analysis of this momentous fiscal crisis, the book uncovers the many twists and turns from the dark days in December 1994 to the financial recovery of June 1996. Utilizing a wealth of primary materials from the county government and Merrill Lynch, as well as interviews with key officials and players in this drama, it untangles the causes of this $1.64 billion fiasco. It identifies three factors critical to understanding the bankruptcy: one, the political fragmentation of the numerous local governments in the area; two, the fiscal conservatism underlying voters' feelings about their tax dollars; and three, the financial austerity in state government and in meeting rising state expenditures. The book finds that these forces help to explain how a county known for its affluence and conservative politics could have allowed its cities' school, water, transportation, and sanitation agencies to be held hostage to this failed investment pool. Meticulously examining the events that led up to the bankruptcy, the local officials' response to the fiscal emergency, and the road to fiscal recovery—as well as the local government reforms engendered by the crisis—this book is a dramatic and instructive economic morality tale. It underlines the dangers inherent in a freewheeling bull economy and the imperatives of local and state governments to protect fiscal assets. As this book shows, Orange County need not—and should not—happen again.
Peter Kemp (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861347541
- eISBN:
- 9781447302506
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861347541.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
Housing allowances have become increasingly important policy instruments in the advanced welfare states. Operating at the interface between housing and social security policy, they provide ...
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Housing allowances have become increasingly important policy instruments in the advanced welfare states. Operating at the interface between housing and social security policy, they provide means-tested assistance with housing costs for low income households. In the present era of fiscal austerity, such schemes are seen by many governments as a more efficient way to help tenants with rent controls or ‘bricks and mortar’ subsidies to landlords. Yet as the contributions to this collection show, housing allowances are not without problems of their own, especially in relation to housing consumption and work incentives. This book examines income-related housing allowance schemes in advanced welfare states, as well as in transition economies of central and eastern Europe. Drawing on experiences in ten countries, including Britain, Sweden, Germany, Australia, and the USA, it presents new evidence on the origins and design of housing allowances, their role within housing and social security policy, their impact on affordability, current policy debates and recent reforms.Less
Housing allowances have become increasingly important policy instruments in the advanced welfare states. Operating at the interface between housing and social security policy, they provide means-tested assistance with housing costs for low income households. In the present era of fiscal austerity, such schemes are seen by many governments as a more efficient way to help tenants with rent controls or ‘bricks and mortar’ subsidies to landlords. Yet as the contributions to this collection show, housing allowances are not without problems of their own, especially in relation to housing consumption and work incentives. This book examines income-related housing allowance schemes in advanced welfare states, as well as in transition economies of central and eastern Europe. Drawing on experiences in ten countries, including Britain, Sweden, Germany, Australia, and the USA, it presents new evidence on the origins and design of housing allowances, their role within housing and social security policy, their impact on affordability, current policy debates and recent reforms.
James Hinton
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199243297
- eISBN:
- 9780191714054
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199243297.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
In 1945 most WVS members expected the organization to close down, and when it did not do so, they left. At the same time the national leadership of the established women's organizations which had ...
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In 1945 most WVS members expected the organization to close down, and when it did not do so, they left. At the same time the national leadership of the established women's organizations which had provided much of the local leadership for the WVS since 1938 pressed the Attlee government to put an end to Lady Reading's fiefdom which they regarded as an alien, state-subsidised wartime growth, offensive to principles both of democracy and of voluntarism. How did the WVS survive? This chapter examines attitudes among the WVS membership at the end of the war, and the strategy of ‘mission creep’ employed by Lady Reading to make WVS indispensable to Whitehall by finding new work for tired hands. Her success in persuading the surviving members, many of them Tories, to collaborate with the Labour Government's management of austerity — notably in food education and fuel economy — testifies to the continuing appeal of non-partisanship among middle-class social leaders.Less
In 1945 most WVS members expected the organization to close down, and when it did not do so, they left. At the same time the national leadership of the established women's organizations which had provided much of the local leadership for the WVS since 1938 pressed the Attlee government to put an end to Lady Reading's fiefdom which they regarded as an alien, state-subsidised wartime growth, offensive to principles both of democracy and of voluntarism. How did the WVS survive? This chapter examines attitudes among the WVS membership at the end of the war, and the strategy of ‘mission creep’ employed by Lady Reading to make WVS indispensable to Whitehall by finding new work for tired hands. Her success in persuading the surviving members, many of them Tories, to collaborate with the Labour Government's management of austerity — notably in food education and fuel economy — testifies to the continuing appeal of non-partisanship among middle-class social leaders.
Hugh Bochel and Martin Powell (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781447324560
- eISBN:
- 9781447324584
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447324560.001.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Educational Policy and Politics
This book examines the social policies of the coalition government from 2010 to 2015, and outlines the incoming Conservative government’s approach during its first 100 days in office. Drawing on ...
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This book examines the social policies of the coalition government from 2010 to 2015, and outlines the incoming Conservative government’s approach during its first 100 days in office. Drawing on contributions on cross-cutting themes such as public expenditure and the governance of social policy, and on key service areas, including education, health and social security, it examines the key ideas underpinning the policies of the coalition government, the influences on policy, including the two governing parties, the legacy of New Labour, the financial crisis of 2008 and its interpretation, and ideology. The book argues that in most respects (although not all), the coalition government can be seen as having more in common with New Right approaches than those of New Labour’s Third Way or One Nation Conservatism. It suggests that that, combined with the emphasis on ‘austerity’ and large-scale public expenditure cuts, contributed to a reshaping of much of the welfare state, particularly in England, although the other constituent parts of the United Kingdom sought, in general, to move in a rather different policy direction.
Looking at the first 100 days of the Conservative government the book concludes that the direction of travel under the coalition was likely to persist at least until the next general election, if not beyond.Less
This book examines the social policies of the coalition government from 2010 to 2015, and outlines the incoming Conservative government’s approach during its first 100 days in office. Drawing on contributions on cross-cutting themes such as public expenditure and the governance of social policy, and on key service areas, including education, health and social security, it examines the key ideas underpinning the policies of the coalition government, the influences on policy, including the two governing parties, the legacy of New Labour, the financial crisis of 2008 and its interpretation, and ideology. The book argues that in most respects (although not all), the coalition government can be seen as having more in common with New Right approaches than those of New Labour’s Third Way or One Nation Conservatism. It suggests that that, combined with the emphasis on ‘austerity’ and large-scale public expenditure cuts, contributed to a reshaping of much of the welfare state, particularly in England, although the other constituent parts of the United Kingdom sought, in general, to move in a rather different policy direction.
Looking at the first 100 days of the Conservative government the book concludes that the direction of travel under the coalition was likely to persist at least until the next general election, if not beyond.
Shane Blackman and Ruth Rogers (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781447330523
- eISBN:
- 9781447330578
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447330523.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Communities and Organizations
The book critically engages with neo-liberal policies and media representations of youth austerity as a constructed social crisis but remaining the mechanism used by both government and media to ...
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The book critically engages with neo-liberal policies and media representations of youth austerity as a constructed social crisis but remaining the mechanism used by both government and media to exert control over young adults;
It explores the diversity of intersections relating to youth marginality across social class, gender and racial boundaries; looking into contemporary theory of advanced youth marginality.
It challenges the dominant notions of youth ‘underclass’ and marginalisation and the representation of ‘youth as trouble’ through participatory research methods to project young people’s ‘real’ experience and voice in spheres of leisure and recreation from street corners to open spaces in relation to surveillance and sanctions;
It develops an understanding of the importance of personal, emotional, familial and collective experiences of poverty and austerity and the strategies of resistance and survival, or consent under social hardship and discrimination from the Police;
It critically assesses the dynamics of social, cultural and educational policies in the shaping social life of young adults as refugees, looked after young people in Care, young mothers, working class youth and young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, with reference to contemporary debates on neo-liberalism.Less
The book critically engages with neo-liberal policies and media representations of youth austerity as a constructed social crisis but remaining the mechanism used by both government and media to exert control over young adults;
It explores the diversity of intersections relating to youth marginality across social class, gender and racial boundaries; looking into contemporary theory of advanced youth marginality.
It challenges the dominant notions of youth ‘underclass’ and marginalisation and the representation of ‘youth as trouble’ through participatory research methods to project young people’s ‘real’ experience and voice in spheres of leisure and recreation from street corners to open spaces in relation to surveillance and sanctions;
It develops an understanding of the importance of personal, emotional, familial and collective experiences of poverty and austerity and the strategies of resistance and survival, or consent under social hardship and discrimination from the Police;
It critically assesses the dynamics of social, cultural and educational policies in the shaping social life of young adults as refugees, looked after young people in Care, young mothers, working class youth and young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, with reference to contemporary debates on neo-liberalism.
Kevin Farnsworth and Zoë Irving (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781447319115
- eISBN:
- 9781447319146
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447319115.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
The trajectories of welfare states are being decided in hostile economic and political environments. Most are subject to austerity in one form or another, although the precise impact is uneven and ...
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The trajectories of welfare states are being decided in hostile economic and political environments. Most are subject to austerity in one form or another, although the precise impact is uneven and variable. Even where countries have so far resisted austerity, many of them are planning to impose deep expenditure cuts in the future. What is also apparent however, is that austerity is about far more than spending cuts. It concerns the transformation of welfare states in the face of structural economic weakness and antithetical politics that exist within, but also go beyond, nation states. In this environment, some welfare states are being retrenched, others are being restructured, and still others are experiencing wholesale reconfiguration. To understand how and why welfare states are being affected in this way, it must be understood that the origins of austerity as well as its development in the current age. The origins of austerity, political and economic, must be examined alongside opposition and resistance to it. This book follows-on from our previous edited volume on the crisis to ask what hope there is for social policy in times of austerity and how the new politics of welfare will shape its progress.Less
The trajectories of welfare states are being decided in hostile economic and political environments. Most are subject to austerity in one form or another, although the precise impact is uneven and variable. Even where countries have so far resisted austerity, many of them are planning to impose deep expenditure cuts in the future. What is also apparent however, is that austerity is about far more than spending cuts. It concerns the transformation of welfare states in the face of structural economic weakness and antithetical politics that exist within, but also go beyond, nation states. In this environment, some welfare states are being retrenched, others are being restructured, and still others are experiencing wholesale reconfiguration. To understand how and why welfare states are being affected in this way, it must be understood that the origins of austerity as well as its development in the current age. The origins of austerity, political and economic, must be examined alongside opposition and resistance to it. This book follows-on from our previous edited volume on the crisis to ask what hope there is for social policy in times of austerity and how the new politics of welfare will shape its progress.
A. James Hammerton
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781526116574
- eISBN:
- 9781526128409
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526116574.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
This is the first social history to explore the experience of British emigrants from the peak years of the 1960s to the emigration resurgence of the turn of the twentieth century. It scrutinises ...
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This is the first social history to explore the experience of British emigrants from the peak years of the 1960s to the emigration resurgence of the turn of the twentieth century. It scrutinises migrant experiences in Australia, Canada and New Zealand alongside other countries. The book challenges the assumption that the ‘British diaspora’ ended in the 1960s, and explores its gradual reinvention from a postwar migration of austerity to a modern migration of prosperity. Building on previous oral histories of British emigration to single countries in postwar years, it offers a different way of writing migration history, based on life histories but exploring mentalities as well as experiences, against a setting of deep social and economic change. The book charts the decade-by-decade shift in the migration landscape, from the 1970s loss of Britons’ privilege in destination countries and the 1980s urgency of ‘Thatcher’s refugees’, to shifting attitudes to cosmopolitanism and global citizenship by the 1990s. Key moments are the rise of expatriate employment, changing dynamics of love and marriage, the visibility of British emigrants of colour, serial migration practices, enhanced independence among women migrants and ‘lifestyle’ change ambitions. These are new patterns of discretionary and nomadic migration, which became more common practice generally from the end of the twentieth century.Less
This is the first social history to explore the experience of British emigrants from the peak years of the 1960s to the emigration resurgence of the turn of the twentieth century. It scrutinises migrant experiences in Australia, Canada and New Zealand alongside other countries. The book challenges the assumption that the ‘British diaspora’ ended in the 1960s, and explores its gradual reinvention from a postwar migration of austerity to a modern migration of prosperity. Building on previous oral histories of British emigration to single countries in postwar years, it offers a different way of writing migration history, based on life histories but exploring mentalities as well as experiences, against a setting of deep social and economic change. The book charts the decade-by-decade shift in the migration landscape, from the 1970s loss of Britons’ privilege in destination countries and the 1980s urgency of ‘Thatcher’s refugees’, to shifting attitudes to cosmopolitanism and global citizenship by the 1990s. Key moments are the rise of expatriate employment, changing dynamics of love and marriage, the visibility of British emigrants of colour, serial migration practices, enhanced independence among women migrants and ‘lifestyle’ change ambitions. These are new patterns of discretionary and nomadic migration, which became more common practice generally from the end of the twentieth century.
Jonathan Bradshaw (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781447325628
- eISBN:
- 9781447325659
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447325628.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Now in its fourth edition, this is the classic assessment of the state of child well-being in the United Kingdom. This edition has been updated to review the latest evidence, examining the outcomes ...
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Now in its fourth edition, this is the classic assessment of the state of child well-being in the United Kingdom. This edition has been updated to review the latest evidence, examining the outcomes for children of the impact of the economic crisis and austerity measures since 2008. It draws together a vast amount of robust empirical evidence and includes intra-UK and international comparisons. Edited by a highly regarded expert in the field, each chapter covers a different domain of child well-being, including health, wellbeing, housing and education. This is an invaluable resource for academics, students, practitioners and policy makers concerned with child welfare and wellbeing.Less
Now in its fourth edition, this is the classic assessment of the state of child well-being in the United Kingdom. This edition has been updated to review the latest evidence, examining the outcomes for children of the impact of the economic crisis and austerity measures since 2008. It draws together a vast amount of robust empirical evidence and includes intra-UK and international comparisons. Edited by a highly regarded expert in the field, each chapter covers a different domain of child well-being, including health, wellbeing, housing and education. This is an invaluable resource for academics, students, practitioners and policy makers concerned with child welfare and wellbeing.
B. R. Nanda
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195672039
- eISBN:
- 9780199081417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195672039.003.0025
- Subject:
- Political Science, Indian Politics
This chapter presents an essay on the lifestyle of Mahatma Gandhi. It explains that during his 20s and 30s, Gandhi was torn between the desire to live up to the standard of an English-trained ...
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This chapter presents an essay on the lifestyle of Mahatma Gandhi. It explains that during his 20s and 30s, Gandhi was torn between the desire to live up to the standard of an English-trained barrister, and the inner surge towards the reduction of wants that had been inspired by the ideal of aparigraha in the Bhagavad Gita. It suggests that the changes that Gandhi periodically introduced in his lifestyle were partly a response to his inner urge for austerity and that they also satisfied another urge in him, that is, to identify himself with ‘the least, lowliest and the lost’.Less
This chapter presents an essay on the lifestyle of Mahatma Gandhi. It explains that during his 20s and 30s, Gandhi was torn between the desire to live up to the standard of an English-trained barrister, and the inner surge towards the reduction of wants that had been inspired by the ideal of aparigraha in the Bhagavad Gita. It suggests that the changes that Gandhi periodically introduced in his lifestyle were partly a response to his inner urge for austerity and that they also satisfied another urge in him, that is, to identify himself with ‘the least, lowliest and the lost’.
Jane L. Collins
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226446004
- eISBN:
- 9780226446288
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226446288.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
The Great Recession not only shook Americans’ faith in the economy but also prompted a “citizen’s critique” of our economic institutions. The Politics of Value provides a vivid account of three ...
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The Great Recession not only shook Americans’ faith in the economy but also prompted a “citizen’s critique” of our economic institutions. The Politics of Value provides a vivid account of three movements that emerged in the wake of the 2008 crisis, each raising profound questions about what matters for the health of our economy. Based on in-depth interviews and observations, The Politics of Value shows how movement activists contest prevailing wisdom about how to measure economic success--and offer their own alternatives. It tells the story of the individuals who created benefit corporations (a new corporate form that requires social responsibility), showing how the new legal form and certification procedures they create challenge the notion that share price is the best measure of business success. It describes the growth of the Slow Money movement that fosters peer-to-peer place-based investment and invents new ways of measuring the significance of dense interconnections and backward and forward linkages in local economies. It tells the story of 2011, when many state legislatures effectively ended collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, and protest movements arose to assert the economic value of public investments and services against the prevalent view that they are a drain on the economy. While providing compelling and intimate accounts of each movement in its own right, The Politics of Value also presents a new framework for thinking about economic value, one grounded in thoughtful evaluation of the social division of labor and the relationship between state, market, and civil society.Less
The Great Recession not only shook Americans’ faith in the economy but also prompted a “citizen’s critique” of our economic institutions. The Politics of Value provides a vivid account of three movements that emerged in the wake of the 2008 crisis, each raising profound questions about what matters for the health of our economy. Based on in-depth interviews and observations, The Politics of Value shows how movement activists contest prevailing wisdom about how to measure economic success--and offer their own alternatives. It tells the story of the individuals who created benefit corporations (a new corporate form that requires social responsibility), showing how the new legal form and certification procedures they create challenge the notion that share price is the best measure of business success. It describes the growth of the Slow Money movement that fosters peer-to-peer place-based investment and invents new ways of measuring the significance of dense interconnections and backward and forward linkages in local economies. It tells the story of 2011, when many state legislatures effectively ended collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, and protest movements arose to assert the economic value of public investments and services against the prevalent view that they are a drain on the economy. While providing compelling and intimate accounts of each movement in its own right, The Politics of Value also presents a new framework for thinking about economic value, one grounded in thoughtful evaluation of the social division of labor and the relationship between state, market, and civil society.
Catherine Needham, Kerry Allen, and Kelly Hall
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781447319221
- eISBN:
- 9781447319252
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447319221.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
Shifts to independent delivery of health and social care services has led to increased numbers of micro-enterprises. Could these tiny organisations with just 5 or fewer employees be the best way of ...
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Shifts to independent delivery of health and social care services has led to increased numbers of micro-enterprises. Could these tiny organisations with just 5 or fewer employees be the best way of delivering cost-effective health and social care services in the context of decreased budgets and increased demands? What size is 'just right' for a care provider? This book explores size as an independent variable in care services, comparing outcomes and value for money across micro, small, medium and large organisations. Using interviews and surveys with 108 people using services and careers in 27 case study organisations it focuses on the contribution micro-enterprise can make to the care sector. Findings indicate that the quality of service provided by small organisations does support the assumption of an affinity between being small and being personalised. Small and micro-enterprises can deliver more personalised services, particularly in the home. They also offer better outcomes than larger providers for a similar cost. However stability can be a problem for micro-enterprises, particularly those that employ staff and need to have a relatively consistent financial turnover. The Care Act 2014 creates a conducive policy environment for micro-enterprise, as local authorities must stimulate a diverse local market and facilitate personalisation of services. However the challenges of austerity are a powerful counterweight, discouraging the sorts of innovative and experimentation which would allow micro-enterprise to thrive.Less
Shifts to independent delivery of health and social care services has led to increased numbers of micro-enterprises. Could these tiny organisations with just 5 or fewer employees be the best way of delivering cost-effective health and social care services in the context of decreased budgets and increased demands? What size is 'just right' for a care provider? This book explores size as an independent variable in care services, comparing outcomes and value for money across micro, small, medium and large organisations. Using interviews and surveys with 108 people using services and careers in 27 case study organisations it focuses on the contribution micro-enterprise can make to the care sector. Findings indicate that the quality of service provided by small organisations does support the assumption of an affinity between being small and being personalised. Small and micro-enterprises can deliver more personalised services, particularly in the home. They also offer better outcomes than larger providers for a similar cost. However stability can be a problem for micro-enterprises, particularly those that employ staff and need to have a relatively consistent financial turnover. The Care Act 2014 creates a conducive policy environment for micro-enterprise, as local authorities must stimulate a diverse local market and facilitate personalisation of services. However the challenges of austerity are a powerful counterweight, discouraging the sorts of innovative and experimentation which would allow micro-enterprise to thrive.
Mark Roodhouse
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199588459
- eISBN:
- 9780191747564
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588459.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Cultural History
Due to rationing and price control, Britain’s underground economy experienced a mid-century boom during the 1940s and early 1950s as producers, traders, and professional criminals helped consumers to ...
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Due to rationing and price control, Britain’s underground economy experienced a mid-century boom during the 1940s and early 1950s as producers, traders, and professional criminals helped consumers to get ‘a little bit extra’ ‘on the side’, ‘from under the counter’, or ‘off the back of a lorry’. And yet widespread evasion of regulations designed to ensure ‘fair shares for all’ did not undermine the austerity policies that characterized those years. This book draws upon a wide range of source material, including recently declassified documents, to argue that all these little bits did not amount to a lot because Britons showed self-restraint in their illegal dealings. The means, motives, and opportunities for evasion were not lacking. The shortages were real and felt, regulations were not watertight, and enforcement was haphazard. Fairness, not patriotism and respect for the law, is the key to understanding this self-restraint. By invoking popular notions of a fair price, a fair profit, and a fair share, government rhetoric stymied black marketeering as would-be evaders had to justify their offences to themselves and others in terms of getting their fair share at no one else’s expense. The book emphasizes the importance of fairness to those seeking a richer understanding of economic life in modern Britain, and reminds us that all trade is fair trade and all consumers are ethical consumers, at least according to their own lights. We just need to discover what those lights are.Less
Due to rationing and price control, Britain’s underground economy experienced a mid-century boom during the 1940s and early 1950s as producers, traders, and professional criminals helped consumers to get ‘a little bit extra’ ‘on the side’, ‘from under the counter’, or ‘off the back of a lorry’. And yet widespread evasion of regulations designed to ensure ‘fair shares for all’ did not undermine the austerity policies that characterized those years. This book draws upon a wide range of source material, including recently declassified documents, to argue that all these little bits did not amount to a lot because Britons showed self-restraint in their illegal dealings. The means, motives, and opportunities for evasion were not lacking. The shortages were real and felt, regulations were not watertight, and enforcement was haphazard. Fairness, not patriotism and respect for the law, is the key to understanding this self-restraint. By invoking popular notions of a fair price, a fair profit, and a fair share, government rhetoric stymied black marketeering as would-be evaders had to justify their offences to themselves and others in terms of getting their fair share at no one else’s expense. The book emphasizes the importance of fairness to those seeking a richer understanding of economic life in modern Britain, and reminds us that all trade is fair trade and all consumers are ethical consumers, at least according to their own lights. We just need to discover what those lights are.
