Policy Press

Poverty, inequality and social mobility

Showing 1-12 of 122 items.

Women and Welfare Conditionality

Lived Experiences of Benefit Sanctions, Work and Welfare

Drawing on a wealth of qualitative longitudinal evidence, this book casts light on women’s lived experiences of welfare and work. It uncovers the hidden gendered bias of conditional welfare reforms to challenge dominant political discourses, policy design and practice norms.

Policy Press

The Criminalisation of Social Policy in Neoliberal Societies

From anti-terrorism agendas, to the punishment of the poor and the governance of parenting, this book explores how diverse fields of social policy intersect more deeply than ever with crime control and in so doing, deploy troubling strategies.

Bristol Uni Press

The Growing Challenge of Youth Unemployment in Europe and America

A Cross-Cultural Perspective

This book provides a culturally nuanced analysis of key issues relating to youth unemployment. Examining the causes and consequences of youth unemployment, it assesses ways forward to promote economic self-sufficiency.

Bristol Uni Press

Living Wages and the Welfare State

The Anglo-American Social Model in Transition

Addressing the rapidly shifting politics of the minimum wage in six English-speaking countries, Shaun Wilson analyses minimum wage policies within a political-economy narrative. Topical and poignant, this book identifies the success of living wage campaigns as central to both welfare state change and alternatives to the Basic Income.

Policy Press

Poverty in Italy

Features and Drivers in a European Perspective

Three leading sociologists examine Italy’s regime of poverty and the frequently misunderstood context of familialism in this in-depth study. With analysis of poverty’s roots and development and modern trends including the migrant ‘new poor’, it adds European perspectives for a better understanding of a persistent crisis.

Policy Press

County Lines

Exploitation and Drug Dealing among Urban Street Gangs

Drawing upon extensive research amongst gang members, dealers and drug users, this timely book provides a comprehensive insight into the ‘County Lines’ phenomenon.

Shedding new light on this urgent topic on government agendas, this is an invaluable contribution to the literature on gangs, youth violence and organised crime.

Bristol Uni Press

The Shame Game

Overturning the Toxic Poverty Narrative

Drawing on a two-year multi-platform initiative, this book by award-winning journalist and author Mary O’Hara, asks how we can overturn the portrayal of poverty once and for all. Crucially, she turns to the real experts to try to find answers – the people who live it.

Policy Press

Precarity and Ageing

Understanding Insecurity and Risk in Later Life

This edited collection develops an exciting new approach to understanding the changing cultural, economic and social circumstances facing different groups of older people.

Policy Press

Local Social Innovation to Combat Poverty and Exclusion

A Critical Appraisal

Based on more than 30 case studies in eight different countries, this book explores the governance dynamics of local social innovations in the field of poverty reduction, illustrating how different governance dynamics and welfare mixes enable or hinder poverty reduction strategies.

Policy Press

Health in Hard Times

Austerity and Health Inequalities

Edited by Clare Bambra

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. This book is a vital review of the impact of austerity on the wellbeing of the UK. Case studies from Stockton-on-Tees, home to some of the starkest health divides, are combined with a review of the repercussions of budget cuts and welfare reforms to show the vast inequalities in health in the UK today.

Policy Press

The Sociology of Debt

Key thinkers with a range of perspectives provide a sociological analysis of debt focused upon its social, political, economic, and cultural meanings. Contributors consider the lived experience of debt and financialisation taking place globally with accounts that span sociological, cultural, and economic forms of analysis.

Policy Press

Absolute Poverty in Europe

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on a Hidden Phenomenon

This book investigates different policy and civic responses to extreme poverty, ranging from food donations to penalisation and “social cleansing” of highly visible poor and how it is related to concerns of ethics, justice and human dignity.

Policy Press