Poverty, inequality and social mobility

Drawing on empirical research with the UK’s two largest Food Banks, this book explores the prolific rise of food charity over the last 15 years and its implications for overcoming food insecurity.

We know the statistics, but what does it feel like to be forced to turn to foodbanks for help? What does it take to get emergency food, and what's in the food parcel? This is a powerful insight into the harsh reality of foodbank use from the inside.

Using analysis from machine readings of all legislation enacted between 1900 and 2015, this book discusses the social impact of increasingly elastic legislative language on the contemporary workings of the British constitution.

In the UK, as in other rich countries, the ‘playing-field’ is anything but level and the family plays a surprisingly crucial part in maintaining inequality. This book explores how seemingly mundane aspects of family life raise fundamental questions of social justice and calls for a rethink of what equality of opportunity means.

Much of the recent policy debate surrounding poverty in Britain focuses on income as a measure of living standards. In this report we consider one alternative to income for measuring poverty that has been largely overlooked in the mainstream poverty debate in the UK: namely household expenditure. Free PDF version available at www.jrf.org.uk

Analysis that links the phenomenon of homelessness to wider debates about the changing social and economic environment remains relatively underdeveloped. This important book brings together contemporary debates and empirical research in order to explore the nature, experience and impact of social change in the context of risks and uncertainties.

This book charts Gypsies Romany and Travellers community activism, and the community and voluntary organisations which support them. It describes the communities' struggle for rights against a backdrop of intersectional discrimination across Europe.

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.

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.

This revised edition uses extensive updated research and survey evidence to challenge the view of 'skivers versus strivers', showing how much our lives vary not just as we age, but from week-to-week and year-to-year.

This book by the world’s leading authority on global social policy examines why and how the Social Protection Floor became ILO, UN and G20 policy and how the World Bank and IMF took steps to lay its foundation.

This book brings together theoretical, methodological and policy-relevant contributions by leading researchers on international child poverty.