Policy Press

Austerity

Touted as a short, sharp adjustment to the economy in the wake of the financial crisis, the cuts and slashing of the welfare state has caused a multitude of harms to individuals, communities and society as a whole as a result.

As a publisher who has had tackling inequality at its heart for 25 years, we have published many research outputs that tackle the topic of austerity, including many articles in our Journal of Poverty and Social Justice.

Bristol University Press and Policy Press are signed up to the UN SDG Publishers Compact. In this cross-cutting theme, we aim to address the following goal:

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You may also be interested in our Global Social Challenges on hunger, food, water and shelter, poverty, inequality and social justice and democracy, power and governance.

Showing 73-84 of 150 items.

Reimagining Homelessness

For Policy and Practice

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Bringing to light the most contemporary research, policy and practice, this book presents stark evidence from Irish experience to argue that we need to urgently reimagine the root causes of homelessness and provides a robust evidence base to reimagine how we respond to homelessness.

Policy Press

Contested Britain

Brexit, Austerity and Agency

Brings together interdisciplinary and international case studies to provide a distinctive analysis of how politics in the UK and the lives of British citizens have evolved in the first decades of the twenty-first century, focusing on the interconnectedness of austerity politics, the Brexit vote and the rise of populist politics.

Bristol Uni Press

The Poverty of Nations

A Relational Perspective

This book examines poverty in the context of the economy, society and the political community, considering how states can respond to issues of inequality, exclusion and powerlessness. Drawing on examples in both rich and poor countries, this is an accessible contribution to the debate about the nature of poverty and responses to it.

Policy Press

Living Against Austerity

A Feminist Investigation of Doing Activism and Being Activist

This engaging study of anti-austerity protest provides a valuable feminist perspective on activism at a time when austerity policy is disproportionately impacting women. It brings together lived experiences of activist culture and contextual analysis to explore the motivations and emotions associated with it—both positive and negative.

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

Child Poverty

Aspiring to Survive

Placing children’s experiences, needs and concerns at the centre of its examination of contemporary policies and political discourses surrounding poverty in childhood, this book examines a broad range of structural, institutional and ideological factors common across developed nations and forges a radical new pathway for the future.

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

Social Research Matters

A Life in Family Sociology

Drawing from forty years of experience, Julia Brannen offers an invaluable account of how research in family studies is conducted and ‘matters’ at particular times. An exceptional resource for family scholars and those interested in the methodology of social research.

Bristol Uni Press

Parents, Poverty and the State

20 Years of Evolving Family Policy

Naomi Eisenstadt and Carey Oppenheim explore the radical changes in public attitudes and public policy concerning parents and parenting, arguing that a more joined-up approach is needed to improve outcomes for children: both reducing child poverty and improving parental capacity by providing better support systems.

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 End of Aspiration?

Social Mobility and Our Children’s Fading Prospects

Duncan Exley draws on expert research and real life experiences – including from an actor, a politician, a billionaire entrepreneur and a surgeon – to issue a wake-up call to break through segregated opportunity. He offers a manifesto to reboot our prospects and benefit all.

Policy Press