Policy Press

Class and classism

As part of an intersectional approach, the role of class in perpetuating social inequality is a vital area of study and self-reflection.

Recognised the importance of listening to different voices, the books here address key issues, including social inequality in academia and the unequal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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:

SDG Publishers compact logoSDG 10

You may also be interested in our Global Social Challenges on equality, diversity and inclusion and poverty, inequality and social justice.

Showing 1-12 of 249 items.

Beyond the threshold

The measurement and analysis of social exclusion

Edited by Graham Room

'Poverty' and 'social exclusion' have become increasingly important topics on the European research agenda. This book provides an invaluable review of the available literature and presents major new thinking in terms of theory, understanding and data analysis.

Policy Press

Social insurance in Europe

Edited by Jochen Clasen

European, demographic and social changes have called into question the financial stability and political support for existing national social insurance programmes. This book provides information about the cross-national differences and commonalities between social insurance schemes in Europe, and reflects upon their future roles.

Policy Press

New Labour, new welfare state?

The 'third way' in British social policy

Edited by Martin Powell

This classic text provides the first comprehensive examination of the social policy of New Labour. It compares and contrasts current policy areas with both the Old Left and the New Right and applies the concept of the 'third way' to both individual policy areas and broader cross-cutting themes.

Policy Press

Ending child poverty

Popular welfare for the 21st century?

Edited by Robert Walker

This classic text presents Blair's Beveridge Lecture alongside the views of some of Britain's foremost policy analysts and commentators. It provides a rich tapestry of analysis, insight and reflection that will stimulate critical debate about the shape of British welfare for some time to come.

Policy Press

Inequalities in health

The evidence presented to the Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health, chaired by Sir Donald Acheson

This book presents all seventeen chapters of evidence commissioned by the Acheson Inquiry to inform its work. It complements both the Acheson Inquiry report published by The Stationary Office and The widening gap (The Policy Press, 1999), which provides a broad overview and systematic interpretation of the Inequalities in Health debate.

Policy Press

Tackling inequalities

Where are we now and what can be done?

This challenging book brings together contributions from leading poverty analysts on inequalities in income, wealth, standard of living, employment, education, housing, crime and health. It charts the extent of the growth in inequalities and offers a coherent critique of the New Labour government's policies aimed at those tackling this crisis.

Policy Press

The making of a welfare class?

Benefit receipt in Britain

Over the last three decades Britain has witnessed an unprecedented rise in the number of people receiving welfare benefits that has provoked fears of a growing underclass and mass welfare dependency. This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the reasons for this growth and subjects notions of welfare dependency to empirical test.

Policy Press

Seven years in the lives of British families

Evidence on the dynamics of social change from the British Household Panel Survey

This ground-breaking study provides important new insights into the dynamics of Britain's social and economic life. A total of 10,000 adults (from 5,500 households) were interviewed every year between 1991 and 1997, providing a unique picture of the processes and outcomes of important events in their lives.

Policy Press

Poverty

A study of town life

A century ago, Seebohm Rowntree embarked on an investigation of poverty in York. The study was hugely influential in the thinking which led to the foundation of the welfare state and his research methods still have validity today. This classic work is republished in a special centenary edition with an extended Preface by Jonathan Bradshaw.

Policy Press

Breadline Europe

The measurement of poverty

The first book to examine poverty in Europe within the international framework agreed at the 1995 World Summit on Social Development, this study provides a scientific and international basis for the analysis and reduction of poverty. With contributions from leading poverty experts, it presents cutting-edge international research in one volume.

Policy Press

'An offer you can't refuse'

Workfare in international perspective

'An offer you can't refuse' compares, in depth, international 'work-for-welfare' (workfare) policies objectively for the first time. It considers well-publicised schemes from the United States alongside more overlooked examples of workfare in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Norway.

Policy Press

Poverty, inequality and health in Britain: 1800-2000

A reader

This reader provides two centuries of historical context to debates on health inequality. Extracts from classic texts, information about authors and an introduction draw together important themes of change and continuity. It is a key text for students on a range of policy courses and an excellent resource for anyone interested in poverty.

Policy Press