Böcker av Neil Gilbert

Drawing on a multidisciplinary group of experts from many countries, this Handbook is intended to be a reference work that provides students and scholars in policy-related disciplines a wide-ranging perspective on the diverse ways that family policies respond to modern issues and trends over the life course. The Handbook is divided into two main parts. The first part offers a panoramic introduction to the setting and issues which contemporary family policies havebeen designed to address. The second part and main body of the volume is organized around four benchmark periods that encompass the main stages of the family life cycle and social policies that are called into play during these stages.

Aging populations are creating tremendous pressures on social security systems throughout the world, lifting the need for reform to the top of policy agendas

Over the last decade changing family life and increasing fiscal constraints on welfare expenditures have forced industrialized nations to reconsider how they approach social protection

While trying to adapt social security systems to the fiscal demands of aging societies, policymakers face the compelling challenge of how to design pension reforms that achieve fair outcomes for women. This book examines how countries are trying to meet this challenge and gives insights into the gender dimensions of alternative designs for reform.

A systematic assessment of the trend toward targeting in seven countries representing a range of industrialized welfare states. It examines the extent to which each country has adopted measures to focus social benefits on specific population groups and social welfare programme areas.

The welfare state has become increasingly unfair, the author argues, and in this book he analyzes developments and failings of welfare arrangements. The text looks to policy-makers to develop programmes that balance the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

A conceptual framework for analyzing social welfare policy Dimensions of Social Welfare Policy provides a comprehensive and widely-used framework for analyzing social welfare policies. The text encourages readers to develop their own thoughts on social welfare policy and to explore policy alternatives. Theoretical points are illustrated with examples from a cross-section of program areas including income maintenance, child welfare, model cities, day care, community action, and mental health. The text familiarizes students with the content of major social welfare programs such as TANF, OASDHI, SSI, and Title XX. Learning GoalsUpon completing this book, readers will be able to: Understand current policy issues Reflect on where they stand in regard to controversial policy issues Understand major social welfare programs Better understand CSWEs core competencies and practice behaviors

The last decade has witnessed a conspicuous alteration in policies protecting unemployed people in modern welfare states. Social policies are increasingly designed to encourage economic independence. Policy makers have introduced a wide range of reforms linking disability, unemployment, and welfare programs cash benefits to work-oriented measures. Welfare policies are being framed by a new emphasis on recipients' obligations, emphasizing that the receipt of benefits creates a responsibility to take action towards becoming self-reliant. The objective is to minimize the duration of dependence or improve the well-being of family or community.Activating the Unemployed addresses this growing interest in work-oriented measures. This represents a shift in the dominant discourse on social welfare from focus on the citizen's rights to social benefits to emphasis on their responsibilities to work and lead an active life. In this volume, a distinguished array of international contributors provide cross-cultural perspectives to analyze recent diverse policy initiatives to activate the unemployed in nine countries -- Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Each provides a systematic account of the background, design, implementation, and results of employment-oriented measures. Collectively they permit comparison of organized responses to common problems in the areas of public assistance (welfare), unemployment, and disability, among others. Further chapters seek to broaden perspectives on policy options, the issues raised, and lessons learned in the course of activating the unemployed.This thorough and insightful accountaddresses significant contemporary issues and concerns about welfare, social security, and unemployment. It will aid policy makers, professionals, and scholars in assessing current trends in welfare in various countries throughout the world.