A Handbook Of Comparative Social Policy Second Edition

'This extensively revised edition of A Handbook of Comparative Social Policy provides up-to-date and valuable insights on key concepts and issues, such as globalization, crime, diversity, housing, child poverty, gender inequality, and social policy regimes. To write about these topics, editor Patricia Kennett has gathered an excellent team of researchers, who deal with both the developing and the advanced industrial world. Students of comparative social policy would benefit from engaging with this illuminating Handbook.' Daniel Béland, JohnsonShoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, Canada The current context of social policy is one in which many of the old certainties of the past have been eroded. The predominantly inward-looking, domestic preoccupation of social policy has made way for a more integrated, international and outward approach to analysis which looks beyond the boundaries of the state. It is in this context that this Handbook brings together the work of key commentators in the field of comparative analysis in order to provide comprehensive coverage of contemporary debates and issues in cross-national social policy research. Organized around five themes, this thoroughly revised and updated second edition explores the contextual, conceptual, analytical and processual aspects of undertaking comparative social research. The contributions highlight specific areas of comparative social policy including child poverty and well-being, patterns of housing provision and housing inequalities, and social protection in East Asia as well as crime and criminology in a global context. The authors of the Handbook explore continuing and emerging themes as well as issues which are of particular relevance to understanding the contemporary social world. International in scope, this authoritative Handbook presents original cutting-edge research from leading specialists and will become an indispensable source of reference for anyone interested in comparative and international social research. It will also prove a valuable study aid for undergraduate and postgraduate students from a range of disciplines including social policy, sociology, politics, urban studies and public policy.

Drawing together international perspectives and disciplinary sub-fields of comparative and global social policy, this book provides an insightful guide for educators and academics embarking on or revisiting the design and teaching of classes, courses and programmes in and around social and public policy.

The Handbook of Social Policy is an attempt to document the now substantial body of knowledge about government social policies that has been accumulated since the study of social policy first emerged as an organized field of academic endeavor about 50 years ago. The Second Edition offers a more streamlined format to make the book more consistent with the way most instructors teach their courses. This text is a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to a vast field of endeavor that has, over the years, made a significant difference to the lives and the well-being of the people of the United States.

'The Handbook of Social Policy' is a comprehensive examination of the development, implementation and impact of social policy. The contributors document the substantial body of knowledge about government social policies and their driving forces.

This book introduces readers to the world of ideal types within the readings of Max Weber by giving a theoretical understanding of ideal types, as well as applying the development of ideal types to an array of social policy arenas. The twenty-first century has seen the development of welfare regime analysis marked by two differing strands: real-typical welfare regime analyses and ideal-typical welfare regime analysis; the latter focusing on the formation, development and application of ideal types in general comparative social policy. Designed to provide new theoretical and practical frameworks, as well as updated in-depth developments of ideal-typical welfare regime theory, this book shows how Weber’s method of setting up and checking against ‘ideal types’ can be used in a wide variety of policy areas such as welfare state system comparison, comparative social and economic development, health policy, mental health policy, health care system analysis, gender policy, employment policy, education policy and so forth. The book will be of interest to all scholars and students working in the fields of social policy including health policy, public policy, political economy, sociology, social work, gender studies, social anthropology, and many more.

The purpose of this book is to survey the literature on social welfare policies and planning of different nations in order to explain some of the major problems that are encountered in comparative research and to highlight what has been learned so far.

Now fully updated and expanded, the new 2nd edition of this well established textbook will remain a key book for students of Social Policy and other Sociology related disciplines. The 22 chapters cover a wide variety of social policy and welfare issues each written by an expert in the field. A selection of new chapters have been added and existing chapters have been thoroughly reviewed to take into account recent changes in British and European social policy. Readers are introduced tothe key evidence and the main questions about social policy and welfare systems. A central objective of the book is to show how social research can inform social policy debates. The book focuses mainly on social policy in the United Kingdom, but frequent comparisons are drawn with developments elsewhere in the European Union and the United States. The chapters are written in a non technical way and are supported by detailed case study material and a variety of boxes, summaries and discussion questions designed to make the text accessible to students. Each chapter also contains clear chapter objectives, a glossary and suggestions for further reading. NEW IN THIS EDITION There are a number of new chapters which reflect the latest developments and trends in this area: - Social Policy and the Development of Modern Social Welfare Systems - Welfare, Media and Culture - Welfare, Identity and the Life Course - Economics and Public Expenditure Decision Making - The Role ofthe Voluntary and Non-Governmental Sector - Health and Health Policy - Comparative Social Policy and the European Union - New Thinking in Social Welfare

Discussing how to use public policy to improve the quality of life for those at the bottom of the social hierarchy, this text makes the case for policy that expands employment and facilitates jobs, finances education and economic and cultural integration, rewards merit, and encourages voting and political participation. Political scientists from around the world measure the effect of democratization, religion, ethnicity, race, and mass media on internal conflict during the initial post-Cold War period, in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin and North America. Some topics include the role of mass communication on Egyptian family planning, Russian nationalism, and the Guatemalan peace process.