Transfer State

The idea of a guaranteed minimum income has been central to British social policy debates for more than a century. Since the First World War, a variety of market economists, radical activists, and social reformers have emphasized the possibility of tackling poverty through direct cash transfers between the state and its citizens. As manufacturing employment has declined and wage inequality has grown since the 1970s, cash benefits and tax credits have become an important source of income for millions of working-age households, including many low-paid workers with children. The nature and purpose of these transfer payments, however, remain highly contested. Conservative and New Labour governments have used in-work benefits and conditionality requirements to 'activate' the unemployed and reinforce the incentives to take low-paid work - an approach which has reached its apogee in Universal Credit. By contrast, a growing number of campaigners have argued that the challenge of providing economic security in an age of automation would be better met by paying a Universal Basic Income to all citizens. Transfer State provides the first detailed history of guaranteed income proposals in modern Britain, which brings together intellectual history and archival research to show how the pursuit of an integrated tax and benefit system has shaped UK public policy since 1918. The result is a major new analysis of the role of cash transfers in the British welfare state which sets Universal Credit in a historical perspective and examines the cultural and political barriers to a Universal Basic Income.

The idea of a guaranteed minimum income has been central to British social policy debates for more than a century. Since the First World War, a variety of market economists, radical activists, and social reformers have emphasized the possibility of tackling poverty through direct cash transfers between the state and its citizens. As manufacturing employment has declined and wage inequality has grown since the 1970s, cash benefits and tax credits have become an important source of income for millions of working-age households, including many low-paid workers with children. The nature and purpose of these transfer payments, however, remain highly contested. Conservative and New Labour governments have used in-work benefits and conditionality requirements to 'activate' the unemployed and reinforce the incentives to take low-paid work - an approach which has reached its apogee in Universal Credit. By contrast, a growing number of campaigners have argued that the challenge of providing economic security in an age of automation would be better met by paying a Universal Basic Income to all citizens. Transfer State provides the first detailed history of guaranteed income proposals in modern Britain, which brings together intellectual history and archival research to show how the pursuit of an integrated tax and benefit system has shaped UK public policy since 1918. The result is a major new analysis of the role of cash transfers in the British welfare state which sets Universal Credit in a historical perspective and examines the cultural and political barriers to a Universal Basic Income.

Ten years ago, Stanley L. Shapiro edited the book entitled Ultrashort Light Pulses (Topics Appl. Phys., Vol. 18), which was written by eight experts in the field. Six years later, Charles V. Shank added a bibliography (1980-1983) in the second edition with approximately one thousand new references. During the past decade the field has grown so rapidly that a completely new book had to be written. In particular, the reduction of the time scale of light pulses into the femtosecond range has opened up new experimental possibilities never even foreseen in the preceding literature. The vast literature with countless ideas and applications makes it impossible for a single person to write a comprehensive review. Nine scientists, actively working in the field since its beginning, have decided to join forces to prepare a new book describing the present state of the art. Emphasis is placed on the generation and numerous applications of ultrashort laser pulses. This book covers a wide area of science: physics, engineering, chemistry, and biology. The various chapters and sections are prepared in each case such that the reader is given a brief introduction to the specific subject. Ample references for a more detailed study are given at the end of each chapter.

Faithful communication is a necessary precondition for large-scale quantum information processing and networking, irrespective of the physical platform. Thus, the problems of quantum-state transfer and quantum-network engineering have attracted enormous interest over the last years, and constitute one of the most active areas of research in quantum information processing. The present volume introduces the reader to fundamental concepts and various aspects of this exciting research area, including links to other related areas and problems. The implementation of state-transfer schemes and the engineering of quantum networks are discussed in the framework of various quantum optical and condensed matter systems, emphasizing the interdisciplinary character of the research area. Each chapter is a review of theoretical or experimental achievements on a particular topic, written by leading scientists in the field. The volume aims at both newcomers as well as experienced researchers.