Policy Press

Poverty, inequality and social justice

The issues involved in poverty, inequality and social justice are many and varied, from basic access to education and healthcare, to the financial crisis and resulting austerity, and now COVID-19. Addressing Goal 1: No Poverty, Goal 5: Gender Equality, Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities and Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, our list both presents research on these topics and tackles emerging problems. A key series in the area is the SSSP Agendas for Social Justice.

This area has always been at the heart of our publishing with the view to making the research in this area as visible and accessible as possible in order to maximise its potential impact. 

Bristol University Press and Policy Press are signed up to the UN SDG Publishers Compact. In Poverty, inequality and social justice, we aim to address the following goals:

SDG Publishers compact logoSDG 1: No povertySDG 5: Gender equalitySDG 10: Reduced inequalitiesSDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

Showing 169-180 of 697 items.

City Regions and Devolution in the UK

The Politics of Representation

Rich in case study insights, this book provides an overview of city-region building and considers how governance restructuring shapes political, economic, social and cultural landscapes. Reviewing city regions in Britain, the authors address the tensions and opportunities for local elites and civil society actors.

Policy Press

Participatory Ideology

From Exclusion to Involvement

This book examines for the first time the exclusionary nature of prevailing political ideologies. Bringing together theory, practice and the relationship between participation, political ideology and social welfare, it offers a detailed critique of how the crucial move to more participatory approaches may be achieved.

Policy Press

Welfare Reform and Social Investment Policy in Europe and East Asia

International Lessons and Policy Implications

Providing original observations, this seminal text analyses the emergence of social investment policies in both Europe and East Asia. Experts explore the roads and barriers towards effective social investment policies, derive practical social policy implications and highlight important lessons for future social policymaking.

Policy Press

Welfare and Punishment

From Thatcherism to Austerity

From Margaret Thatcher’s first government to austerity politics, Ian Cummins traces changing attitudes to imprisonment and the social state. With fresh insights and critical thinking, he demonstrates how increasingly punitive approaches to crime and welfare have shaped the neoliberal economy and created stigma around those living in poverty.

Bristol Uni Press

Financial Inclusion

Critique and Alternatives

Rajiv Prabhakar brings together the typically exclusive views of supporters and critics to present a nuanced, critical analysis of ‘financial inclusion’. Addressing issues including the ‘poverty premium’, financial capability and housing, this dialogue advances crucial public, academic and policy debates and proposes alternative paths forward.

Policy Press

The Settlement House Movement Revisited

A Transnational History

This book provides a historical approach to the study of the Settlement House movement in relation to developments in social welfare and the profession of social work across a range of nations.

Policy Press

Romani Communities and Transformative Change

A New Social Europe

Drawing on Roma community voices and expert research, this book challenges conventional discourses on Romani identity, poverty and exclusion. Through the transformative vehicle of a ‘Social Europe’, it presents new strategies for framing social justice for Romani communities across Europe and provides innovative solutions to these dilemmas.

Policy Press

Austerity, Women and the Role of the State

Lived Experiences of the Crisis

Delivering a timely account of the misconceptions of policies, discourses and representations around austerity in the UK, Dabrowski illustrates the complex ways through which austerity is experienced by women in their everyday lives.

Bristol Uni Press

Superdiversity, Policy and Governance in Europe

Multi-scalar Perspectives

First published as a special issue of Policy & Politics, this insightful volume brings together contributions from experts across Europe to explore the ways in which superdiversity has influenced the development of policy and to consider challenges for the future.

Policy Press

Civil Society and the Family

This enlightening book challenges conventional distinctions between the family and civil society as it uncovers how civic values and practices are inherited and fostered within the home.

Policy Press

Civil Society through the Lifecourse

Edited by Sally Power

Challenging conventional thinking, leading academics explore how individuals’ relationships with civil society change over time as different lifecourse events and stages trigger and hinder civic engagement and political participation, and highlight the implications for those promoting greater civic and political engagement.

Policy Press

Social Problems in the Age of COVID-19 Vol 2

Global Perspectives

Published with SSSP, this book addresses the greatest social challenges facing the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors propose public policy solutions to help refugees, migrant workers, victims of human trafficking, indigenous populations and the invisible poor of the Global South.

Policy Press


Related journals

Journal of poverty and social justice cover

Journal of Poverty and Social Justice

Welfare regimes in the global South: does the capability approach provide an alternative perspective?
Sophie Plagerson and Leila Patel

Basic income and a public job offer: complementary policies to reduce poverty and unemployment
Felix FitzRoy and Jim Jin

Monitoring progress towards sustainable development: multidimensional child poverty in the European Union
Yekaterina Chzhen, Zlata Bruckauf and Emilia Toczydlowska

Much ado about poverty: the role of a UN Special Rapporteur
Philip Alston, Bassam Khawaja and Rebecca Riddell

Including services in multidimensional poverty measurement for SDGs: modifications to the consensual approach
Alba Lanau, Joanna Mack and Shailen Nandy

For better or for worse: does the UK means-tested social security system encourage partnership dissolution?
Rita Griffiths

CCTs and conditionalities: an exploratory analysis of not meeting conditional cash transfer conditionalities in Chile's Families Programme
Tal Reininger, Cristobal Villalobos and Ignacio Wyman

Welfare regimes in the global South: does the capability approach provide an alternative perspective?
Sophie Plagerson and Leila Patel

Basic income and a public job offer: complementary policies to reduce poverty and unemployment
Felix FitzRoy and Jim Jin

Monitoring progress towards sustainable development: multidimensional child poverty in the European Union
Yekaterina Chzhen, Zlata Bruckauf and Emilia Toczydlowska

Is there evidence of households making a heat or eat trade off in the UK?
Carolyn Snell, Hannah Lambie-Mumford and Harriet Thomson

Leaving no one behind? Reaching the informal sector, poor people and marginalised groups with Social Health Protection
Claude Meyer, David Evans et al.

Gender, ethnicity and activism: 'the miracle is when we don't give up...'
Anna  Daróczi, Angela Kocze et al.

‘We are constantly overdrawn, despite not spending money on anything other than bills and food’: a mixed-methods, participatory study of food and food insecurity in the context of income inequality [Open Access]
Katie Pybus, Madeleine Power, and Kate E. Pickett

A consequence of a tragedy: nowcasting poverty rate in Syria
Samer Hamati

Retheorising the relationship between electricity scarcity and social injustice: evidence from Zimbabwe
Ellen Fungisai Chipango

Exploring child poverty and inequality in post-apartheid South Africa: a multidimensional perspective
Kehinde Oluwaseun Omotoso and Steven F. Koch

‘To tell you the truth, no job is legit’: an exploration of justice for Hanoi’s marginalised urban migrants
Jonathan De Luca