Poverty and Inequality

Leading interdisciplinary scholars focus on the ‘social’ of social policy. This ground-breaking volume tackles pressing ‘social questions’ and critically engages with contested conceptions of ‘the social’ which are increasingly deployed by international institutions and policy makers.

Based on an autoethnographic study about a free food store in Aotearoa New Zealand, this book examines how alternative economies and relations emerge from community solutions, and how these could be used to think, act and organize differently against capitalist dynamics.

As the population ages, this book reveals how divides that are apparent through childhood and working life change and are added to in later life.

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.

In this book, Sarah Kerr explains that we live in a state of ‘wealtherty’, characterised by the hyper-concentration of wealth and a stark distinction between the rich and the poor. In pursuit of social and economic justice, she argues that we need to stop talking about poverty and start addressing the social and political problems caused by wealth.

This book synthesises the challenges of researching everyday life for families on low incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve future policy and practice.

As New Labour approaches the end of an unprecedented third term in office, this bestselling book asks whether Britain is more equal than it was in 1997. This second volume, following on from the highly successful "A more equal society?", provides an independent assessment of the success or otherwise of New Labour's policies. 

'For whose benefit?' explores how those at the sharp end of welfare reform experience changes to the benefit system. It looks at how the rights and responsibilities of citizenship are experienced on the ground, and whether the welfare state still offers meaningful protection and security to those who rely upon it.

Based on more than 30 case studies in eight different countries, this book explores the governance dynamics of local social innovations in the field of poverty reduction, illustrating how different governance dynamics and welfare mixes enable or hinder poverty reduction strategies.

Three leading sociologists examine Italy’s regime of poverty and the frequently misunderstood context of familialism in this in-depth study. With analysis of poverty’s roots and development and modern trends including the migrant ‘new poor’, it adds European perspectives for a better understanding of a persistent crisis.

Drawing on student experiences and the perspectives of senior leaders, this book challenges orthodox thinking about school exclusion and advocates for a fairer education system for disadvantaged students.

This book offers a holistic view of Julio Boltvinik’s vast and important work on poverty conceptualisation and measurement. It provides the foundations, application and empirical examples of Boltvinik’s Integrated Poverty Measurement Method, which could potentially transform poverty narratives globally as it has done in Mexico.