Written by a team of internationally respected experts, this book explores the conditions under which social policy--defined as the public pursuit of secure welfare--operates in the poorer regions of the world. Making an important contribution by breaking away from the traditional focus on Europe and North America, it develops a new conceptual framework for understanding different types of welfare regimes in a range of countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Insecurity and Welfare Regimes in Asia, Africa and Latin America: Social Policy in Development Contexts

Politics & Social Sciences

Davis, Peter

Room, Graham

Gough, Ian

Barrientos, Armando

Wood, Geof

Bevan, Philippa

Sociology

Cambridge University Press

Written by a team of internationally respected experts, this book explores the conditions under which social policy--defined as the public pursuit of secure welfare--operates in the poorer regions of the world. Making an important contribution by breaking away from the traditional focus on Europe and North America, it develops a new conceptual framework for understanding different types of welfare regimes in a range of countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Complexity, Institutions and Public Policy: Agile Decision-Making in a Turbulent World

Graham Room argues that conventional approaches to the conceptualization and measurement of social and economic change are unsatisfactory. As a result, researchers are ill-equipped to offer policy advice. This book offers a new analytical approach, combining complexity science and institutionalism. It also provides tools for policy makers in turbulent times. Part 1 is concerned with the conceptualization of socio-economic change. It integrates complexity science and institutionalism into a coherent ontology of social and policy dynamics. Part 2 is concerned with models and measurement. It combines some of the principal approaches developed in complexity analysis with models and methods drawn from mainstream social and political science. Part 3 offers empirical applications to public policy: the dynamics of social exclusion; the social dimension of knowledge economies; the current financial and economic crisis. These are supplemented by a toolkit for the practice of 'agile policy making'. This is a stimulating, provocative and highly original book. It will appeal to academics and students in social and policy studies and to a wide range of scholars in other disciplines where complexity science is already well-developed. It will also be of major interest for decision makers coping with complex and turbulent policy terrains.Contents: Preface 1. Introduction Part I: Concepts 2. The Complexity Paradigm 3. Complex Adaptive Systems 4. The Economy as a Complex Adaptive System 5. Institutional Settings and Architectures 6. Institutional Dynamics 7. The Struggle for Positional Advantage 8. Conceptualising Social Dynamics Part II: Methods 9. Attractors and Orbits in Dynamic Systems 10. Patterns in Time and Space 11. Connections and Networks 12. Mobility on Social Landscapes 13. Towards a Generic Methodology Part III: Policies 14. Agile Policy-Making 15. Poverty and Social Exclusion 16. Social Dynamics of the Knowledge Economy 17. Global Turbulence and Crisis Postscript: Tools for Policy-Makers References Index

Business & Money

Management & Leadership

Edward Elgar Publishing

Graham Room argues that conventional approaches to the conceptualization and measurement of social and economic change are unsatisfactory. As a result, researchers are ill-equipped to offer policy advice. This book offers a new analytical approach, combining complexity science and institutionalism.
Part 1 is concerned with the conceptualization of socio-economic change. It integrates complexity science and institutionalism into a coherent ontology of social and policy dynamics.
Part 2 is concerned with models and measurement. It combines some of the principal approaches developed in complexity analysis with models and methods drawn from mainstream social and political science.
Part 3 offers empirical applications to public policy: the dynamics of social exclusion; the social dimension of knowledge economies; the current financial and economic crisis. These are supplemented by a toolkit for the practice of 'agile policy making'.
This is a stimulating, provocative and highly original book. It will appeal to academics and students in social and policy studies and to a wide range of scholars in other disciplines where complexity science is already well-developed. It will also be of major interest for decision makers coping with complex and turbulent policy terrains.
Contents: Preface; 1. Introduction; Part I: Concepts; 2. The Complexity Paradigm; 3. Complex Adaptive Systems; 4. The Economy as a Complex Adaptive System; 5. Institutional Settings and Architectures; 6. Institutional Dynamics; 7. The Struggle for Positional Advantage; 8. Conceptualising Social Dynamics; Part II: Methods; 9. Attractors and Orbits in Dynamic Systems; 10. Patterns in Time and Space; 11. Connections and Networks; 12. Mobility on Social Landscapes; 13. Towards a Generic Methodology; Part III: Policies; 14. Agile Policy-Making; 15. Poverty and Social Exclusion; 16. Social Dynamics of the Knowledge Economy; 17. Global Turbulence and Crisis; Postscript: Tools for Policy-Makers; References; Index

Agile Actors on Complex Terrains: Transformative Realism and Public Policy (Complexity in Social Science)

This book assesses the value and relevance of the literature on complex systems to policy-making, contributing to both social theory and policy analysis. For this purpose it develops two key ideas: agile action and transformative realism. The book takes some major themes from complexity science, presents them in a clear and accessible manner and applies them to core problems in sociological theory and policy analysis. Combining complexity science with perspectives from institutionalism and political economy, this book is the first to integrate these fields conceptually, methodologically and in terms of the implications for policy analysis and practice. Room shows how the models and methods of social and complexity science can be jointly deployed and applied to empirical areas of public policy. He demonstrates how complexity science can provide insight into the nonlinear dynamics of the social world, but why these need to be understood by reference to the unequal distribution of power and advantage. Among the sociological debates with which the book engages are those concerned with causation and explanation, rational action and positional competition, and the place of evolutionary concepts in accounts of social change. Among the policy debates are those concerned with evidence and policy, the dynamics of inequality, and libertarian paternalism. The book will appeal to final year undergraduates and postgraduate students in social sciences; scholars in social and policy studies broadly defined; policy-makers who want to go beyond conventional discussions of evidence-based policy-making and cross-national lesson-drawing, and consider how to approach complex and turbulent policy terrains; and a wider range of scholars in other disciplines where complexity science is already well developed.

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Routledge

This book assesses the value and relevance of the literature on complex systems to policy-making, contributing to both social theory and policy analysis. For this purpose it develops two key ideas: agile action and transformative realism. The book takes some major themes from complexity science, presents them in a clear and accessible manner and applies them to core problems in sociological theory and policy analysis. Combining complexity science with perspectives from institutionalism and political economy, this book is the first to integrate these fields conceptually, methodologically and in terms of the implications for policy analysis and practice.  Room shows how the models and methods of social and complexity science can be jointly deployed and applied to empirical areas of public policy. He demonstrates how complexity science can provide insight into the nonlinear dynamics of the social world, but why these need to be understood by reference to the unequal distribution of power and advantage. Among the sociological debates with which the book engages are those concerned with causation and explanation, rational action and positional competition, and the place of evolutionary concepts in accounts of social change. Among the policy debates are those concerned with evidence and policy, the dynamics of inequality, and libertarian paternalism.   The book will appeal to final year undergraduates and postgraduate students in social sciences; scholars in social and policy studies broadly defined; policy-makers who want to go beyond conventional discussions of evidence-based policy-making and cross-national lesson-drawing, and consider how to approach complex and turbulent policy terrains; and a wider range of scholars in other disciplines where complexity science is already well developed.

There are estimated to be almost sixty million people living in poverty throughout the European Union. This bleak statistic underlines the value of this important book which explores the nature and extent of poverty and social exclusion in six European countries, namely: Austria, Germany, Greece, Norway, Portugal and the UK. The book focuses on four ‘life course’ groups who might be considered particularly at risk: young adults, lone parents, the sick and disabled, and the retired. 
The authors show how poverty is the outcome of the interaction between several factors including education, gender and family structure. They emphasize the importance of distinguishing between poverty and non-monetary measures of deprivation and isolation. Although the poor are more at risk of suffering from deprivation, the authors demonstrate that this relationship is more tenuous than many people suppose. Employing rigorous theoretical and methodological analyses, they go on to relate their findings to the policy environment in each of the countries specifically chosen to reflect differing welfare systems. In this way the authors compare the impact of government policy on both the level of poverty and social exclusion, and on who is most at risk of experiencing them. 
Both statistically and in policy terms this book will be essential reading for students, social scientists, economists and policy makers at both the national and European level.
Contents: Introduction; 1. Social Exclusion and the Life Course; 2. Poverty, Material Deprivation and Multi-dimensional Disadvantage During Four Life Stages: Evidence from the ECHP; 3. Transitions from Youth to Adulthood ; 4. Lone Parenthood; 5. Sickness and Disability; 6. Transition into Retirement; 7. Patterns of Social Exclusion: Implications for Policy and Research; References; Index

Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe

Graham Room

Matt Barnes

Christopher Heady

Sue Middleton

Jane Millar

Fotis Papadopoulos

Panos Tsakloglou

Papadopoulos, Fotis

Tsakloglou, Panos

Social Sciences

There are estimated to be almost 60 million people living in poverty throughout the European Union. This bleak statistic underlines the value of this important book which explores the nature and extent of poverty and social exclusion in six European countries, namely: Austria, Germany, Greece, Norway, Portugal and the UK. The book focuses on four `life course' groups who might be considered particularly at risk: young adults, lone parents, the sick and disabled, and the retired. The authors show how poverty is the outcome of the interaction between several factors including education, gender and family structure. They emphasise the importance of distinguishing between poverty and non-monetary measures of deprivation and isolation. Although the poor are more at risk of suffering from deprivation, the authors demonstrate that this relationship is more tenuous than many people suppose. Employing rigorous theoretical and methodological analyses they go on to relate their findings to the policy environment in each of the countries, which were specifically chosen to reflect differing welfare systems. In this way the authors compare the impact of government policy on both the level of poverty and social exclusion, and on who is most at risk of experiencing them. Both statistically and in policy terms this book will be essential reading for students and academics of economics and the social sciences, and policy makers at both the national and European level.

Middleton, Sue

Heady, Christopher

Barnes, Matt

Millar, Jane

The European Challenge: Innovation, Policy Learning And Social Cohesion in the New Knowledge Economy

Economic and social change is accelerating under the twin impact of globalisation and the new information technologies. But how are these processes interrelated? Are they impelling us towards a common socio-economic future? What can governments do if they want to manage and steer the direction of development? This book addresses these questions with particular reference to the European Union, which has made the development of a socially cohesive, knowledge-based economy its central task for the present decade. It assesses both the challenges and the policy instruments that are being deployed, focussing in particular on:the dynamics of the 'new economy';the new organisational architectures associated with rapid innovation;the transformation of education and training;the implications for social cohesion and exclusion;the role of policy benchmarking in promoting policy learning and enhancing national performance. ·[vbTab]The European Challenge presents the most up-to-date research on the development of the knowledge-based economy and its social and policy implications. Its accessible and integrated treatment of the processes of economic, social and technological change make it an invaluable resource for those studying and researching in the fields of public and social policy, organisational and technological change and innovation. It is also highly relevant to policy-makers who need to understand and manage this change.

The European Challenge: Innovation, policy learning and social cohesion in the new knowledge economy

Gould, Nick

in collaboration with

Dencik, Jacob

Kamm, Richard

Powell, Philip

Steyaert, Jan

Vidgen, Richard

Winnett, Adrian

Industries

Policy Press

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