Trapped in Poverty?: Labour-Market Decisions in Low-Income Households

The advent of the "enterprise culture" over the last two decades has drastically reshaped the "welfare state" of the 1950s-1960s.Trapped in Povertyaddresses one of the most contentious issues to arise from these changes--how those with low-earning power should live in this "post-industrial" economy. This book provides a detailed study of how men and women with children in low-income households make decisions about employment and claiming benefits. The authors show how these people account for their moves in and out of the labor market, relating such changes to various economic and social factors and considering the gender divisions in decision-making. Based on an extensive case study of a single town,Trapped in Povertydraws its information directly from the people involved, showing how the poor view themselves and their relationship with and within the community. The authors investigate changes between employment, unemployment and self-employmentin a fragmented, casualized labor market, and have come up with fascinating results. The wealth of new empirical data and theoretical significance of this book, and its straightforward style and logical progression of material, make it an invaluable resource for researchers and those studying economics, sociology, social policy, and public administration.