Welfare: Needs, Rights and Risks addresses the question of how people get access to social welfare in the UK today. It explores the public, political and professional definitions, constructions and conflicts about who should receive social welfare and under what conditions. In a period during which the rationing, targeting and selective provision of welfare have become more significant, more visible and more disputed, this book examines how individuals and groups come to be defined as in need, at risk or deserving of welfare.

Product Description: This collection provides new insights into British household economic behavior by exploring the frontier between economics and sociology. Drawing on data from the groundbreaking Social Change and Economic Life Initiative, the contributors present a comprehensive analysis of six representative towns to illuminate the ways in which households sustain themselves over time and the role of gender in modern society...read more