Population policies and education: exploring the contradictions of neo-liberal globalisation

The world is increasingly characterised by profound income, health and social inequalities (Appadurai, 2000). In recent decades development initiatives aimed at reducing these inequalities have been situated in a context of increasing globalisation with a dominant neo-liberal economic orthodoxy. This paper argues that neo-liberal globalisation contains inherent contradictions regarding choice and uniformity. This is illustrated in this paper through an exploration of the impact of neo-liberal globalisation on population policies and programmes. The dominant neo-liberal economic ideology that has influenced development over the last few decades has often led to alternative global visions being overlooked. Many current population and development debates are characterised by polarised arguments with strongly opposing aims and views. This raises the challenge of finding alternatives situated in more middle ground that both identify and promote the socially positive elements of neo-liberalism and state intervention, but also to limit their worst excesses within the population field and more broadly. This paper concludes with a discussion outling the positive nature of middle ground and other possible alternatives

Variations in Poverty by Family Characteristics Among Working‐Age Adults With Disabilities

Objective To examine the association of family structure, family‐level employment, and receipt of adult public disability benefits on poverty levels among working‐age persons with disabilities in the United States. Background Working‐age persons with disabilities are more likely than their counterparts without disabilities to live in poverty. However, prior research has not fully examined differences in poverty that control for family structure, family‐level employment, receipt of adult public disability benefits, and other family‐level characteristics. Method Couched within a conceptual model of family resilience, data from the 2016 Current Population Survey (N = 110,865) were used to estimate binary logistic regression models predicting the likelihood of living in poverty, controlling for family structure, family‐level employment, receipt of adult public disability benefits, and other family‐level characteristics. Results Married or cohabiting households that include an adult with a disability had equal odds of living in poverty as married or cohabiting households without an adult with a disability. However, in single‐adult households, the risk of living in poverty was higher among those households where the adult had a disability than among those who did not. Employment and receipt of public disability benefits moderated the risk of living in poverty for persons with disabilities, particularly for single‐headed households. Conclusion Family structure, family‐level employment, and receipt of public disability benefits are associated with the risk of living in poverty among adults with disabilities in the United States. In short, the public disability benefit system in the United States can reduce but not totally alleviate the risks of poverty for working‐age adults with disabilities. Implications Continued investment into furthering the employment of adults with disabilities, while protecting the availability of public disability benefits can reduce the risks of poverty for Americans with disabilities