Austerity Versus Stimulus: Theoretical Perspectives and Policy Implications

Attempts to respond to the negative social and economic effects of the Great Recession have been cast in terms of the austerity versus stimulus debate. Although oversimplified, this debate reflects wider theoretical analyses of market economies and normative prescriptions for enhancing their functioning. Referencing the historical evolution of economic thought, these theories and their policy implications for responding to recessions are summarized and their relevance for social welfare is examined in the light of recent events

Review of \u3cem\u3eThe Sandbox Investment: The Preschool Movement and Kids-First Politics.\u3c/em\u3e David L. Kirp. Reviewed by James Midgley.

Book review of David L. Kirp, The Sandbox Investment: The Preschool Movement and Kids-First Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. $26.95 hardcover

Review of \u3cem\u3eThe Persistence of Poverty in the United States.\u3c/em\u3e Garth L. Mangum, Stephen L. Mangum and Andrew M. Sum. \u3c/em\u3eThe Two-income Trap: Why Middle Class Mothers and Fathers are Going Broke.\u3c/em\u3e Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi. Reviewed by James Midgley.

Book review of Garth L. Mangum, Stephen L. Mangum and Andrew M. Sum, The Persistence of Poverty in the United States. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. $19.95 papercover. Elizabeth Warren.and Amelia Warren Tyagi, The Two-income Trap: Why Middle Class Mothers and Fathers are Going Broke. New York: Basic Books, 2003.$26.00 hardcover

Review of \u3cem\u3eDevelopments in Swedish Social Policy: Resisting Dionysus.\u3c/em\u3e Arthur Gould. \u3cem\u3eWelfare in Ireland: Actors, Resources and Strategies.\u3c/em\u3e Michel Peillon. Reviewed by James Midgley.

Book review of Arthur Gould, Developments in Swedish Social Policy: Resisting Dionysus. New York: Palgrave, 2001. $62.00 hardcover; Michel Peillon, Welfare in Ireland: Actors, Resources and Strategies. Westport, CT: Praegar, 2001.$62.50 hardcover

Review of \u3cem\u3eSocial Welfare in East Asia and the Pacific.\u3c/em\u3e Sharlene B. C. L. Furuto (Ed.). Reviewed by James Midgley.

Book review of Sharlene B. C. L. Furuto (Ed). Social Welfare in East Asia and the Pacific. Columbia University Press (2013). $90 (hardcover);$30 (paperback)

\u3cem\u3eContested Lands: Israel-Palestine, Kashmir, Bosnia, Cyprus and Sri Lanka.\u3c/em\u3e Sumantra Bose.

Book note for Sumantra Bose, Contested Lands: Israel-Palestine,Kashmir, Bosnia, Cyprus and Sri Lanka. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. $27.95 hardcover

Review of \u3cem\u3eInequality, What Can be Done\u3c/em\u3e? Anthony B. Atkinson. Reviewed by James Midgley

Anthony B. Atkinson, Inequality, What Can be Done? Harvard University Press (2015), 400 pages, $29.95, (hardcover)

\u3cem\u3ePublic Pensions: Gender and Civic Service in the States, 1850-1937.\u3c/em\u3e Susan M. Sterett.

Book note for Susan M. Sterett, Public Pensions: Gender and Civic Service in the States, 1850-1937. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2003. $ 39.95 papercover

Review of \u3cem\u3eCracks in the Pavement: Social Change and Resilience in Poor Neighborhoods.\u3c/em\u3e Martin Sdnchez-Jankowski. Reviewed by James Midgley.

Book review of Martin Sanchez-Jankowski, Cracks in the Pavement: Social Change and Resilience in Poor Neighborhoods. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2008. $24.95 papercover

Assets in Theoretical Context: A Developmentalist Interpretation

This paper was commissioned for Inclusion in Asset Building: Research and Policy Symposium, an event hosted in September 2000 by the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis. The paper seeks to broaden understanding of asset programs by linking them to the normative perspectives of contemporary social welfare theory. These normative perspectives have been formulated by academics and social policy analysts in an attempt to capture and interpret the complexities of current social welfare realities. Although they invoke ideological preferences, these normative preferences are subsumed under the abstract formulations of normative theory. They reflect diverse beliefs about the role of government, the market, individual responsibility, and other institutions in social welfare. While some of these normative perspectives have been adequately documented in the literature, others are less well known. Nevertheless, they challenge previously accepted social policy models and offer conceptually compelling opportunities for redirecting social policy thinking