Richard Hoefer - Poverty, Income and Social Protection

Poverty, Income and Social Protection

This book provides insights into the way social protection policy is being redefined as a result of the new commitment by governments around the world to use these programs to reduce poverty. The case studies presented show how innovations in social protection have emerged in different countries. They also discuss various aspects of social protection that will be of interest to readers. While some of the case studies are primarily descriptive and seek to document recent trends in different countries, they also address important social policy issues. Others are particularly topical because they provide useful updates on recent social protection innovations. Countries discussed include Brazil, Britain, Chile, China, Indonesia, South Africa, and the United States.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Policy Practice.

Richard Hoefer, Ph.D., is Roy E. Dulak Professor for Community Research at the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington, USA. He specializes in the areas of social policy and program administration, with a particular emphasis on advocacy, program evaluation, and nonprofit management training. He edits the Journal of Policy Practice.

James Midgley, Ph.D. is Harry and Riva Specht Professor of Public Social Services at the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, USA. He has published widely on international social welfare and social work, social development, and social policy.

Poverty, Income and Social Protection

International Policy Perspectives

Edited by

Richard Hoefer and James Midgley

First published 2013

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2013 Taylor & Francis

This book is a reproduction of the Journal of Policy Practice, Volume 11, Issue 12. The Publisher requests to those authors who may be citing this book to state, also, the bibliographical details of the special issue on which the book was based.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN13: 978-0-415-52767-5

Publishers Note

The publisher would like to make readers aware that the chapters in this book may be referred to as articles as they are identical to the articles published in the special issue. The publisher accepts responsibility for any inconsistencies that may have arisen in the course of preparing this volume for print.

The chapters in this book were originally published in the Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012). When citing this material, please use the original page numbering for each article, as follows:

Poverty, Incomes and Social Protection: International Policy Perspectives

Richard Hoefer and James Midgley

Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012) pp. 17

Social Protection and Social Policy: Key Issues and Debates

James Midgley

Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012) pp. 824

The Last Shall Be First: Political Dimensions of Conditional Cash Transfers in Brazil

Anthony Hall

Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012) pp. 2541

Social Protection in Rural China: Recent Developments and Prospects

Yapeng Zhu

Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012) pp. 4258

Food Security and Social Protection in the United States

Richard Hoefer and Carolyn Curry

Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012) pp. 5976

Silvia Borzutzky

Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012) pp. 7791

Poverty and Social Protection in Britain: Policy Developments Since 1997

David Piachaud

Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012) pp. 92105

Poverty, Gender and Social Protection: Child Support Grants in Soweto, South Africa

Leila Patel

Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012) pp. 106120

Sirojudin and James Midgley

Journal of Policy Practice, volume 11, issue 12 (January-June 2012) pp. 121136

Silvia Borzutzky, Department of Social and Decision Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Carolyn Curry, Independent Researcher

Anthony Hall, Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, United Kingdom

Richard Hoefer, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, USA

James Midgley, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

Leila Patel, Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

David Piachaud, Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, United Kingdom

Sirojudin, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

Yapeng Zhu, School of Government/Center for Public Administration, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

Richard Hoefer

School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, USA

James Midgley

School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

Throughout human history, livelihoods have been secured through work. Whether engaged in hunting or gathering, herding animals or cultivating fields, work has provided the primary means of sustenance. Of course, forced labor in the form of slavery and serfdom was also ubiquitous and formed the basis of the wealth of a small proportion of landowners and aristocrats. Although the ancient civilizations relied extensively on slavery, it was here that wage employment first emerged as way of securing a livelihood. Merchants and traders not only depended on slaves but also hired skilled labor and similarly, rulers and the aristocratic class remunerated the services of craftsmen, administrators, and military officers. This practice was institutionalized with the invention of money and the payment of monetary wages. With the growth of urban economies in Europe and the advent of industrialization, large numbers of workers were absorbed into wage employment. By the twentieth century, industrial wage employment had replaced subsistence agriculture as the primary means of securing a livelihood. This process accelerated further with the growth of services and particularly the expansion of information and financial services. Today, the majority of people in Europe and other Western countries secure their livelihoods through wage employment.