Social Exclusion and Poverty: Translating Social Capital into Accessible Resources

This article investigates the dynamic multi‐dimensional processes through which the poor become excluded from social participation. Drawing on social capital literature, it traces how bridging and bonding capital do not always translate into expected levels of social participation. It does so by detailing research findings from low income focus groups undertaken in Dunedin, New Zealand. These describe the experiences of group members in attempting to manage connections around employment, their own broader social participation or the participation of their children. In each case, the study highlights the difficulties of translation they experienced: in particular, translating available bridging or bonding capital into useful social, cultural or economic resources which could mitigate their social exclusion or enable fuller social participation.     

Poverty, Social Exclusion and Social Policy in the Czech Republic

This article analyses the pattern of poverty and social exclusion in the Czech Republic and the impact of social policy on this pattern. The analysis is mostly based on data from the Czech Survey on Social Conditions of Households (2001; 27,000 respondents); Eurostat data provide a benchmark for making international comparisons. The poverty rate in the Czech Republic is among the lowest in Europe. On the other hand, material deprivation, as well as concentration of poverty within specific population groups, is high, with the unemployed facing the highest risk of poverty. Social policy measures in effect reinforce this pattern: while the benefit system is highly redistributive and effectively eliminates income poverty among households of employed persons and among pensioners, incomes of persons outside paid employment are protected less effectively. Labour market policy measures are insufficient in scope and inadequate in targeting groups which are facing the highest risk of labour market exclusion and poverty. We argue that although this practice is effective at present, it is not sustainable in the long term.     

Social Exclusion, Inequality and Social Work

This paper sets out the environment of inequality in which social work and the poor have recently operated. It explores pragmatic and idealist arguments concerning whether or not the poor need social work. Finally, policy solutions developed in consultation with social service users and carers are suggested in relation to poverty and social exclusion. Social exclusion can be linked to relative poverty as exclusion from economic and social norms. However, there is a wider brief in our own government’s publications and those of Europe, of examining how people are excluded from actions and policies of agencies who are there to support them. This paper will retain the concepts of poverty as lack of material income, and inequality as the gap between the rich and the poor, while being aware of the policy implications for social service users and carers of the more comprehensive process of being shut out partially or fully from social, economic, political and cultural systems. The debates around social work, social exclusion and inequality that follow establish: that some of the poor do need social work; that the poverty of social service users is related to policies that have restructured welfare in Britain; that the reason for individuals approaching or being referred to social services are complex but are likely to include financial deprivation as a key contributory factor; that if the poor do need social work, advocacy is essential rather than social work being seen as concerned only with social control—taking children into care, mentally ill people into hospitals, and advising the DSS on the suitability of claimants for benefits. Finally, the discussion turns to new policy agendas on social exclusion instigated by the Labour government. What positive difference can such policies make for social service users, their carers and social workers?.     

Poverty, Social Exclusion and the Politics of Disability: Care as a Social Good and the Expenditure of Social Capital in Chuadanga, Bangladesh

People labelled with disabilities in Chuadanga, Bangladesh, are denied equitable access to social networks and formal services. In terms both of funding future formal service programmes and of designing community‐based outreach programmes, this lack of access is not a simple reflection of one's impairment but a facet of the social exclusion and stigma that is culturally ascribed to disability in Chuadanga. We utilize a social model to focus on the cultural processes initiated by the onset of illness or impairment. Our participants are drawn from four types of diagnosed disability: blindness, orthopaedic impairment, hearing impairment and mental disorder. Although this inquiry is in line with Daly's focus on how future spending on formal services to promote care and equity in Europe can be helped by searching out information that is often ignored, the particular focus of this study is Chuadanga and the research questions incorporate a disability studies perspective. The authors consider care as a social good and an expenditure of social capital, in reviewing findings from a recent empirical study of disability and employment in the Bangladesh district of Chuadanga. Regardless of disability, poverty can be a morally and socially devastating ordeal. However, the authors conclude that the added loss of social solidarity and equitable access, due to the social exclusion and stigma of disability for the families concerned, make it statistically far less likely that they will access formal services or be able to escape poverty.     

Social Exclusion and Double Jeopardy: The Management of Lone Mothers in the Market–State Social Field

The popular version of social exclusion has given rise to various forms of welfare-to-work initiatives in most developed capitalist nations. Social inclusion, therefore, is commonly assumed to be achieved through paid work. The delivery of social welfare through employment activation programmes is consequential, as it necessitates an unusual cooperation between the welfare state and the labour market. With a focus on Ontario Works, a relatively mature example of Canada's residualized social welfare services, this article is an empirical analysis of the social space in which the state and the market merge – by design – and the resulting processes and outcomes of social exclusion that operate for women who parent alone. I begin with a brief review of the most popular concept of social exclusion, and the pre-eminent place of paid work in related social policy responses, followed by a consideration of the ideological context producing and reinforced by work-first programmes. Our attention is turned to a reconfigured notion of social exclusion as process and outcome, spontaneously set in motion and self-perpetuating in the fused market–state social field. Through a case study of lone mother experiences of Ontario Works, the specific ideological practices through which welfare-to-work strategies operate to keep women in their place are described. I argue that the analysis of the market-state as a unified social field – ordered according to the paired ideologies of market neo-liberalism and conservative 'family values'– is necessary for conceiving policy responses that are effective in interrupting the dynamic process–outcome iterations of social exclusion.     

Dangerous Futures: Social Exclusion and Youth Work in Late Modernity

The paper contrasts the role and structure of youth work in modern and late modern societies. Modern societies linked citizenship to inclusion in production and youth work helped the transition of young people from childhood to inclusion into the labour market and citizenship. When postwar full employment eased these transition processes then youth work concentrated on leisure provision and dealing with the small numbers of excluded young people. Late modern societies redefine citizenship in terms of market choices but also create increasing risks, which a declining state can no longer manage, and a growing use of social exclusion as a form of social control. These changes demand a new role and structure for youth work.     

Single Homelessness as Social Exclusion: The Unique and the Extreme

Recent research into single homelessness and rough sleeping has begun to consider the issue using the concepts and the language of social exclusion. This paper considers the new literature and what it may mean in terms of changing our understanding of single homelessness and rough sleeping (called street homelessness in the United States). The paper begins by reviewing the concept of social exclusion and the recent literature on single homelessness and drawing associations between the analysis of social exclusion and the emerging academic work on the nature of single homelessness and rough sleeping. Drawing on this literature, it is argued that single homelessness needs to be reconceptualized and viewed as one of the products generated by the process of social exclusion. The paper concludes with the argument that single homelessness and rough sleeping are a form of social exclusion, characterized chiefly by the inability of a section of the socially excluded population to get access to welfare services and social housing, and that homelessness does not actually exist as a discrete social problem with unique characteristics and causes.     

Challenges in Multidisciplinary Systematic Reviewing: A Study on Social Exclusion and Mental Health Policy

In the clinical sciences, systematic reviews have proved useful in the aggregation of diverse sources of evidence. They identify, characterize and summate evidence, but these methodologies have not always proved suitable for the social sciences. We discuss some of the practical problems faced by researchers undertaking reviews of complex and cross‐disciplinary topics, using the example of mental health and social exclusion. The barriers to carrying out social science and cross‐disciplinary reviews are reported and some proposals for overcoming these barriers are made, not all of them tried and tested, and some of them controversial. Using a mapping approach, a wide‐ranging search of both clinical and social science databases was undertaken and a large volume of references was identified and characterized. Population sampling techniques were used to manage these references. The challenges encountered include: inconsistent definitions of social phenomena, differing use of key concepts across research fields and practical problems relating to database compatibility and computer processing power. The challenges and opportunities for social scientists or multidisciplinary research teams carrying out reviews are discussed. Literature mapping and systematic reviews are useful tools but methods need to be tailored to optimize their usefulness in the social sciences.     

Restructuring of Full‐time Workers: A Case of Transitional Dislocation or Social Exclusion in Canada? Lessons from the 1990s

The decade of the 1990s witnessed an unprecedented erosion of the postwar welfare state, with massive restructuring of the labour market away from full‐time, sustaining employment. This article examines the experiences of restructured Canadian full‐time workers who lost a job because of a company shutdown, relocation, or non‐seasonal business slowdown. Using data from Statistics Canada's Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics for the period 1993–2001, we present longitudinal data examining labour market outcomes at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months following the initial job loss. Outcome data allow us to examine the extent to which job displacement in the 1990s resulted in transitional dislocation followed by stable full‐time employment, or whether new pathways to social exclusion and marginalization were created. Given that only half of workers who lost their full‐time jobs during this period were in stable and full‐time employment two years later, we find support for the latter. The article further identifies policy alternatives that could lessen the social costs of neo‐liberal labour market restructuring in Canada and beyond.     

Associations Between Behavioral Inhibition and Children's Social Problem‐solving Behavior During Social Exclusion

The current study examined the associations between the early childhood temperament of behavioral inhibition and children's displays of social problem‐solving (SPS) behavior during social exclusion. During toddlerhood (the ages of two to three), maternal report and behavioral observations of behavioral inhibition were collected. At the age of seven, children's SPS behaviors were observed during a laboratory social exclusion task based on the commonly used Cyberball game. Results showed that behavioral inhibition was positively associated with displayed social withdrawal and negatively associated with assertive behavior during the observed social exclusion task at seven years of age. These results add to our understanding of inhibited children's SPS behaviors during social exclusion and provide evidence for the associations between toddler temperament and children's social behavior during middle childhood.     

Social Exclusion and Civil Law: Experience of Civil Justice Problems among Vulnerable Groups

Combating social exclusion has become a priority target for many governments and was a key factor in the establishment of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the Community Legal Service (CLS) in England and Wales in April 2000. This study aims to assess whether socially excluded groups within the general population are more likely to suffer justiciable problems (problems for which there is a potential legal remedy) and whether such groups differ in their problem resolution strategies and advice‐seeking behaviour. We draw upon a large‐scale survey of 5,611 people representative of the population of England and Wales, and a further survey of 197 people in temporary accommodation. Five vulnerable groups are extracted: survey respondents with a long‐term illness or disability, young and elderly respondents, low‐income respondents and those living in temporary accommodation. We identify how some of these vulnerable groups have a high likelihood of experiencing justiciable problems. We also examine advice‐seeking strategies among our vulnerable groups and, where contact was made, which advisers were typically contacted. The findings demonstrate the potentially crucial role of access to justice and advice and legal services in tackling social exclusion.     

The New Social Policy in Britain

This paper starts from the proposition that approaches to crime and penal policy in contemporary Britain are of a piece with approaches to social policy across a number of fronts. "The New Social Policy" is examined in terms of "the stakeholder idea", its implications for how people are meant to behave, and the distance between this and socio-economic realities. The paper then explores various sectors of stakeholder social policy in their new order of importance—employment and training, education, health care, social care, housing, social security—before commenting on policies in respect of crime and crime prevention, in the light of the foregoing observations and with particular reference to the "lock-'em-up" tendency. The paper concludes that stakeholdership is no recipe for crime prevention.     

反贫困与社会工作的介入

全面构建和谐社会,需要反思原来的反贫困政策。目前的反贫困,仍没有脱离传统的救济式反贫困理念的羁绊。克服反贫困政策的缺陷与不足,需要专业社会工作的介入。专业社会工作的介入,是修正与弥合目前社会救助制度弊端、提升贫困群体“自助”能力的重要举措。本文将全面分析社会工作介入反贫困的必要性以及社会工作在反贫困领域中的作用,希望引起人们对社会工作在反贫困行动中的功能的认识,在反贫困政策设计和具体实践中注意发挥专业社会工作的功能,以期从社会工作专业化的角度发现反贫困行动新的可能路径。     

Social Capital, Social Funds and Poor Communities: An Exploratory Analysis

Social capital has captured the attention of social policy-makers and development administrators, with its emphasis on social relationships, civic participation, collaborative action and norms of reciprocity. Social funds support small-scale community-based development projects aimed primarily at reducing poverty. This article synthesizes the relevant literature and explores the nexus between social capital and social funds in relation to poor communities. Drawing upon primary research in Jamaica, the article reports the outcomes of eight social fund sub-projects that involved local organizations in community-driven development processes. It analyses the role of social networks and the influence of community power structures in social capital creation. Social policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Towards New Indicators of Disadvantage: Deprivation and Social Exclusion in Australia

Concern over the reliability of conventional poverty studies has focused attention on the need to demonstrate that those identified as poor are actually experiencing hardship. This paper takes a step in this direction by examining poverty using a living standards approach derived from the literature on deprivation and social exclusion. Deprivation – defined as an enforced lack of socially perceived necessities – has emerged as a way of identifying who is missing out on what the community regards as the necessities (or essentials) of life. Social exclusion – which exists when individuals do not participate in key activities in society – has opened up new areas of inquiry relating to a lack of connectedness between individuals, the communities in which they live, and key economic and social processes. The findings indicate that many Australians face deprivation and exclusion in numerous aspects of their lives, and that those defined as poor in income terms are different from those who are deprived or excluded. The low overlap between the three indicators implies that they all have a role to play in documenting the extent of social disadvantage and helping to identify the factors that contribute to its various manifestations.     

Mental Health and Social Exclusion among Unemployed Youth in Scandinavia. A Comparative Study

Although there has been considerable research on the relationship between mental health problems and unemployment among youth in a national context, there have been few comparative studies involving countries with different cultures and different levels of unemployment. Surveys in the five Nordic countries (Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark) of nearly 8,000 young unemployed people enable us to study young peoples' experience of unemployment in a comparative perspective. Representative samples of unemployed youth were drawn from the national unemployment registers. In Sweden the sample consisted of 3,998 young people with a response rate of 63%, in Finland 2,386 (response rate 73%), Iceland 2,280 (response rate 60%), Denmark 1,540 (response rate 76%) and Norway 2,000 (response rate 56%). The data were later coupled to data from the unemployment register in the respective countries. The populations were interviewed 6 to 12 months after they were registered as unemployed.     

Floating Population or Urban Citizens? Status,Social Provision and Circumstances of Rural–Urban Migrants in China

This article uses semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with rural–urban migrants in Tianjin to look at the personal circumstances of such migrants in China. The interviews suggest that, unlike their predecessors in previous years, many rural–urban migrants now come with the intention of settling down. While there have been major policy changes in the last five years, these migrants are still, in many respects, not integrated into urban society. Meeting these challenges would require further changes in urban policies and urban society, taking account of the needs and interests of rural–urban migrants.     

Poverty Among Korean Immigrant Older Adults: Examining the Effects of Social Exclusion

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have shown that elderly Asian immigrants face greater risks for living in poverty compared with their native contemporaries. Particularly, Korean immigrant older adults are reported to be most likely to experience poverty among many Asian immigrant groups. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which demographic, human capital, and social exclusion factors contribute to such economic vulnerability among Korean immigrant older adults. Adding to previous research, this study broadly conceptualizes social exclusion and tests for its additive effects on poverty using nationally representative public data of Korean immigrant older adults. From the 2008–2010 Public Use Microdata Sample of the American Community Survey, this study extracts a sample that consists of individuals aged 65 years and older whose national origin is Korean, who were not born in the United States, and thereafter immigrated to the United States (N = 3,820). The findings indicate that 3 dimensions of social exclusion—exclusion from social and civic life, exclusion from asset building, and exclusion from the labor market—contribute significantly to Korean immigrant older adults’ odds of living in poverty. The study concludes with practice implications for socially inclusive workforce development as a way to ameliorate economic afflictions among Korean immigrant older adults.     

Between Poor Relief and Human Capital Investments – Paradoxes in Hybrid Social Assistance

Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are often being promoted for their simultaneous advantages of short‐term income protection and long‐term human capital investments. Yet, existing evaluations have largely failed to test the underlying programme theory, and few empirical case studies have explored inherent contradictions and ambiguous consequences of this hybrid approach. To further understand the programmes' social policy implications, this study identifies and analyzes such ambiguities and paradoxical consequences in the case of Uruguay's CCT‐programme, Asignaciones Familiares (AFAM). Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with beneficiaries and members of the commission who designed the programme, this study reveals major paradoxes in AFAM's design and implementation caused by various endogenous factors. Relevant to social policy in general, and CCT‐evaluations in particular, findings also indicate that the hybrid social assistance approach may have perverse effects on the programme's twin objectives.     

Social Security through Guaranteed Employment

This article reviews the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), perhaps India's foremost social security scheme, which is in the form of a right for rural households throughout India to work for up to 100 days a year in public works and to be paid the minimum wage for unskilled labourers. It is argued that self‐targeting leads to a more pro‐poor scheme than a cash transfer programme. However, in many states, especially poor states, work for NREGA is shown to be not a right. This is a major aspect of the corruption which gives the scheme a bad name. Also generally disappointing is the value of the assets created by the public works. But it is argued that NREGA is worth salvaging, especially if the example of the best states could be followed more widely. Attention is particularly drawn to the contribution of NREGA to the empowerment of women and scheduled castes and tribes in much of rural India.