About this Guide
This guide provides information about the various resources available to social work students writing policy papers. It includes BU library resources as well as links to policy organizations and think tanks.
Books
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Double Standard: Social Policy in Europe and the United States by After two decades of feminist challenges to mainstream theorising, gender has become a central element of social policy and the welfare state. While early literature on contemporary social policy was generally silent about gender, new literature has widened the focus of mainstream work on the state and economy to a three-sided discourse encompassing the state, the market and the family. The Handbook on Gender and Social Policy provides a comprehensive introduction to the field with up-to-date accounts of debates and innovative original research by leading international authors.Covering the key areas of social policy that relate to the inequalities between men and women in the developed and developing world, this Handbook introduces the reader to current theoretical and policy debates on the subject. It offers original research on contemporary issues at national and transnational levels across the central policy terrain of income, employment, care and family policy, including family policy models, same-sex marriage and child protection. It features six original studies of gender and policy developments in different regions of the world.The Handbook on Gender and Social Policy is an excellent resource for advanced students and postgraduate students of sociology, political science, women's studies, policy studies and related areas. It will also be of interest for practitioners and scholars of social policy seeking up-to-date coverage of how gender affects the contours of social policy and politics.Publication Date: 2018 -
The Fiscalization of Social Policy by In 1970, a single mother with two children working full time at the federal minimum wage in the US received no direct cash benefits from the federal government. Today, after a period of austerity, that same mother would receive $7,572 in federal cash benefits. This money does not come fromsocial assistance, family allowances, or other programs we traditionally see as part of the welfare state. Instead, she benefits from the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the child tax credit (CTC) - tax credits for low-income families that have become a major component of American social policy.In The Fiscalization of Social Policy, Joshua T. McCabe challenges conventional wisdom on American exceptionalism, offering the first and only comparative analysis of the politics of tax credits. Drawing comparisons between similar developments in the UK and Canada, McCabe upends much of what weknow about tax credits for low-income families. Rather than attributing these changes to anti-welfare attitudes, mobilization of conservative forces, shifts toward workfare, or racial antagonism, he argues that the growing use of tax credits for social policy was a strategic adaptation to austerity.While all three countries employ the same set of tax credits, US child poverty rates remain highest, as their tax credits paradoxically exclude the poorest families.A critical examination of social policy over the last fifty years, The Fiscalization of Social Policy shows why the US government hasn't tackled poverty, even while it implements greater tax benefits for the poor.Publication Date: 2018 -
Poverty and Welfare in America: Examining the Facts by This book closely examines controversial claims and beliefs surrounding poverty and anti-poverty programs in the United States. It authoritatively dismantles falsehoods, half-truths, and misconceptions, leaving readers with an unbiased, accurate understanding of these issues. * Features an easy-to-navigate question-and-answer format * Uses quantifiable data from respected sources as the foundation for examining every issue * Includes extensive Further Reading sections for each entry, providing readers with leads to conduct further research * Evaluates claims made by individuals and groups of all political backgrounds and ideologies to offer an inclusive examination of poverty and welfareLocation: Available OnlinePublication Date: 2019
