Sixteenth-century humanist Juan Luis Vives sought to find ways to alleviate the sufferings of the poor of Bruges, dealing with problems and presenting solutions that sound remarkably familiar to twentieth-century urban ears.

Introduction -- Background, inception, and development -- Thresholds, financing, and beneficiaries -- Targeting performance -- Anti-poverty effectiveness -- From welfare to work -- Family expenditures and human capital investment -- Social participation and subjective well-being -- What next? : policy solutions and research directions -- References -- Acknowledgements

As globalization has deepened worldwide economic integration, moral and political philosophers have become increasingly concerned to assess duties to help needy people in foreign countries. The essays in this volume present ideas on this important topic by authors who are leading figures in these debates. At issue are both the political responsibility of governments of affluent countries to relieve poverty abroad and the personal responsibility of individuals to assist the distant needy. The wide-ranging arguments shed light on global distributive justice, human rights and their implementation, the varieties of community and the obligations they generate, and the moral relevance of distance. This provocative volume will interest scholars in ethics, political philosophy, political theory, international law and development economics, as well as policy makers, aid agencies, and general readers interested in the moral dimensions of poverty and affluence.

This is an edited volume reviewing the major means-tested social programs in the United States. Each author addresses a major program or area, reviewing each area’s successes and recommending how to address shortcomings through policy change. In general, our means-tested programs do many things well, but some adjustments to each could make the system much more effective. This book provides policymakers with a broad overview of the issues at hand in each program and how to address them.

This overview of the poverty problem begins by summarizing our current situation, with emphasis on its spiritual dimensions. It then places these issues within the American historical context. The core of the book is the presentation of alternative ways of looking at the problem and of trying to deal with it, with particular emphasis on the ethical principles that shape each alternative.

This book presents new translations of the earliest known studies in Social Policy. Juan-Luis Vives's De Subventione Pauperum (On the Relief of the Poor) is an academic report on the organisation of social welfare, prepared for the senate of Bruges and published in 1526. Forma Subventionis Pauperum (The government of poor relief), published in 1531, is an anonymous evaluation report. It reviews the system of poor relief in the city of Ypres, five years after the policy was introduced. These reports lay out methods and approaches for the delivery of social services within their cities. Unemployed people should be found work or helped to start a business. People with disabilities or mental illness should be treated seriously and recognised for what they can do. Migrants should be helped, even if it is not possible to assist everyone. Special efforts should be made to help people who are reluctant or too proud to claim. Services have to be properly organised, records have to be kept and the use of funds has to be publicly accountable and subject to audit. The sophistication of the arguments developed in these studies will surprise many readers. They deserve to be read by everyone with an interest in social policy or public administration.