This book paints a complete and accessible picture of the current situation and shows how to reform policy. Social policy should aim to promote employment and healthy living, rather than just coping with joblessness and ill-health. Investing in children and families ensures that all can contribute.

This volume explores the case for and the prospects of the development of world-regional social policies as integral elements of a pluralistic, equitable and effective system of global governance. Focusing on transnational regionalism, this book examines the trajectory and crossing over of the three strands of scholarly analysis within the past decade which have given rise to this volume: the perceived negative impact of neo-liberal globalisation upon national social policy; the need for but the difficulty of securing reforms in the institutions of global social governance; and the increasing salience of the world-regional level of governance in handling cross-border issues. The authors develop an intellectual and research agenda that will also inform the political development of an international programme concerned with the social policy dimensions of regional governance. Combining the perspectives and collective expertise of a team of international scholars and activists, the book features: Theoretical and policy cases for a focus on regionalism and social policy A mapping and analysis of social policy dimensions of regional integration processes and formations in four continents An assessment of the regional dimensions of global agencies, in particular of the UN (ILO, WHO, UNESCO, UNDP) including the approach to regional social policy of the UN Regional Economic Commissions and Development Banks An articulation of a multi-levelled conceptualisation of global social governance within which regional associations of countries plays a significant part. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of social policy, development studies, international relations and political science, especially those focused on the public policy dimensions of globalisation, regionalisation and international development.

The East Asia crisis of 1997-98 highlighted the need for new models for social policy. A joint project between European and Asian governments brought together over a two year period the experience of social policy experts from Europe and Asia. This project was financed by the ASEM (Asia Europe Meeting). This document looks at a wide range of issues - social security reform, links between macroeconomics and social policy, labour market policies, gender relations and cross-border migration. Inspired by European experience in similar fields and focusing on ideas and knowledge exchange, the project worked to develop papers and seminars, to produce this book.

Just how much influence does powerful business in the UK have on government decision making in relation to social policy? Questions concerning the power and influence of business over social and public policy are increasingly being raised, not just from within the field of social policy but also in business and management studies and, beyond that, in the news and media. They are seldom answered in any satisfactory way. This groundbreaking book investigates and documents corporate influence on social policies at global/regional, national and local levels. It argues that we cannot understand the recent history and present direction of the welfare state unless we focus on the role that business has played in its development. Spanning the complete era of the Conservative governments and the first term of New Labour, it looks in particular at: mechanisms of corporate power and influence; corporate opinion and influence in a range of social policy areas including: education, training, health and social security; changing business influence on social policy in recent years in an international context; business involvement in social policy initiatives and welfare delivery. By exploring bus

`This primer on the global politics of social policy ... is essential reading for students as well as others seriously interested in improving the human condition. Nuanced and critical, Deacon′s book offers a much needed and constructive guide to the complex supra-national debates over rights, regulation and redistribution impinging on social welfare all over the world′ - Jomo K.S., United Nations Assistant, Secretary-General for Economic Development `This book is very timely and addresses many issues that are en vogue at the moment. It relates social policy studies to other fields such as global governance and development studies and thus opens up new discussions in the subject area′ - Dr Antje Vetterlein, University of Oxford Global Social Policy and Governance offers an authoritative understanding of the way social policies at national and supra-national level are shaped in the context of globalisation. The book: " evaluates national social policies advanced by international organisations. " examines policies addressing global social redistribution, regulation and rights. " highlights the roles of global actors, including INGOs, consultants, think tanks, task forces and global policy advocacy coalitions. " explores the political obstacles to reforms in global social governance, " outlines the growing importance of global social movements. " presents arguments for more effective global and regional social policies. " is illustrated by case studies, further reading sections and a glossary. Global Social Policy and Governance will be an essential text for students of social policy, development studies and international relations. It will also be invaluable reading for those shaping social policies in international organisations and those in social movements seeking to influence them. Bob Deacon is Professor of International Social Policy at the University of Sheffield.

Care work, both paid and unpaid, contributes to well-being, social development and economic growth. But the costs of providing care are unequally borne across gender and social class. Feminist scholarship on the gendered construction of welfare provisioning and welfare regimes has produced a conceptually strong and empirically grounded analysis of care, reinforcing the necessity of rethinking the distinctions between "the public" and "the private" as well as the links between them. Yet this analysis, premised on post-industrial contexts, does not travel easily to other parts of the world. Many of its core assumptions – about family structures, labor markets, state capacities, and public social provisioning – do not hold for a wider range of countries. Drawing on original research on the care economy in three developing regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America), this volume addresses a major empirical lacuna while facilitating a conversation across the North-South divide.

A comprehensive and accessible guide to the key themes, issues and debates in global social policy. This Reader collects together key papers by international leaders in the field that cover the emergence of global social policy as a dynamic and expanding field, the transformation of welfare from a predominantly national to a global field of action, and the impact of globalisation on key welfare discourses and governance mechanisms. The global social policy reader will have broad appeal among undergraduate and postgraduate students in a range of social science subjects, including social and public policy, social care and health studies, sociology, politics, economics, international relations and development studies.