Trapped in Poverty?

How do people on low incomes make decisions about employment and benefit claims? Interview material and economic analysis combine with new theories of the relationship between moral and economic reasoning.
The advent of the "enterprise culture" over the last two decades, has drastically reshaped the "welfare state" of the 1950-60s. The authors address one of the most contentious issues to arise from these changes - how those with low-earning power should live in this "post-industrial" economy? "Trapped in Poverty" provides a detailed study of how men and women, with children, and in low-income households, decide about employment and claiming benefits. It shows how they account for their moves in and out of the labour market, relating such changes to various economic and social factors. It also considers the gender divisions of these decisions. Based on an extensive case study of a single town, "Trapped in Poverty" draws its information directly from the people involved, thereby showing how the poor view themselves and their relationship with the community. Focusing on one deprived neighbourhood, the authors investigated changes between employment, unemployment and self-employment in a fragmented, casualized labour market. This book should be of interest to researchers, academics of economics, sociology, social policy and public administration.