Social Investment and Social Welfare: International and Critical Perspectives (New Horizons in Social Policy series) - Hardcover

`This is an exciting and welcome contribution to the debates surrounding social investment and to the comparative social welfare literature more generally. Edited by leading scholars in the field, the volume provides an intelligent and well-structured overview of the history, politics and outcomes of social investment policies in a range of different contexts. Perhaps most valuable is its focus on a broader range of countries than the traditional Eurocentric literature - in particular, countries in the Global South. Analysis of policies and programmes in a number of emerging economies (the so-called "BRICS") is especially timely.' -- Rebecca Surender, University of Oxford, UK `The idea of shifting from welfare transfers to social investment has increasingly received attention in the social policy literature. This volume takes the debate further by adopting a One World perspective that traces social investment policies in both the global North and South; and by linking welfare state research and development studies, both of which have addressed the issue but have not normally spoken to each other. In this way, the book opens a space for mutual learning between North and South and between academic fields. The volume links exemplary case studies and overarching conceptual discussions, producing a broad and yet sophisticated analysis of the concept of social investment not available anywhere else. The volume is orchestrated by the doyen of global welfare research, James Midgley.' -- Lutz Leisering, Bielefeld University, Germany `Beyond the comparative perspective of diverse worlds of social investment, the edited volume marks new territory as it not only includes contributions on childcare and social security but also expands the investigation to housing, community, rural development and immigration.' -- Journal of Social Policy

This book contributes to the growing literature on social investment by discussing the way social investment ideas have been adopted in different countries and in various academic and professional fields, including social policy, development studies and non-profit management. Documenting the experience of implementing social investment in different communities, it encourages a One World perspective that integrates these diverse experiences and promotes policy learning between different nations. This book fills a major gap in the literature, which, in the past, has focused largely on European welfare states and their employment and educational policies. Contrary to the view that social investment is a new stage in the development of these welfare states, it shows that social investment has been endorsed in other countries and in different policy fields for many years, including housing, child welfare, community development, social protection and rural development. The contribution to social investment by international development organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank and International Labour Organization are discussed, specifically looking at how they have encouraged the application of social investment policies in development. This book is primarily targeted at an academic readership that has become increasingly interested in social investment ideas in recent years. However, it will also be a useful resource for post-graduate and upper-level undergraduate students in social development, development studies, sociology, social policy, social work and public policy.