Originally published in 1978 The Origins of British Social Policy arose dissatisfaction with conventional approaches to the subject of welfare responsibilities in the state. This volume stresses the complexity of conscious and unconscious influences upon policy, which include such political imperatives as the wish to maintain social order, to maintain and increase economic and military efficiency and to preserve and strengthen the family as a central social institution. It suggests that the break between unsympathetic nineteenth-century Poor Law attitudes towards the poor and modern ‘welfare state’ approaches has been less sharp or complete than is often assumed.

"Drawing on recent historical research, this book: reconsiders and challenges many long-held beliefs about the 'evolution' of social policy; presents a wide-ranging reappraisal of links between social theories and changes in social policy; pays particular attention to the importance of idealist social thought as an intellectual framework for understanding the 'welfare state'; and has a distinctive focus on the importance of ideas in the history of social policy." "The book provides a valuable framework that exposes many of the assumptions about the nature of 'welfare' and its future direction, making it important reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and researchers in the field of social policy."--BOOK JACKET.

By analyzing the competing concerns of different social "actors" behind the evolution of social policy, this study explains why some nations had an easy time in developing a welfare state while others fought long entrenched battles.

Spanning the complete era of the Conservative governments and the first term of New Labour, this book looks 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 and business involvement in social policy initiatives and welfare delivery. By exploring business views and opinions, power, influence and involvement in social provision, this book helps to address important questions in social policy and, in so doing, goes some way towards closing a gaping hole in the current literature. The book's breadth and multidisciplinary approach will appeal not only to students of social policy, but also to students of business, public sector management and politics, their teachers and policy makers in the field.

Most interpretations of late-Victorian and Edwardian social and economic trends have relied heavily upon the industrial labour statistics published by Whitehall. This book, originally published in 1985 incorporates a critical examination of the human resources, motivation and statistical techniques which generate that data base. It focuses on the production, structure, and output of the official statistics relating to a range of imperfections in the labour market and industrial relations, characterised by contemporary social observers, administrator and policy makers as ‘the labour problem.’ This study makes a significant contribution to the recent debate over the nature and motivation of late-Victorian and Edwardian social policy. It provides a case study with which to assess the hypotheses put forward by social scientists as to the relationship between social statistics and policy. Thirdly, in examining the motivation of official statisticians, the book will illuminate the changing role of the expert in British government growth since 1800. This book, with its wide range of primary sources, will be valuable to students of the history of late-Victorian and Edwardian Britain, and to the development of British industrial relations and the welfare state.

No detailed description available for "Appendix (Synopses, Bibliographies, Tables)".

This book offers a comparison of the origins of the welfare state in England and Germany (1850-1914).

In this challenging and original study, Jonathan Wistow positions social policy within political economy and social contract debates. Focusing on individual, intergenerational and societal outcomes related to health, place and social mobility in England, he draws on empirical evidence to show how the social contract produces long-standing, highly patterned and inequitable consequences in these areas. Globalisation and the political economy simultaneously contribute to the extent and nature of social problems and to social policy’s capacity to address them effectively. Applying social contract theory, this book shows that society needs to take ownership of the outcomes it produces and critically interrogates the individualism inherent within the political economy.

Tavistock Press was established as a co-operative venture between the Tavistock Institute and Routledge & Kegan Paul (RKP) in the 1950s to produce a series of major contributions across the social sciences. This volume is part of a 2001 reissue of a selection of those important works which have since gone out of print, or are difficult to locate. Published by Routledge, 112 volumes in total are being brought together under the name The International Behavioural and Social Sciences Library: Classics from the Tavistock Press. Reproduced here in facsimile, this volume was originally published in 1977 and is available individually. The collection is also available in a number of themed mini-sets of between 5 and 13 volumes, or as a complete collection.