Thinking about Poverty

How does poverty in Australia relate to global poverty and inequality? Why does poverty persist in the midst of affluence? Thinking About Poverty addresses this question and others through bridging the three key learning areas of theory, policy and practice. Invaluable for students of social work, social policy, and community and welfare, this book covers: the effects of neo-liberal policies on families and the unemployed the reason why women are the main victims of poverty the individualistic models on which Australian government policies are largely based the failure to address the structural causes of poverty alternative definitions of poverty which are not based solely on economic measurements the disadvantaged situation of Aboriginal people which have resulted from past and current policies the connections between poverty and mental illness the social policy debates regarding people with a disability Not just a critique, it also puts forward a range of anti-poverty strategies and considers alternative economic thinking. With contributions from academics and practitioners, Thinking About Poverty provides a contemporary and accessible contribution to discourse about poverty in Australia. Contributors: Robert Bland, Karen Crinall, Gavin Dufty, Benno Engels, Sue Green, Ruth Phillips, Eric Porter, Margot Rawsthorne, David Rose, Klaus Serr, Frank Stilwell, David Sykes, Jennie Trezise, and Ruth Webber.