Putting Poor People to Work

Putting Poor People to Work PDF Author: Kathleen M. Shaw
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 9780871547767
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Today, a college education is increasingly viewed as the gateway to the American Dream—a necessary prerequisite for social mobility. Yet recent policy reforms in the United States effectively steer former welfare recipients away from an education that could further their career prospects, forcing them directly into the workforce where they often find only low-paying jobs with little opportunity for growth. In Putting Poor People to Work, Kathleen Shaw, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Christopher Mazzeo, and Jerry A. Jacobs explore this troubling disconnect between the principles of "work-first" and "college for all." Using comprehensive interviews with government officials and sophisticated data from six states over a four year period, Putting Poor People to Work shows how recent changes in public policy have reduced the quantity and quality of education and training available to adults with low incomes. The authors analyze how two policies encouraging work—the federal welfare reform law of 1996 and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998—have made moving people off of public assistance as soon as possible, with little regard to their long-term career prospects, a government priority. Putting Poor People to Work shows that since the passage of these "work-first" laws, not only are fewer low-income individuals pursuing postsecondary education, but when they do, they are increasingly directed towards the most ineffective, short-term forms of training, rather than higher-quality college-level education. Moreover, the schools most able and ready to serve poor adults—the community colleges—are deterred by these policies from doing so. Having a competitive, agile workforce that can compete with any in the world is a national priority. In a global economy where skills are paramount, that goal requires broad popular access to education and training. Putting Poor People to Work shows how current U.S. policy discourages poor Americans from seeking out a college education, stranding them in jobs with little potential for growth. This important new book makes a powerful argument for a shift in national priorities that would encourage the poor to embrace both work and education, rather than having to choose between the two. Institute for Research on Poverty Affiliated Books on Poverty and Public Policy">An Institute for Research on Poverty Affiliated Book on Poverty and Public Policy

Putting Poor People to Work

Putting Poor People to Work PDF Author: Kathleen M. Shaw
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 9780871547767
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
Today, a college education is increasingly viewed as the gateway to the American Dream—a necessary prerequisite for social mobility. Yet recent policy reforms in the United States effectively steer former welfare recipients away from an education that could further their career prospects, forcing them directly into the workforce where they often find only low-paying jobs with little opportunity for growth. In Putting Poor People to Work, Kathleen Shaw, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Christopher Mazzeo, and Jerry A. Jacobs explore this troubling disconnect between the principles of "work-first" and "college for all." Using comprehensive interviews with government officials and sophisticated data from six states over a four year period, Putting Poor People to Work shows how recent changes in public policy have reduced the quantity and quality of education and training available to adults with low incomes. The authors analyze how two policies encouraging work—the federal welfare reform law of 1996 and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998—have made moving people off of public assistance as soon as possible, with little regard to their long-term career prospects, a government priority. Putting Poor People to Work shows that since the passage of these "work-first" laws, not only are fewer low-income individuals pursuing postsecondary education, but when they do, they are increasingly directed towards the most ineffective, short-term forms of training, rather than higher-quality college-level education. Moreover, the schools most able and ready to serve poor adults—the community colleges—are deterred by these policies from doing so. Having a competitive, agile workforce that can compete with any in the world is a national priority. In a global economy where skills are paramount, that goal requires broad popular access to education and training. Putting Poor People to Work shows how current U.S. policy discourages poor Americans from seeking out a college education, stranding them in jobs with little potential for growth. This important new book makes a powerful argument for a shift in national priorities that would encourage the poor to embrace both work and education, rather than having to choose between the two. Institute for Research on Poverty Affiliated Books on Poverty and Public Policy">An Institute for Research on Poverty Affiliated Book on Poverty and Public Policy

Putting the Poor First

Putting the Poor First PDF Author: Piera Waibel
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351277707
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
In order to make progress toward the UN Millennium Development Goals – and particularly in terms of poverty alleviation – business has a pivotal role to play: in terms of core business; purchasing products from the poor; employing them; and selling them affordable services and products. Serving the global 4 billion people at the base of the economic ladder – the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) – with suitable products and services is a new but growing field in research and practice. In the initial years, the focus of BoP was very much on selling products and services to a huge untapped market. Practitioners and academics focused on developing new distribution channels to reach the low-income markets and new technological solutions to address their needs. These first-generation "fortune-finding" approaches are now described as "business to four billion". Over the last few years, however, new priorities have gained prominence. This new value proposition can be framed as "business with four billion" and is "fortune-creating". So-called Next Generation, or BoP 2.0, strategies can bring companies and their target groups closer together. The goal is to co-create new business models as well as product and service solutions together with the target group. Integrating BoP into the innovation process – be it in terms of idea generation, product/service development, production or distribution/marketing – is seen as way to increase not only the impact on poverty alleviation, but also the benefits to the company. This paradigm shift – to co-creation or embedded innovation – in fact closely mirrors a shift previously made by development researchers who argued that the poor should no longer be viewed as the target of poverty reduction efforts, but as partners in, and an asset to, the development process. Bottom-up development approaches – such as Participation, Community-Driven Development, Empowerment, Asset-Based Community Development or Local Knowledge – emphasize the role of the poor and see them as central to the design and implementation of the development process. Even though some BoP researchers consider selective parts of this knowledge in their research, a comprehensive study that rigorously examines BoP ventures from a bottom-up development perspective has not yet been completed. This book attempts to fill that gap. Putting the Poor First examines the applicability of different elements in the bottom-up development literature to the innovation process of BoP ventures. It unveils connections between the two approaches and builds a theoretical base for the case study research. With three in-depth case studies and eight companies participating in a survey, the current state and experiences of businesses applying a bottom-up development perspective with BoP ventures in Latin America and the Caribbean is analysed. The elements of a bottom-up development perspective applied in BoP practice can be grouped into three categories: drivers for choosing a bottom-up development perspective in BoP ventures (e.g. such that products and services are more readily accepted); circumstances that help or hinder the application of a bottom-up development perspective in BoP ventures (e.g. the acceptance of the company by communities or previous experiences with poverty alleviation projects); and success factors when choosing a bottom-up development perspective in BoP ventures (e.g. the importance of power structures, pluralism and self-esteem). The many recommendations, such as empowering the poor by encouraging co-creation and outsourcing innovation, fill gaps in theory, support practitioners and lay the foundations for further research. This will be a key book for BoP researchers and practitioners on the ground. The reconnection of development approaches with BoP strategies puts the poor first.

Rural Development

Rural Development PDF Author: Robert Chambers
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317868994
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Rural poverty is often unseen or misperceived by outsiders. Dr Chambers contends that researchers, scientists, administrators and fieldworkers rarely appreciate the richness and validity of rural people's knowledge or the hidden nature of rural poverty. This is a challenging book for all concerned with rural development, as practitioners, academics, students or researchers.

Putting the Poor First

Putting the Poor First PDF Author: Piera Waibel
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781351277723
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"In order to make progress toward the UN Millennium Development Goals – and particularly in terms of poverty alleviation – business has a pivotal role to play: in terms of core business; purchasing products from the poor; employing them; and selling them affordable services and products. Serving the global 4 billion people at the base of the economic ladder – the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) – with suitable products and services is a new but growing field in research and practice. In the initial years, the focus of BoP was very much on selling products and services to a huge untapped market. Practitioners and academics focused on developing new distribution channels to reach the low-income markets and new technological solutions to address their needs. These first-generation "fortune-finding" approaches are now described as "business to four billion". Over the last few years, however, new priorities have gained prominence. This new value proposition can be framed as "business with four billion" and is "fortune-creating". So-called Next Generation, or BoP 2.0, strategies can bring companies and their target groups closer together. The goal is to co-create new business models as well as product and service solutions together with the target group. Integrating BoP into the innovation process – be it in terms of idea generation, product/service development, production or distribution/marketing – is seen as way to increase not only the impact on poverty alleviation, but also the benefits to the company. This paradigm shift – to co-creation or embedded innovation – in fact closely mirrors a shift previously made by development researchers who argued that the poor should no longer be viewed as the target of poverty reduction efforts, but as partners in, and an asset to, the development process. Bottom-up development approaches – such as Participation, Community-Driven Development, Empowerment, Asset-Based Community Development or Local Knowledge – emphasize the role of the poor and see them as central to the design and implementation of the development process. Even though some BoP researchers consider selective parts of this knowledge in their research, a comprehensive study that rigorously examines BoP ventures from a bottom-up development perspective has not yet been completed. This book attempts to fill that gap. Putting the Poor First examines the applicability of different elements in the bottom-up development literature to the innovation process of BoP ventures. It unveils connections between the two approaches and builds a theoretical base for the case study research. With three in-depth case studies and eight companies participating in a survey, the current state and experiences of businesses applying a bottom-up development perspective with BoP ventures in Latin America and the Caribbean is analysed. The elements of a bottom-up development perspective applied in BoP practice can be grouped into three categories: drivers for choosing a bottom-up development perspective in BoP ventures (e.g. such that products and services are more readily accepted); circumstances that help or hinder the application of a bottom-up development perspective in BoP ventures (e.g. the acceptance of the company by communities or previous experiences with poverty alleviation projects); and success factors when choosing a bottom-up development perspective in BoP ventures (e.g. the importance of power structures, pluralism and self-esteem). The many recommendations, such as empowering the poor by encouraging co-creation and outsourcing innovation, fill gaps in theory, support practitioners and lay the foundations for further research. This will be a key book for BoP researchers and practitioners on the ground. The reconnection of development approaches with BoP strategies puts the poor first."--Provided by publisher.

When Helping Hurts

When Helping Hurts PDF Author: Steve Corbett
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 0802487629
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
With more than 300,000 copies in print, When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation. Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good. But it looks ahead. It encourages us to see the dignity in everyone, to empower the materially poor, and to know that we are all uniquely needy—and that God in the gospel is reconciling all things to himself. Focusing on both North American and Majority World contexts, When Helping Hurts provides proven strategies for effective poverty alleviation, catalyzing the idea that sustainable change comes not from the outside in, but from the inside out.

Policing the Poor in Eighteenth-Century France

Policing the Poor in Eighteenth-Century France PDF Author: Robert M. Schwartz
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469639882
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Robert Schwartz examines the French government's attempts to suppress mendicity from the reign of Louis XIV to the Revolution. His study provides a rich account of the evolution of poverty, the varied and shifting attitudes toward the delinquent poor, and the government's efforts to control mendicity by strengthening the state's repressive machinery during the eighteenth century. As Schwartz demonstrates, popular conceptions of the mendicant poor in the ancient regime increasingly focused on the threat that they presented to the rest of society, thereby opening the way for the central state to augment its authority and enhance its credibility by acting as the agent protecting the majority of the populace from its threat to public security. Government efforts to control the activity of the "unworthy poor" -- those of sound mind and body who were seen to prefer idleness over productive work -- were most pronounced during two periods of repressive policing, one in the early eighteenth century and the other in the last two decades before the Revolution. From 1724 to 1733 beggars were interned in hopitaux, existing municipal institutions intended for the care of the "worthy poor," including orphans, the infirm, and the aged. But from 1768 until the outbreak of the Revolution, more stringent measures were taken. Sturdy beggars and vagrants were confined apart from the worthy poor on specially established, royal workhouses called depots de mendicite, and in the case of some repeat offenders, were sentenced to the galleys. This stepped-up level of policing arose not only from royal administrators' long-standing view of mendicity as criminal activity; it was also made possible because the propertied classes had likewise come to believe the mendicant poor were a danger rather than a nuisance. Economic and demographic conditions combined to swell the ranks of paupers and vagrants, especially in the 1760s and 1770s, and social tensions, along with calls for government action, multiplied in proportion to their numbers. As villagers came to call upon the improved royal police for help, a popular mental association of the state with public security began to take root. In arriving at these conclusions, Schwartz concentrates on law enforcement in a single area, Lower Normandy, but continually provides a perspective on local events by putting them in the context of national trends and realities. He tells the story of the poor in eighteenth-century France in sympathetic terms, giving a human face to poverty and to the men who policed its effects. Originally published in 1987. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Partner to the Poor

Partner to the Poor PDF Author: Paul Farmer
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520257111
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 678

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Book Description
"Dr. Paul Farmer is one of the most extraordinary people I've ever known. Partner to the Poor recounts his relentless efforts to eradicate disease, humanize health care, alleviate poverty, and increase opportunity and empowerment in the developing world. It will inspire us all to do our parts."--William J. Clinton "If the world is curious about Paul Farmer, there is a reason for that. No one has done more than he has in bringing modern medicine to the poor across the globe and no one has exceeded him in making us appreciate the diverse barriers that prevent proper medicine from reaching the underdogs of the world. In this wonderful collection of essays, putting together Paul Farmer's writings over more than two decades, we can see how his far-reaching ideas have developed and radically enhanced the understanding of the challenges faced by healthcare in the uneven world in which we live. This is an altogether outstanding book."--Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate, Economics "To delve into these pages is to join one of the world's great explorers on an epic life journey--to grapple with culture, poverty, disease, health care, ethics, and ultimately our common humanity in the Age of AIDS. Paul Farmer is a pioneer, guide, and inspiration at a time of unprecedented contrasts: between wealth and poverty, power and powerlessness, health and disease, compassion and neglect. His medical expertise, anthropological vision, and unflinching decency have helped to recharge our world with moral purpose."--Jeffrey D. Sachs, Columbia University "Wow! Perfect for teaching. This is more than vintage Farmer. Editor Haun Saussy knows Farmer's work inside out and has assembled and organized 25 classic articles that project the heart of Farmer's brilliant, radical, inspiring, eminently practical and (dare I say) genuinely subversive work."--Philippe Bourgois, author of Righteous Dopefiend "If they gave Nobel Prizes for raising moral awareness, Paul Farmer would have won his a long time ago. For several decades now, his work has posed a challenge to anyone who dares say that radically improving the health of the world's poor can't be done. This splendid compilation of the best of his work allows us to follow a restless, creative, compassionate mind in action, in and out of prisons and barrios and mud huts and hospital wards, from Haiti to Rwanda to Moscow, never taking 'no' for an answer."--Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains "Paul Farmer is a deep scholar of Haitian society, a formidable medical anthropologist, an implacable theorist of structural violence and health as a human right, and an ethicist for whom the place of social justice in medicine and in the world is an existential need. This book is the platform of interconnected intellectual, academic, and practical engagements upon which the amazing, world-transforming life of Farmer stands."--Arthur Kleinman, author of What Really Matters: Living a Moral Life amidst Uncertainty and Danger "This collection shows the impressive catalytic effects of original scholarship when combined with action, activism, and a commitment to social justice in health. Paul Farmer and his PIH colleagues have twice changed World Health Organization policies; they continue to have a lasting impact on the global health movement and on the lives of the poor.--Peter Brown, Emory University

Hand to Mouth

Hand to Mouth PDF Author: Linda Tirado
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0425277976
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
The real-life Nickel and Dimed—the author of the wildly popular “Poverty Thoughts” essay tells what it’s like to be working poor in America. ONE OF THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS OF THE YEAR--Esquire “DEVASTATINGLY SMART AND FUNNY. I am the author of Nickel and Dimed, which tells the story of my own brief attempt, as a semi-undercover journalist, to survive on low-wage retail and service jobs. TIRADO IS THE REAL THING.”—Barbara Ehrenreich, from the Foreword As the haves and have-nots grow more separate and unequal in America, the working poor don’t get heard from much. Now they have a voice—and it’s forthright, funny, and just a little bit furious. Here, Linda Tirado tells what it’s like, day after day, to work, eat, shop, raise kids, and keep a roof over your head without enough money. She also answers questions often asked about those who live on or near minimum wage: Why don’t they get better jobs? Why don’t they make better choices? Why do they smoke cigarettes and have ugly lawns? Why don’t they borrow from their parents? Enlightening and entertaining, Hand to Mouth opens up a new and much-needed dialogue between the people who just don’t have it and the people who just don’t get it.

Putting Poor People to Work

Putting Poor People to Work PDF Author: Kathleen M. Shaw
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610444965
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Today, a college education is increasingly viewed as the gateway to the American Dream—a necessary prerequisite for social mobility. Yet recent policy reforms in the United States effectively steer former welfare recipients away from an education that could further their career prospects, forcing them directly into the workforce where they often find only low-paying jobs with little opportunity for growth. In Putting Poor People to Work, Kathleen Shaw, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Christopher Mazzeo, and Jerry A. Jacobs explore this troubling disconnect between the principles of "work-first" and "college for all." Using comprehensive interviews with government officials and sophisticated data from six states over a four year period, Putting Poor People to Work shows how recent changes in public policy have reduced the quantity and quality of education and training available to adults with low incomes. The authors analyze how two policies encouraging work—the federal welfare reform law of 1996 and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998—have made moving people off of public assistance as soon as possible, with little regard to their long-term career prospects, a government priority. Putting Poor People to Work shows that since the passage of these "work-first" laws, not only are fewer low-income individuals pursuing postsecondary education, but when they do, they are increasingly directed towards the most ineffective, short-term forms of training, rather than higher-quality college-level education. Moreover, the schools most able and ready to serve poor adults—the community colleges—are deterred by these policies from doing so. Having a competitive, agile workforce that can compete with any in the world is a national priority. In a global economy where skills are paramount, that goal requires broad popular access to education and training. Putting Poor People to Work shows how current U.S. policy discourages poor Americans from seeking out a college education, stranding them in jobs with little potential for growth. This important new book makes a powerful argument for a shift in national priorities that would encourage the poor to embrace both work and education, rather than having to choose between the two. Institute for Research on Poverty Affiliated Books on Poverty and Public Policy">An Institute for Research on Poverty Affiliated Book on Poverty and Public Policy

Make Poverty Personal (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)

Make Poverty Personal (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith) PDF Author: Ash Barker
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 9781441203878
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Poverty is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. But poverty is not new. And neither is God's deep concern for the poor--it is a theme deeply woven throughout the Bible. Yet sadly, churches and individual Christians have too often been blind to this emphasis, or they have been paralyzed into inaction by feelings of helplessness. In this urgent, provocative book, Ash Barker offers both challenge and hope. Pulling out and reflecting on significant passages from both testaments, he reveals what the Bible says about both the nature of poverty and about how God calls his people to respond. These studies, ideal for either individual or small group use, are interlaced with personal reflections--first-hand accounts from fifteen years of ministry among the poor.