Eleven ‘What unemployment means’ three decades and two recessions later
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Adrian Sinfield
Abstract
The section begins with Adrian Sinfield’s exploration of ‘what unemployment means’. In 1981, when Sinfield’s book of this title was first published, the UK was in the early stages of a massive political and economic transformation. Three decades and two recessions later, as the chapter demonstrates, we see some differences but many similarities in the patterns and impact of unemployment. The current recession may be regarded as a problem of ‘growth’ rather than industrial restructuring, but, as Sinfield argues, the trend towards insecurity has its roots in the latter and the political project pursued during that formative period. Consequently, most of the social divisions of unemployment apparent in the 1980s endure today: divisions of ethnicity, regional impact, the cumulative effects of limited opportunities to acquire skills and the preponderance of low pay remain obvious. As the chapter concludes, the long-term effects on society of persistent and high unemployment are grave, all the more so when combined with a curtailment of social protection and a politics of division.
Abstract
The section begins with Adrian Sinfield’s exploration of ‘what unemployment means’. In 1981, when Sinfield’s book of this title was first published, the UK was in the early stages of a massive political and economic transformation. Three decades and two recessions later, as the chapter demonstrates, we see some differences but many similarities in the patterns and impact of unemployment. The current recession may be regarded as a problem of ‘growth’ rather than industrial restructuring, but, as Sinfield argues, the trend towards insecurity has its roots in the latter and the political project pursued during that formative period. Consequently, most of the social divisions of unemployment apparent in the 1980s endure today: divisions of ethnicity, regional impact, the cumulative effects of limited opportunities to acquire skills and the preponderance of low pay remain obvious. As the chapter concludes, the long-term effects on society of persistent and high unemployment are grave, all the more so when combined with a curtailment of social protection and a politics of division.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on contributors v
- Introduction xi
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Contemporary debates and developments in the UK
- Introducing Universal Credit 3
- Reconciling fuel poverty and climate change policy under the Coalition government: Green Deal or no deal? 23
- Doctors in the driving seat? Reforms in NHS primary care and commissioning 47
- Financing later life: pensions, care, housing equity and the new politics of old age 67
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Contributions from the Social Policy Association/East Asian Social Policy Research Network Conference of 2012
- It’s time to move on from ‘race’? The official ‘invisibilisation’ of minority ethnic disadvantage 93
- Corporations as political actors: new perspectives for health policy research 113
- Square pegs and round holes: extending existing typologies fails to capture the complexities of Chinese social policy 129
- The Earned Income Tax Credit as an anti-poverty programme: palliative or cure? 149
- Social policy and culture: the cases of Japan and South Korea 167
- Load-shedding and reloading: changes in government responsibility – the case of Israeli immigration and integration policy 2004–10 183
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Themed section: work, employment and insecurity
- ‘What unemployment means’ three decades and two recessions later 207
- Precarious employment and EU employment regulation 227
- How do activation policies affect social citizenship? The issue of autonomy 249
- Modernising social security for lone parents: avoiding fertility and unemployment traps when reforming social policy in Northern Europe 271
- Women, families and the ‘Great Recession’ in the UK 293
- Index 315
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on contributors v
- Introduction xi
-
Contemporary debates and developments in the UK
- Introducing Universal Credit 3
- Reconciling fuel poverty and climate change policy under the Coalition government: Green Deal or no deal? 23
- Doctors in the driving seat? Reforms in NHS primary care and commissioning 47
- Financing later life: pensions, care, housing equity and the new politics of old age 67
-
Contributions from the Social Policy Association/East Asian Social Policy Research Network Conference of 2012
- It’s time to move on from ‘race’? The official ‘invisibilisation’ of minority ethnic disadvantage 93
- Corporations as political actors: new perspectives for health policy research 113
- Square pegs and round holes: extending existing typologies fails to capture the complexities of Chinese social policy 129
- The Earned Income Tax Credit as an anti-poverty programme: palliative or cure? 149
- Social policy and culture: the cases of Japan and South Korea 167
- Load-shedding and reloading: changes in government responsibility – the case of Israeli immigration and integration policy 2004–10 183
-
Themed section: work, employment and insecurity
- ‘What unemployment means’ three decades and two recessions later 207
- Precarious employment and EU employment regulation 227
- How do activation policies affect social citizenship? The issue of autonomy 249
- Modernising social security for lone parents: avoiding fertility and unemployment traps when reforming social policy in Northern Europe 271
- Women, families and the ‘Great Recession’ in the UK 293
- Index 315
