(Key Ideas) 1st Edition
by Beth Watts (Author), Suzanne Fitzpatrick (Author)
Welfare conditionality has become
an idea of global significance in recent years. A ‘hot topic’ in North
America, Australia, and across Europe, it has been linked to austerity
politics, and the rise of foodbanks and destitution. In the Global
South, where publicly funded welfare protection systems are often
absent, conditional approaches have become a key tool employed by
organisations pursuing human development goals.
The essence of
welfare conditionality lies in requirements for people to behave in
prescribed ways in order to access cash benefits or other welfare
support. These conditions are typically enforced through benefit
‘sanctions’ of various kinds, reflecting a new vision of ‘welfare’,
focused more on promoting ‘pro-social’ behaviour than on protecting
people against classic ‘social risks’ like unemployment.
This new book in Routledge’s Key Ideas
series charts the rise of behavioural conditionality in welfare systems
across the globe, its appeal to politicians of Right and Left, and its
application to a growing range of social problems. Crucially it explores
why, in the context of widespread use of conditional approaches as well
as apparently strong public support, both the efficacy and the ethics of welfare conditionality remain so controversial. As such, Welfare Conditionality
is essential reading for students, researchers, and commentators in
social and public policy, as well as those designing and implementing
welfare policies.
