Rich Democracies, Poor People: How Politics Explain Poverty

Rich Democracies, Poor People: How Politics Explain Poverty

Poverty is not simply the result of an individual's characteristics, behaviors or abilities. Rather, as David Brady demonstrates, poverty is the result of politics. In Rich Democracies, Poor People, Brady investigates why poverty is so entrenched in some affluent democracies whereas it is a solvable problem in others. Drawing on over thirty years of data from eighteen countries, Brady argues that cross-national and historical variations in poverty are principally driven by differences in the generosity of the welfare state. An explicit challenge to mainstream views of poverty as an inescapable outcome of individual failings or a society's labor markets and demography, this book offers institutionalized power relations theory as an alternative explanation. The power of coalitions for egalitarianism, Leftist political groups and parties, and the social policies they are able to institutionalize shape the amount of poverty in society. Where poverty is low, equality has been institutionalized. Where poverty is widespread, exemplified by the U.S., there has been a failure to institutionalize equality. A comprehensive and state-of-the-art study, Rich Democracies, Poor People places the inherently political choices over resources and the political organization of states, markets, and societies at the center of the study of poverty and social inequality.

Country	USA
Author	David Brady
Binding	Paperback
EAN	9780195385915
Edition	1
ISBN	0195385918
IsEligibleForTradeIn	1
Label	Oxford University Press
Manufacturer	Oxford University Press
MPN	26 black and white halftones, 33 line il
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	280
PartNumber	26 black and white halftones, 33 line il
PublicationDate	2009-08-13
Publisher	Oxford University Press
SKU	9780195385915
Studio	Oxford University Press
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

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