Work to Welfare: How Men Become Detached from the Labour Market

Description

This book provides a new perspective on joblessness among men. During the last twenty years vast numbers of men of working age have moved completely out of the labour market into 'early retirement' or 'long-term sickness' and to take on new roles in the household. These trends stand in stark contrast to rising labour market participation among women. Based on an unprecedented range of new research on the detached male workforce in the UK, and located within an international context, the book offers a detailed exploration of the varied financial, family and health circumstances 'detached men' are living in. It also challenges conventional assumptions about the boundaries between unemployment, sickness and retirement and the true health of the labour market. Work to Welfare represents an important contribution to debates about the labour market and benefit systems and will be of interest to readers and practitioners in social policy, economics and geography.

Pete Alcock is Professor of Social Policy and Administration at the University of Birmingham. He has published extensively on poverty, social exclusion and the benefits system. Christina Beatty is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University and a statistician by background. Stephen Fothergill is a Professor at CRESR and an economist by background. He has published extensively on urban and regional problems in the UK. Rob MacMillan is a researcher in the Department of Geography, Durham University. He was previously a researcher at CRESR. Sue Yeandle is a Professor of Sociology at CRESR and the School of Social Science and Law, Sheffield Hallam University. She has published extensively on work, employment and the family.

'The book is a superb mix of statistical comparison, survey data, and moving testaments from the in-depth qualitative interviews ...'. Environment and Planning