Cultures of Unemployment: A Comparative Look at Long-Term Unemployment and Urban Poverty (Amsterdam University Press - Amsterdam Archaeological Studies)

Annotation. In the 1980s a team of Dutch sociologists conducted a study on the daily life of unemployed in the Netherlands. They were inspired by the classical work Marienthal: the Sociology of an Unemployed Community first published in 1933. The authors conducted three neighborhood studies to analyze the social behavior of the unemployed. Based on the work of Robert K. Merton and Mary Douglas they developed a typology of different cultures of unemployment. This typology is still relevant to analyze contemporary reactions to unemployment in European welfare states. The authors also demonstrated that their cultural analysis is fruitful to understand the heterogeneity of urban marginality in the United States. A foreword by U.S. scholar William Julius Wilson emphasizes the universality of the method and the findings presented here.

the Cultures Of Unemployed People In The United States And Abroad Are Complex, Varied, And Offer Explanatory Power When Analyzed, As They Are Here, In A Systematic Way. The Authors Use Case Studies And Survey Data To Devise A Framework For A Better Understanding Of The Effects Of Welfare State Policy On The Chronically Unemployed. They Analyze The Personal And Political Worlds Behind The Social Behavior Of The Unemployed In Connection With The Generative Mechanisms Behind The Welfare State. Comparing The Results Of This Study With Important Ethnographic Studies Conducted In The United States Provides Unique Insight Into The Differences And Similarities Between The American Welfare State And The Netherlands, A Highly Developed European Welfare State. A Foreword By U.s. Scholar William Julius Wilson Emphasizes The Universality Of The Method And Findings Presented Here.

Contents ......Page 10 Tables and Figure......Page 14 Foreword ......Page 16 Part One: Introduction ......Page 20 Ch. 1: Cultures of the Welfare State ......Page 22 Ch. 2: The Central Issues of the Study ......Page 58 Part Two: Empirical Study ......Page 70 Ch. 3: A Jobless Market ......Page 72 Ch. 4: Making Ends Meet ......Page 86 Ch. 5: Dealing with Time ......Page 106 Ch. 6: Looking for a Job ......Page 124 Ch. 7: The Perceptions of Rights and Obligations ......Page 146 Part Three: Analysis and Comparisons ......Page 166 Ch. 8: Cultures of Unemployment ......Page 168 Ch. 9: Homo Calculans and Homo Honoris ......Page 200 Ch. 10: A Profile of Urban Poverty ......Page 218 Appendixes ......Page 246 Acknowledgements ......Page 266 Bibliography ......Page 268 About the book and the authors ......Page 282 Index ......Page 284 '...an extraordinarily rich and detailed study of the social and economic life of unemployed and poor households.'Michael Sherraden in Social Work -�an extraordinarily rich and detailed study of the social and economic life of unemployed and poor households.� Michael Sherraden in Social Work