Understanding the mixed economy of welfare (Understanding Welfare: Social Issues, Policy and Practice)

Although state provision may have dominated in Britain since 1945, there is a growing movement towards welfare pluralism - a mixed economy of welfare - involving private, voluntary and informal sectors. This book, written by social policy and welfare experts, sheds light on this neglected area of social policy. It shows how the mixed economy of welfare links with important conceptual and policy debates. Combining theoretical and empirical perspectives on the changing nature of welfare, it [vbTab]explores the components of the key concepts of the mixed economy of welfare and the social division of welfare; analyses the issues of the production, finance and regulation of welfare; locates these issues in the context of New Labour's social policy and examines the wider international dimensions of the concepts. As with all titles in the series, it has been designed with the needs of students in mind and includes useful chapter summaries, illustrative boxes and diagrams, and pointers to relevant websites and other sources of further information.

As the state withdraws from welfare provision, the mixed economy of welfare – involving private, voluntary and informal sectors – has become ever more important. This second edition of Powell's acclaimed textbook on the subject brings together a wealth of respected contributors. New features of this revised edition include: • An updated perspective on the mixed economy of welfare (MEW) and social division of welfare (SDW) in the context of UK Coalition and Conservative governments • A conceptual framework that links the MEW and SDW with debates on topics of major current interest such as 'Open Public Services', 'Big Society', Any Qualified Provider', Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and 'Public Private Partnerships' (PPP) Containing helpful features such as summaries, questions for discussion, further reading suggestions and electronic resources, this will be a valuable introductory resource for students of social policy, social welfare and social work at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The past decade has seen many changes in UK policy related to the mixed economy of welfare (MEW) and the social division of welfare (SDW), including moves toward greater provider pluralism associated with the "any qualified provider" concept, greater organizational complexity, payment-by-results systems, personalization, partnership working, integrated care, tax credits, and the integration of Big Society ideas, among many others. Fully updated to reflect these changes and looking forward to the likely policy trends of the new Conservative Government, this second edition combines conceptual, historical, and comparative perspectives to offer a fresh conceptual framework that links MEW and SDW with ongoing debates. -- Provided by publisher As the state withdraws from welfare provision, the mixed economy of welfare - involving private, voluntary and informal sectors - has become ever more important. This second edition of Powell's acclaimed textbook on the subject brings together a wealth of respected contributors and contains helpful features such as summaries, questions for discussion, further reading suggestions and electronic resources. It will be a valuable introductory resource for students of social policy, social welfare and social work at both undergraduate and postgraduate level This updated edition, written by social policy and welfare experts, shows how the mixed economy of welfare links with the important conceptual and policy debates.