Rethinking Unemployment and the Work Ethic [electronic resource] : Beyond the 'Quasi-Titmuss' Paradigm /
Dunn, A.author.
While recent Labour and coalition governments have insisted that many unemployed people prefer state benefits to a job, and have tightened the rules attached to claiming unemployment benefits, mainstream academic research repeatedly concludes that only a tiny minority of unemployed benefit claimants are not strongly committed to employment. Andrew Dunn argues that the discrepancy can be explained by UK social policy academia leaving important questions unanswered. Dunn presents findings from four empirical studies which, in contrast to earlier research, focused on unemployed people's attitudes towards unattractive jobs and included interviews with people in welfare-to-work organisations. All four studies' findings were consistent with the view that many unemployed benefit claimants prefer living on benefits to undertaking jobs which would increase their income, but which they find unattractive. Thus, the studies gave support to politicians' view about the need to tighten benefit rules.
Description based upon print version of record.
Cover; Half-Title ; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of Tables; Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations; Glossary; 1 Introduction; 1.1 Defining voluntary unemployment; 1.2 Voluntary unemployment and welfare policy: recent UK governments versus mainstream UK social policy academics; 1.3 The book's main arguments; 1.4 Political philosophy and debates about unemployment and welfare conditionality; 1.5 Outline of the book's content; 2 The Academic Debate About Unemployment and Employment Commitment; 2.1 Introduction
2.2 A summary of existing empirical findings about unemployment and employment commitment2.3 Charles Murray: perverse incentives and the need to cut welfare; 2.4 Larry Mead: the 'dutiful but defeated' require 'help and hassle'; 2.5 Mainstream UK social policy writing and the assertions of Murray and Mead; 2.6 Conclusion; 3 Researching Employment Commitment; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Researching employment commitment: towards a new agenda; 3.3 Social diversity and researching employment commitment; 3.4 My research projects; 3.5 Conclusion; 4 The Interviews with Employed and Unemployed People
4.1 Introduction4.2 The earlier study (2001/2); 4.3 The 2011 study: morality; 4.4 The 2011 study: money; 4.5 The 2011 study: enjoyment; 4.6 Discussion and conclusion; 5 Who Agrees that 'Having Almost Any Job Is Better Than Being Unemployed'?; 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 The 70 in-depth interviews and the 'almost any job' survey item; 5.3 Socio-demographic categories and preference for 'almost any job' in the BCS/NCDS surveys; 5.4 The logistic regression analysis of BCS/NCDS data; 5.5 Conclusion
6 What Do People Who Help Long-term JSA Claimants into Employment Say About Their Clients' Attitudes to Work and Job Search Behaviour?6.1 Introduction; 6.2 What percentage of their clients did not want employment at all?; 6.3 Does a 'dependency culture' exist?; 6.4 Why did some clients not want a job?; 6.5 How 'choosy' were clients in the jobs they were willing to apply for?; 6.6 Discussion and conclusion; 7 Summary and Conclusion; 7.1 Introduction; 7.2 Summary of the book's main points; 7.3 How do the empirical findings fit with existing empirical literature?
7.4 Some (possible) policy implications of the findings7.5 Conclusion: mainstream politicians versus mainstream social policy academics; Notes; References; Index
Includes bibliographical references and index.
While recent Labour and coalition governments have insisted that many unemployed people prefer state benefits to a job, and have tightened the rules attached to claiming unemployment benefits, mainstream academic research repeatedly concludes that only a tiny minority of unemployed benefit claimants are not strongly committed to employment. Andrew Dunn argues that the discrepancy can be explained by UK social policy academia leaving important questions unanswered. Dunn presents findings from four empirical studies which, in contrast to earlier research, focused on unemployed people's attitudes towards unattractive jobs and included interviews with people in welfare-to-work organisations. All four studies' findings were consistent with the view that many unemployed benefit claimants prefer living on benefits to undertaking jobs which would increase their income, but which they find unattractive. Thus, the studies gave support to politicians' view about the need to tighten benefit rules.
Industrial sociology.
Social policy.
Welfare state.
Social service .
Social structure.
Social inequality.
Economic sociology.
Sociology of Work.
Social Policy.
Politics of the Welfare State.
Social Care.
Social Structure, Social Inequality.
Organizational Studies, Economic Sociology.