Susan A. McDaniel and Seong-gee Um
This concise yet comprehensive sociological overview of public policy in Canada explores a range of important issues - such as demographic shifts, globalization, changes in the economy and labour markets, taxation, and more - offering students an informed look at the forces shaping public policy
today.
1. A Sociological Look at Public Policy
Introduction
Public Policy and Social Policy
Competing Frameworks for Understanding Public Policy
- Structural Functionalism
- Marxism
- Foucault
- Political Economy
- Theorizing States
Residual State Policy:
Filling in Bits Left by the Market
Human Capital and the Investment State
Redistribution/Rebalancing
Inclusion/Participation/Social Citizenship Models
Conceptualizing the Relations of Family/Market/State: A Shifting Dance
Conclusion
2. Theories of Public
Policy
Introduction
What Is Theory of Public Policy?
Social/Political Economy of Welfare
Varieties of Capitalism in Welfare States
Capabilities Theory
Types of Welfare States
Welfare Pluralism and Welfare Mix
Social and Market Citizenship
Returns of
Keynesianism
Challenges and Critiques of Welfare State Theories
New Policy Paradigms
Conclusion
3. Present Challenges: Shaped by the Past and the Future
Introduction
Policy Actions and Inactions: How Both Shape the Present
How We Got Here: A Brief History
What
Is the Nature of the Relationship of Canadians to our Policy Architecture?
What Is the Origin of Some of Our Most Important Policies?
Why Did We Create a Post-World War II Network of Policies Known as the Welfare State?
Why Did We Move Away from the Post-War Policy Nets?
Where Are We
Now?
Challenges from Every Direction
Conclusion: Where to Go From Here?
4. Security Through Policy: What It Means to Canadians
Introduction
Canada's Tax and Transfer System: Who Pays and Who Benefits?
Taxing Canadians under Fiscal Federalism
Federal and Provincial
Expenditures
Income Security Programs in Canada
- For Seniors
- For Workers (and the Unemployed)
- For Children (Families with Children)
Canada in Comparative Perspective
Conclusion
5. States and Markets: Dominant Forces of Change
Introduction
Global Forces
Driving Change: The Rise of Neo-liberalism and Globalization
The Transforming Canadian Welfare State: Shifting Roles of State and Market
Towards Less Government through Spending Cuts and Tax Reductions
Rising Role of the Market: Privatization and Market-Based Solutions
-
Privatization of Social Programs: More for Less?
- Privatizing Healthcare: The Increasing Role of For-Profit Corporations
Promoting Individual Responsibility through Labour Market Participation
- Blaming the Poor for Being Poor: The Image of the Undeserving Poor
- Workfare Programs
for Canadians
- Restructuring Employment Insurance for Unemployed Canadians
Conclusion
6. Equality, Inclusion, and Policy Retrenchment
Introduction: A Sociological Look at Inequality
Inequality on the Rise in Canada
- The Rich, The Poor, and the Rest of Us
-
Understanding Growing Economic Inequality in the Context of Policy Retrenchment
- Understanding the Effectiveness of Public Policies on Reducing the Income Inequality
Rising Inequality in Accessing Social Goods: Who Are the Socially Excluded?
Intergenerational Social Mobility: Is a
"Canadian Dream" Still Valid?
Conclusion
7. Creating a New Policy Agenda
Introduction
New Policy Approaches
- The Activation/Social Investment Approach
- The New Politics of Policy
- A Global Approach?
Conclusion: Toward a New Policy
Agenda
Glossary
Notes
References
Index
Test Bank:
For each chapter:
20 multiple choice questions
10 true-or-false questions
5 short answer questions
3 essay questions
Answer key with page references
E-Book (ISBN 9780199000616):
Susan A. McDaniel is Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Global Population and Life Course, Prentice Research Chair in Global Population and Economy, and professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge. She is a widely known expert with a long and active series of research programs in
areas that relate directly to social and public policy. She has been a policy advisor to various governments in Canada and elsewhere, and is a frequent public speaker on her research and its implications for various public policies. She has also taught, and continues to teach at both undergraduate
and graduate levels, various courses in social and public policy.
Seong-gee Um is a post-doctoral fellow with the Canada Research Chair in Citizenship and Governance at Université de Montréal.