It’s impossible to begin telling a story without knowing the ending. So after 13 years in office (1997-2010), it is only now possible to write the story of New Labour’s social policy record – what they aimed to do, what … Continue reading
It has all the makings of a great academic fist-fight.* In a classic 1998 article, Walter Korpi and Joakim Palme wrote a hugely influential article called ‘the paradox of redistribution,’ which argued that a targeted benefit system ended up achieving … Continue reading
Dueling perspective articles in this month’s New England Journal debate whether it is ethical for employers to refuse to hire smokers. Health care employers (including the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which is owned by my employer and the employer … Continue reading
Going back at least as far as the landmark 1966 Coleman Report, social scientists and policymakers have debated how much educational achievement gaps reflect the influence of families and social norms on the one hand, and differences in the quality … Continue reading
In this guest post, Steven Roberts summarises his new book (co-edited with Will Atkinson and Mike Savage), ‘Class Inequality in Austerity Britain‘, and presents a vision of the political role of Sociology in the 21st century. Not that it has … Continue reading
The late 20th century brought landmark public health movements to the United States, like the control of tobacco, and medical breakthroughs in the treatment of heart disease and cancer. Life expectancy surged overall, but today the lower educated are still … Continue reading
Any way you look at it, the unemployment numbers released this week are good news for American workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that the economy added 243,000 new jobs (at least after applying seasonal adjustments), and the official … Continue reading
In Britain, the NHS Future Forum issued a report calling on the medical establishment to carry the banner of public health: “every contact must count as an opportunity to maintain and, where possible, improve their mental and physical health and … Continue reading
The gap in premature mortality between high and low educated people in the United States has grown considerably over the last few decades, even as life expectancy has increased overall. A common explanation is the changing distribution of risk factors: … Continue reading
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