Mutual Obligation and Welfare Reform: an Annotated Bi Bliography

Social r~i Policy Research Centre MUTUAL OBLIGATION AND WELFARE REFORM: AN ANNOTATED BI BLIOGRAPHY by Diana Encel SPRC Research Resource No. 16 July 2000 For a full list of SPRC Publications, or to inquire about the work ofthe Social Policy Research Centre (formerly the Social Welfare Research Centre), please contact: The Publications and Information Officer, SPRC, University ofNew South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. Telephone: +61 (2) 9385 3857 Fax: +61 (2) 9385 1049 Email: [email protected] ISSN 1037 4035 ISBN 0 7334 0759 5 July 2000 The views expressed in this publication do not represent any official position on the part of the Social Policy Research Centre). This report was produced to make available the research findings of the individual authors, and to promote the development of ideas and discussions about major areas ofconcern in the field of social policy. Foreword Mutual obligation as it operates in the welfare area is the subject of increasing debate among policy makers, community workers and the general public. This bibliography includes descriptions of works which contribute to both sides of that debate. They are drawn from Australian sources, but also from other countries, principally the United States. There, the introduction of a number of different, sometimes experimental, programs in individual states has led to a series of evaluations and evaluations of evaluations. Welfare reform has taken place federally in their wake and policy changes have been followed, sometimes influenced by US programs, in other countries. Australia has also changed its policy in recent years, as documented in this bibliography. Mutual obligation is integral to the current government's social policy philosophy and is the subject of detailed examination by the Reference Group on Welfare Reform. Although the entries here are merely descriptive, neither critical nor evaluative, we hope that, like its predecessors, this volume proves to be a useful resource. The Social Policy Research Centre has been producing annotated bibliographies as a resource for researchers since 1984 when it published a volume on unemployment. Over the period since then, the Centre has produced a number of such bibliographies mostly complementing projects being carried out by its researchers. This bibliography will be the last to be published in this format by the Centre. From feedback we have received, we know that the previous volumes have been useful resources for people in many fields, not only researchers but students, community organisations and libraries. It is with regret that circumstances require us to conclude this series. Peter Saunders Director 11 Acknowledgements Several people have been instrumental in the preparation of this bibliography. Lynn Sitsky gave valuable help in the collection of material annotated here. Without her help, the bibliography would not have been as comprehensive as it is. Peter Saunders as director of the Centre has been supportive at all stages. Tony Eardley, whose own research has covered much of the area ofthe works described here, was also helpful in the compilation. Lynda Pawley has been involved in the preparation ofthe manuscript at every stage and to her I am truly grateful. iii Contents Foreword I Acknowledgements 11 Introduction IV Other Sources V Organisation vi Annotations 1 Author Index 115 Keyword Definition and Index 123 iv Introduction This bibliography is concerned with the concept of mutual obligation in the context of welfare reform. It covers such areas as work for the dole programs, the concept of the '.active society' as it pertains to social security and other programs designed to move people from welfare to work. In Australia, there has been a work test associated with eligibility for unemployment benefits since the time of their introduction. The work test, or activity test as it has been more recently designated, is the first manifestation of the idea that in order to receive income maintenance payments, some commitment is required from the claimant. Several classes of people were excluded from this requirement: widows, sole parents of young children, disabled people. These were subject to other conditions: assets tests, means tests, and, in the case of those with disabilities, assessment of their abilities. It is with the increasing stringency of the work/activity test and the extension of the test to groups other than the unemployed that this bibliography is principally concerned. The effects of policy changes on these specific population groups are the subject of discussion. Non compliance with the work/activity test requirements now incurs increasing sanctions; in the United States, for instance, there are now time limits to income support in some programs. Debate surrounds the efficiency of compulsory participation in work. A number of evaluation studies have been carried out to assess the effects of the policy and to determine whether it reduces the number of unemployed people or the level of poverty. The debate is also concerned with morality or ethical issues involved. Public attitudes to income support payments and to the move towards a more mandatory system are discussed in a number of the works described here. This bibliography includes descriptions of works that discuss unemployment and poverty only when efforts to reduce them involve concepts of mutual obligation. It includes works about programs initiated overseas, principally in the United States; their influence on policy development in Australia has been important both in general terms, but also in some specific details. The scope of this bibliography is further defmed by the keywords chosen which indicate the specific areas covered. Users with particular interests will gain from a careful reading ofthe keyword definitions. v Other Sources • The bibliography includes descriptions of major Australian government policy documents in the body of collection. However, it does not include Budget Statements or media releases; most of these are available on the internet. • The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes figures on labour force participation, reasons for non-participation and job search experience. • Welfare Reform in the United States has been enacted by law; most relevant Acts have been summarised or discussed by • the US Department ofHealth and Human Resources; • the Urban Institute; • the US Department ofHousing and Urban Development; or • the Children's Defense Fund These documents are often available on the intemet. • Descriptions, evaluations and discussion of welfare-to-work projects have been prepared by • the US Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC); and • the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Some but not all ofthese have been described in the bibliography. • The Social Policy Research Centre publication Does Case Management Help Unemployed Job Seekers? A Review of the International Evidence, Reports and Proceedings No. 132 (Eardley and Thompson, 1997) presents summaries ofevaluations of a number ofrelevant programs. vi Organisation This bibliography cites whole books, parts or chapters of books, papers in series and journal articles. No newspaper material or items of one page or less have been included nor has unpublished material, such as theses or unpublished conference papers. All the items have been sighted. Some items have been sighted only from web sites and in those cases internet addresses are included in the publication details. Each item has been annotated to give an indication of the scope and nature of the work. The annotations are descriptive only and no attempt has been made to review or evaluate the contents. Wherever possible the author's or publisher's abstract has been used (indicated by quotation marks) and in the other cases an attempt has been made to use the language ofthe author or authors concerned. All annotations are arranged alphabetically by author, or, where applicable, corporate body. Where no author is known, the item is entered by title, also alphabetically. The name is followed by the year ofpublication. When more than one work by the same author is cited, the works are arranged chronologically from the earliest to the most recent, and if there are several in the same year, they are then ordered alphabetically by title. Authors as single authors appear first, followed by that author in joint authorship with others. The title ofthe book or name of the journal appears in italics. Where the item appears in a journal the volume number is given followed by the number within that volume in brackets so that volume 3, number 2 appears as 3(2). The last numbers in the citations indicate the length of the item (x pp. for a complete publication or x-y for part of a book or journal). Each annotation is followed by one or more keywords which indicate the subject matter covered in the item. An index lists each keyword which is followed by a group of record numbers indicating which annotations have been placed within that keyword category. The keywords are listed in alphabetical order. There is an alphabetical listing of authors, separate from the annotation, which includes joint authors. The number(s) following the names are the record numbers ofthe annotations (not page numbers). 1 Alston, Richard (1987), 'Workfare: does it work, IS it fair?', Current Affairs Bulletin, 63(11), April, 21-7. 'Senator Alston argues that, at least in the current economic climate, there is a pressing need for a radical rethink of traditional attitudes

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