Leila Patel and Marianne S. Ulriksen, editors
Solutions to poverty and inequality are often designed, implemented, and evaluated in a top-down manner. The authors of this book turn things around, using a range of research approaches to show how social-assistance policies can be crafted to support local communities to effect positive change. Though based on studies conducted in the urban area of Doornkop, South Africa, the work applies equally to the broader search for solution in similar contexts.
Leila Patel is professor of social development studies at the Centre for Social Development, University of Johannesburg. Marianne S. Ulriksen is assistant professor at the Danish Centre for Welfare Studies, University of Southern Denmark.
"The success of developmental social policies, social assistance in particular, must be measured by how embedded they are in the lives and livelihoods of disadvantaged groups. This book offers an illuminating and comprehensive account of the interaction of citizens and community organizations with welfare institutions and policy. Refreshingly, power, agency, citizenship, and social justice take a leading role."—Armando Barrientos, University of Manchester
"This is a very important book; I strongly endorse it and recommend it to policymakers, academics, students, and civil society actors." —Ndangwa Noyoo, University of Cape Town
