Not by the Numbers Alone: The Effects of Economic and Demographic Changes on Social Policy
Volume 4. The Profession of Social Work
II. The Context of Policy: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Michael Reisch,
Michael Reisch
University of Michigan, School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, Michigan, US
Search for more papers by this authorMichael Reisch,
Michael Reisch
University of Michigan, School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, Michigan, US
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 15 July 2008
Abstract
This chapter analyzes the impact of recent economic developments and demographic changes on social policy in the United States. It discusses the effects of globalization on employment and unemployment; the nature, extent, and distribution of poverty; and the growth of income inequality. It then analyzes the effects of major demographic transformations on social policy, with particular emphasis on immigration and internal migration. Through a brief historical overview, it refutes persistent myths about these phenomena and examines the implications of their persistence for contemporary policy. Finally, it briefly discusses other significant demographic trends, including the aging of the population, the impact of multiculturalism, the transformation of families and households, and the effects of depopulation and economic decline on rural areas and metropolitan regions. Welfare reform is used to illustrate the policy dimensions of some of these developments. The chapter concludes by exploring the implications of these trends for future social policy in the United States.
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