Research Handbook on Social Care Policy

This Research Handbook provides a comprehensive exploration of recent advances in social care policy scholarship. Spanning a breadth of issues and policy programmes, it presents a systematic, empirically and theoretically grounded overview of social care policy research, addressing a notable gap in a field often dominated by issue or country-specific studies. Recognising that social care is emerging as a respected and institutionalized public policy field, this Research Handbook investigates how social care policies have gained momentum across the globe and documents the development of contemporary literature in this area. The Handbook presents a topical and global overview of social care policies for children, frail older people and adults with disabilities, exploring the institutional setting of care systems, care policies and related trends. Chapter authors assess care work’s (in)formalization, marketization, quality and affordability, as well as exploring care poverty, inequality, and the consequences of the pandemic for care. A crucial read for social care policy scholars, this Handbook is also a vital resource for academics, researchers and students of social work, social policy, sociology, political science, public administration studies, gender studies, childcare, and disability studies.