Britain's War on Poverty

Acknowledgments

acknowledgments a lthough primarily based in the United States, I have spent a sub­ stantial portion of my time in Britain over the past twenty years. This book benefited greatly from the time I spent there and from the helpful advice and counsel I received. In particular, I owe an enor­ mous debt to the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the London School of Economics, where I have been a frequent visitor throughout the period of reforms covered in this book. John Hills, the di­ rector of CASE, has been a superb colleague and guide to the reforms. I draw heavily in chapter 1 on the early article we co­authored on the re­ forms, and I continued to draw on his wisdom throughout the process of writing this book. John kindly read an early draft and provided many helpful comments. Other colleagues at CASE also provided extremely helpful input. I am particularly grateful to Howard Glenerster and Kitty Stewart and to the wonderful CASE staff, especially Jane Dickson and Nic Warner. I would also like to thank Daniel Sage, my very able research as­ sistant at CASE during the summer of 2009, who helped track down sta­ tistics and produced some terrific tables and graphs. I also benefited from many helpful conversations with other colleagues and policymakers in Britain. Paul Gregg was a constant source of information and inspiration. I’d also like to thank: Francine Bates, Alex Beer, Mike Brewer, Simon Bur­ gess, Naomi Eisenstadt, Alexandra Frean, Richard Freeman, Alison Gar­ nham, Lisa Harker, Margaret Hodge, Beverly Hughes, Heather Joshi, Caroline Kelham, Steve Machin, Lee Elliot Major, Sandra McNally, Jane Millar, Carey Oppenheim, David Piachaud, Gillian Pugh, Ray Shostak, Kathy Sylva, Polly Toynbee, Martina Viarengo, and Elizabeth Washbrook. Most of this book was written during the 2008 to 2009 academic year, when I had the good fortune to be the Marian Cabot Putnam Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. The Rad­ cliffe staff and my fellow fellows offered both material and intellectual support, for which I am very grateful. I would particularly like to thank the staff who made my stay so pleasant and productive: Dean Barbara Grosz, Sharon Lin­Hing, Melissa Synnott, Judy Vichniac, and Marlon Cummings. I would also like to thank my Radcliffe research partner, Upasana Unni, who located an impressive array of European statistics, made a terrific set of graphs, and also helped with the references. I also benefited from the generosity and advice of Radcliffe’s Harvard neigh­ x acknowLedgments bors. Participants in Harvard’s Social Inequality Program provided ex­ tremely helpful early feedback on the book, as well as ongoing stimula­ tion and nurture through the seminar and other programs. I’m particularly grateful to program director Bruce Western and Pam Metz. At the Har­ vard Graduate School of Education, Dean Kathleen McCartney offered a warm welcome, and I also benefited from attending many excellent Ask­ with Forums. I’m also grateful to staff at the Gutman Library, in particular Jason DeWaard and Carla Lillvik, who helped with everything from vid­ eoconferencing to endnotes. I’d also like to thank colleagues at the Ken­ nedy School, in particular Mary Jo Bane, Kathy Edin, David Ellwood, Ronald Ferguson, and Christopher Jencks. I would be remiss if I did not also thank my friends and colleagues at Columbia University School of Social Work, where I have been on faculty for the last fifteen years. I could not ask for better guides to the welfare state than my senior colleagues Irv Garfinkel and Sheila Kamerman. I’d also like to thank Dean Jeanette Takamura, as well as M. K. Babcock and Liana Fox. I also had many helpful conversations with American col­ leagues. I especially would like to thank Sheldon Danziger, who read the complete manuscript and provided detailed comments. His suggestions greatly strengthened the book and also saved me from some errors. I would also like to thank Rebecca Blank, Mark Greenberg, Ron Haskins, and Tim Smeeding. In addition I’m grateful to Bruce Bradbury and Miles Corak for helping to orient me to the antipoverty reforms in Australia and Canada. And I owe a big note of thanks to two anonymous reviewers whose helpful comments strengthened this book. But the greatest thank­you must go to my family. Katie was unfailingly enthusiastic and supportive. And David, as always, was the perfect sounding board and resource. I could not have done it without them. ...