Books & Reports

This Book by Sylvia Chant (ed.) comprehensively covers the key themes that are vital to understanding poverty as a gendered process. The diverse aspects of the subject are approached from a range of disciplinary and professional perspectives, achieving extensive thematic as well as geographical scope. Written and edited by leading scholars and policy advisers this handbook combines theoretical insights with policy lessons. (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010, now also available as paperback)

This book by H.-P. Blossfeld, S. Buchholz, and K. Kurz presents a timely analysis of late career and retirement in nine European societies and the USA. Many European societies relied on early retirement programs in order to relieve national labor markets. However, one of the major challenges facing European and Northern American societies today is demographic aging, which in turn places pension systems under substantial pressure. This study investigates how these developments have impacted the situation of older workers and retirees.

Family policies do not fall within the remit of the European Union. Nevertheless, the EU may enact legislation on balancing work and family life, equality at work between women and men, and child protection and development, recommends the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). In their report “Family Policy and Demographic Change” the EESC also suggests a better coordination of family orientated initiatives and funding arrangements on the EU level.

In the near future, Europe will become more diverse due to mobility of its citizens as well as due to an increase in immigration from Non-EU Countries. This presents a challenge at local and regional level which should be tackled in close cooperation between authorities and civil society organisations, says a report by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). Under the headline “Cooperation in integrating immigrants” it lists recommendations concerning the legal framework as well as the more complex process of social inclusion.