"Despite strong and sustained economic growth in the period prior to the onset of the global financial crisis, increasing numbers of national and international studies have shown that inequality, poverty and social exclusion have remained widespread and resistant to change. This has led to calls to better understand the determinants of poverty, its relation to inequality and exclusion and the role that social security (and other) policies can play in addressing these issues. This book – the 16th in the International Series on Social Security - brings together contributions from many of the world leaders in the field, using the best international and national data to examine the nature of poverty and draw on that evidence to establish patterns, identify underlying causes and propose remedies that are applicable to a broad range of countries.

Social Security, Poverty and Social Exclusion in Rich and Poorer Countries applies the latest comparative data to examine recent trends in inequality poverty and exclusion in OECD and EU countries. It focuses on examining how income inequality and poverty vary within and between countries, the gender dimension of poverty, the role and impact of social security and other social protection policies and the implications for policy in these and related areas. Topics addressed in the national studies examine more thoroughly evidence on poverty and exclusion in countries as diverse as Australia, Denmark, Japan and Sweden. These papers highlight important new findings relating to the adequacy of social security benefits, child poverty in poor neighbourhoods, the profile and determinants of social exclusion, poverty dynamics among new labour market entrants and the impact of relationship breakdown on social exclusion."

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