Routledge Life-Course Implications of US Public Policy (Society and Aging Series)

There is a complex set of public policies and associated programs that constitute the social safety net in the United States. In Life-Course Implications of U.S. Public Policies, the authors encourage others to systematically consider the influence of policies and programs on lives, aging, and the life course, and how the consequences might vary by gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, and social class. The volume aims to foster an appreciation of how policy influences connect and condition the life course. Chapters examine issues relating to health, housing, food security, crime, employment, and care work, amongst other issues, and demonstrate how the principles of the life-course perspective and cumulative inequality theory can be used to inform contemporary public policy debates. Life-Course Implications of U.S. Public Policies will be a great resource for students of gerontology, sociology, demography, social work, public health and public policy, as well as policy makers, researchers in think tanks, and advocates, who are concerned with age-based policy. Review Janet Wilmoth and Andrew London’s timely collection assembles an impressive cast of social scientists to illuminate how American policies and programs create, perpetuate, or otherwise seek to offset inequalities in distinct periods of life and across the life course. In making these processes more visible, the authors invite us to reimagine policies and programs and intervene into the social world in order to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, and populations. Richard A. Settersten, Jr., Barbara E. Knudson Endowed Chair and Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University Life-Course Implications of US Public Policies, edited by Janet Wilmoth and Andrew London, draws attention to the manifold ways life course research and policy can and should inform public policy. Its ten chapters cover rapidly growing societal problems and needs, coupled with markedly insufficient extant policy responses, across a wide range of domains, including food and nutrition, health, housing, and immigration. The selections highlight escalating requirements for innovative programs and policies directed to issues that arise throughout the life course, from juvenile delinquency to long-term care of the elderly and grandparent care work. This comprehensive, highly accessible and engaging collection is a must read for scholars of the life course and for social policy makers. Jeylan Mortimer, Professor of Sociology, University of Minnesota This volume is a fantastic intersection between policy, life course concepts, and leading edge theoretical and empirical research. It is both timely and accessible, and therefore highly valuable to a broad range of readers in multiple disciplines across both academic and applied contexts. Miles G. Taylor, Professor of Sociology, Florida State University About the Author Janet M. Wilmoth is Professor and Chair of Sociology, and Director of the Aging Studies Institute, at Syracuse University. She is affiliated with the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, the Center for Policy Research, and the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion. Her research examines older adult migration, living arrangements, and health status, and explores how military service shapes various life-course outcomes. Andrew S. London is Associate Dean and Professor of Sociology at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He is affiliated with the Aging Studies Institute, the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, the Center for Policy Research, and the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion. His areas of specialization are in medical sociology, demography, aging and the life course, veterans, families, poverty, and social welfare.