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This book is designed to help readers navigate through the vast and rapidly growing literature on poverty in urban America. The major themes, topics, debates, and issues are examined through an analysis of eight basic questions about the nature and problem of urban poverty: *What is poverty, and how is it measured? *What kinds of national policies have been utilized to manage poverty? *What are the major characteristics and trends associated with poverty in America, and how are race and ethnicity reflected in these trends? *What are the major explanations for persistent poverty in the United States? *What are the major characteristics and themes reflected in the American welfare system and anti-poverty policies? *How is the underclass defined and explained? *How have the poor utilized political mobilization to fight poverty in the United States? *How does social welfare policy directed at poverty in America compare to social welfare systems in other countries?
After analyzing these issues, Jennings concludes with a brief overview of how public discussions related to poverty in the 1990s are similar to such debates in earlier periods. Essential reading for urban policy makers, social scientists, and students of contemporary American urban concerns.
List of contents
Tables and Figures
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
What Is Poverty, and How Is Poverty Measured by the Federal Government?
What Kinds of National Policies Have Been Utilized to Manage Poverty?--From the New Deal to the Clinton Administration
What Are the Major Characteristics and Trends Associated with Poverty in the United States, and How Are Race and Ethnicity Reflected in These Trends?
What Are the Major Explanations for Persistent Poverty in the United States?
What Are the Major Characteristics and Themes Reflected in the United States Welfare System and Anti-Poverty Policies?
How Is the "Underclass" Defined and Explained?
How Have the Poor Utilized Political Mobilization to Fight Poverty in the United States?
How Does Social Welfare Policy Directed at Poverty in the United States Compare to Social Welfare Systems in Other Countries?
Conclusion
Notes
Index
About the author
JAMES JENNINGS is a Professor of Political Science and the Director of the William Monroe Trotter Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He has lectured and published extensively on Black and Latino politics. Among his publications are
Puerto Rican Politics in Urban America (Greenwood, 1984) and
Blacks, Latinos, and Asians in Urban America (Praeger, 1994).
