Markets, rights and power in Australian social policy

Gabrielle Meagher (Editor), Susan Goodwin (Editor)

    Research output: Book/ReportEdited Book/Anthology

    Abstract

    The provision of social services in Australia has changed dramatically in recent decades. Governments have expanded social provision without expanding the public sector by directly subsidising private provision, by contracting private agencies, both non-profit and for-profit, to deliver services, and through a number of other subsidies and vouchers.

    Private actors receive public funds to deliver social services to citizens, raising a range of important questions about financial and democratic accountability: 'who benefits', 'who suffers' and 'who decides'. This book explores these developments through rich case studies of a diverse set of social policy domains. The case studies demonstrate a range of effects of marketisation, including the impact on the experience of consumer engagement with social service systems, on the distribution of social advantage and disadvantage, and on the democratic steering of social policy.
    Original languageEnglish
    Place of PublicationSydney, NSW
    PublisherSydney University Press
    Number of pages375
    ISBN (Print)9781920899950
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

    Publication series

    NamePublic and social policy series
    PublisherSydney University Press

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