This widely acclaimed study of political power in a metropolitan community portrays the political system in its entirety and in balance—and retains much of the drama, the excitement, and the special style of New York City. It discusses the stakes and rules of the city's politics, and the individuals, groups, and official agencies influencing government action.

WALLACE S. SAYRE is Eaton Professor of Public Administration at Columbia University.

HERBERT KAUFMAN is associate professor of political science at Yale University.

The Dutch economy has often been heralded for accomplishing solid employment growth within a generous welfare system. In recent years, the Netherlands has seen a rise in low-wage work and has maintained one of the lowest unemployment rates in the European Union. Low-Wage Work in the Netherlands narrows in on the causes and consequences of this new development. The authors find that the increase in low-wage work can be partly attributed to a steep rise in the number of part-time jobs and non-standard work contracts—46 percent of Dutch workers hold part-time jobs. The decline in full-time work has challenged historically powerful Dutch unions and has led to a slow but steady dismantling of many social insurance programs from 1979 onward. At the same time, there are hopeful lessons to be gleaned from the Dutch model: low-wage workers benefit from a well-developed system of income transfers, and many move on to higher paying jobs. Low-Wage Work in the Netherlands paints a nuanced picture of the Dutch economy by analyzing institutions that both support and challenge its low-wage workforce.

WIEMER SALVERDA is director of the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.

MAARTEN VAN KLAVEREN is researcher and consultant at STZ Consultancy and Research.

MARC VAN DER MEER is director of studies at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.

CONTRIBUTORS: Ria Hermanussen, Robert Solow, Wim Sprenger, Kea Tijdens, Arjen Van Halem. 

A Volume in the RSF Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies

"This book represents a step in the right direction by making important distinctions among types of social capital. Moreover, it addresses how social capital can be generated and used to combat poverty and promote social justice. By providing direction for policy and community practice, research, and teaching, this volume will be a useful addition to many courses and bookshelves."
-Journal of Community Practice

"A landmark accomplishment on three fronts: the evolution of social capital scholarship, our understanding of the causes and consequences of 'true disadvantage,' and our knowledge of effective approaches to working with poor communities. Deftly integrating the practical applications of theory and the theoretical implications of hard-won lessons from the field, this volume showcases the work of America's finest thinkers and doers in the rapidly expanding social capital universe. In conjunction with related work on poverty in low income countries, these U.S. cases powerfully demonstrate that a focus on building up the social, economic, and political assets-rather than harping on the 'deficits'-of poor communities can rest on rigorous conceptual and empirical foundations, and provide a coherent framework for informed policy and project recommendations. Too many books are labeled 'required reading,' but whether you're a new or seasoned reader of the social capital literature, this volume belongs at the top of the list."
-Michael Woolcock, World Bank and Harvard University

"Social Capital and Poor Communities shows why community building is critical to improving the lives of families in low-income communities, and offers fresh ideas for mobilizing social resources to improve housing, education, health, public safety, and economic development. This important book tackles tough questions about how community organizations can act effectively together, the importance of leadership development and institution-building, and the challenges of working in policy and political arenas. Bringing the latest in social science research together with the results of practical efforts to combat poverty, this volume is must reading for policymakers, practitioners, and all those concerned about justice and equity in America."
-Angela Glover Blackwell, PolicyLink

Neighborhood support groups have always played a key role in helping the poor survive, but combating poverty requires more than simply meeting the needs of day-to-day subsistence. Social Capital and Poor Communities shows the significant achievements that can be made through collective strategies, which empower the poor to become active partners in revitalizing their neighborhoods. Trust and cooperation among residents and local organizations such as churches, small businesses, and unions form the basis of social capital, which provides access to resources that would otherwise be out of reach to poor families.

Social Capital and Poor Communities examines civic initiatives that have built affordable housing, fostered small businesses, promoted neighborhood safety, and increased political participation. At the core of each initiative lie local institutions—church congregations, parent-teacher groups, tenant associations, and community improvement alliances. The contributors explore how such groups build networks of leaders and followers and how the social power they cultivate can be successfully transferred from smaller goals to broader political advocacy. For example, community-based groups often become platforms for leaders hoping to run for local office. Church-based groups and interfaith organizations can lobby for affordable housing, job training programs, and school improvement.

Social Capital and Poor Communities convincingly demonstrates why building social capital is so important in enabling the poor to seek greater access to financial resources and public services. As the contributors make clear, this task is neither automatic nor easy. The book's frank discussions of both successes and failures illustrate the pitfalls—conflicts of interest, resistance from power elites, and racial exclusion—that can threaten even the most promising initiatives. The impressive evidence in this volume offers valuable insights into how goal formation, leadership, and cooperation can be effectively cultivated, resulting in a remarkable force for change and a rich public life even for those communities mired in seemingly hopeless poverty.

SUSAN SAEGERT is professor of environmental psychology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

J. PHILLIP THOMPSON is Associate Professor in American politics, Columbia University.

MARK R. WARREN is associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.

CONTRIBUTORS:  Mark Chaves,  Cathy J. Cohen,  Cynthia M. Duncan,  Michael Foley,  Ross Gittell,  Sherman A. James,  Langley C. Keyes,  Margaret Levi,  M. Lisette Lopez,  John D. McCarthy, Lorraine C. Minnite,  Pedro A. Noguera,  Melvin L. Oliver,  Robert Putnam,  Robert J. Sampson,  Amy Schulz,  Robert Y. Shapiro,  Carol B. Stack,  Juliana van Olphen.

A Volume in the Ford Foundation Series on Asset Building

"Financing Low-Income Communities fills a significant gap in the literature on community development. While much has been written about organizational and political issues, relatively few works explain how to finance activities at the neighborhood level. By definition, low-income communities lack assets. This book is a guide for practitioners and a contribution to scholarship concerning best practices in raising the funds necessary to bring projects to fruition."
-Susan S. Fainstein, Harvard University Graduate School of Design

"Financing Low-Income Communities is a most timely examination of the most critical financial services issues of our day by leading scholars and activists. In exploring the behavior of individuals and their families, the practices of financial institutions, and the policies of regulatory and legislative bodies it maps out directions for steering investment to traditionally underserved communities."
-Gregory D. Squires, George Washington University

"Financing Low-Income Communities is necessary reading for public and private sector leaders addressing the challenges of bringing financial services and capital to poor communities. Leading experts provide critical insights into ways institutions can best serve low income communities, key metrics for evaluating community development programs and policy reforms to overcome the financial exclusion of marginalized neighborhoods."
-Susan M. Wachter, University of Pennsylvania

Access to capital and financial services is crucial for healthy communities.  However, many impoverished individuals and neighborhoods are routinely ignored by mainstream financial institutions.  This neglect led to the creation of community development financial institutions (CDFIs), which provide low-income communities with financial services and act as a conduit to conventional financial organizations and capital markets. Edited by Julia Sass Rubin, Financing Low-Income Communities brings together leading experts in the field to assess what we know about the challenges of bringing financial services and capital to poor communities, map out future lines of research, and propose policy reforms to make these efforts more effective.

The contributors to Financing Low-Income Communities distill research on key topics related to community development finance. Daniel Schneider and Peter Tufano examine the obstacles that make saving and asset accumulation difficult for low-income households—such as the fact that tens of millions of low-income and minority adults don’t have a bank account—and consider solutions, like making it easier for low-wage workers to enroll in 401(K) plans. Jeanne Hogarth, Jane Kolodinksy, and Marianne Hilgert review evidence showing that community-based financial education programs can be effective in changing families’ saving and budgeting patterns.  Lisa Servon proposes strategies for addressing the challenges facing the microenterprise field in the United States.  Julia Sass Rubin discusses ways community loan and venture capital funds have adapted in response to the decreased availability of funding, and considers potential sources of new capital, such as state governments and public pension funds.  Marva Williams explores the evolution and recent performance of community development banks and credit unions.  Kathleen Engel and Patricia McCoy document the proliferation of predatory lenders, who market loans at onerous interest rates to financially vulnerable families and the devastating effects of such lending on communities—from increased crime to falling home values and lower tax revenues. Rachel Bratt reviews the policies and programs used to make rental and owned housing financially accessible.  Rob Hollister proposes a framework for evaluating the contributions of community development financial institutions.

Despite the many accomplishments of CDFIs over the last four decades, changing political and economic conditions make it imperative that they adapt in order to survive.  Financing Low-Income Communities charts out new directions for public and private organizations which aim to end the financial exclusion of marginalized neighborhoods.

JULIA SASS RUBIN is assistant professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.

CONTRIBUTORS: Julia Sass Rubin, Rachel G. Bratt, Kathleen C. Engel, Marianne A. Hilgert, Jeanne M. Hogarth, Robinson Hollister, Jane Kolodinsky, Patricia A. McCoy, Daniel Schneider, Lisa Servon, Peter Tufano, and Marva E. Williams.

Shows what happens when a specific social policy is tried out on an experimental basis prior to being enacted into law. By providing a trial of a variety of negative income tax plans carried out over a three-year period in four communities, the New Jersey-Pennsylvania Income Maintenance Experiment was designed to observe whether income maintenance would lead to reduced work effort on the part of those who received subsidies. This book evaluates the final project reports on the experiment issued by Mathematica, Inc. and the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin.

PETER H. ROSSI is professor of sociology and director of the Social and Demographic Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

KATHARINE C. LYALL is assistant professor of political economy and senior research associate at the Center for Metropolitan Planning and Research, Johns Hopkins University.

A publication in the Continuities in Evaluation Research series.

To what extent can and should people participate in dealing with the personal problems they bring to consulting professionals? This book presents two alternative models for the conduct of such professional-client relationships as those between lawyers and clients and doctors and patients. One model, called the traditional, prescribes a role of minimal participation for the client. The other, called the participatory, prescribes a role of decision-making shared by the client and the professional. After presenting the two models and their implications, the book systematically tests their validity in a case study of the lawyer-client relationship in the making of personal injury claims.

The distinctive feature of this work is a sophisticated and objective test of the traditional proposition that passive clients get better results than active clients. Evidence drawn from a sample of actual cases of personal injury claimants reveals that active clients in fact fare significantly better than passive clients.

The book is important and novel in four respects: it offers the first clear and realistic proposal for increasing the control people can have over the complex problems they bring to professionals; it presents concrete evidence that lay participation in complex decision making need not be inefficient; it gives practical advice to clients and to lawyers for dealing with each other more effectively and it presents a comprehensive picture of the actual and often dramatic experiences of accident victims, and what it is like to make a personal injury claim.

DOUGLAS E. ROSENTHAL is a member of the New York Bar and is presently Deputy Section Chief, Foreign Commerce Section of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.

A Volume in the American Sociological Association’s Rose Series in Sociology

Winner of the 2002 Willard Waller Award for Distinguished Scholarship

"An important indictment of the failed connection between high school and post-high school opportunities for American youth ... well worth reading."
-WORK AND OCCUPATIONS

"James Rosenbaum skillfully exposes as false many assumptions about the causes of unfruitful careers among the 'forgotten half' of high school students. He draws selectively from labor economics and organizational sociology and displays the rewarding analytical power of theoretical eclecticism when applied to a complex social phenomenon. His own explanation for why so many American high school students do not succeed in the marketplace arises from insightful institutional comparisons among the United States, Japan, and Germany. But ultimately it emerges from highly creative thinking about transactions of failed communication, misplaced incentives, and unfulfilled trust between teachers and students and between schools and employers. The book is theoretically rich and empirically compelling. It offers new and thought-provoking insights into a longstanding dilemma in educating the nation's youth for productive lives, and it offers guarded optimism about the future."
-DAVID L. FEATHERMAN, University of Michigan

"Beyond College For All presents an insightful analysis of the transition from high school to work in the United States. The work is theoretically rich, distinctive in its reliance on observational, anecdotal, and survey data, and practical in its recommendations. Researchers, graduate students, educators, and employers would profit from James Rosenbaum's work."
-MAUREEN T. HALLINAN, University of Notre Dame

In a society where everyone is supposed to go to college, the problems facing high school graduates who do not continue their education are often forgotten. Many cannot find jobs, and those who do are often stuck in low-wage, dead-end positions. Meanwhile employers complain that high school graduates lack the necessary skills for today's workplace. Beyond College for All focuses on this crisis in the American labor market. Around the world, author James E. Rosenbaum finds, employers view high school graduates as valuable workers. Why not here?

Rosenbaum reports on new studies of the interaction between employers and high schools in the United States. He concludes that each fails to communicate its needs to the other, leading to a predictable array of problems for young people in the years after graduation. High schools caught up in the college-for-all myth, provide little job advice or preparation, leading students to make unrealistic plans and hampering both students who do not go to college and those who start college but do not finish. Employers say they care about academic skills, but then do not consider grades when deciding whom to hire. Faced with few incentives to achieve, many students lapse into precisely the kinds of habits employers deplore, doing as little as possible in high school and developing poor attitudes.

Rosenbaum contrasts the situation in the United States with that of two other industrialized nations-Japan and Germany-which have formal systems for aiding young people who are looking for employment. Virtually all Japanese high school graduates obtain work, and in Germany, eighteen-year-olds routinely hold responsible jobs. While the American system lacks such formal linkages, Rosenbaum uncovers an encouraging hidden system that helps many high school graduates find work. He shows that some American teachers, particularly vocational teachers, create informal networks with employers to guide students into the labor market. Enterprising employers have figures out how to use these networks to meet their labor needs, while students themselves can take steps to increase their ability to land desirable jobs.

Beyond College for All suggests new policies based on such practices. Rosenbaum presents a compelling case that the problems faced by American high school graduates and employers can be solved if young people, employers, and high schools build upon existing informal networks to create formal paths for students to enter the world of work.

JAMES E. ROSENBAUM is professor of sociology, education, and social policy at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University.

"This book's most significant contribution is that it examines the recurring problem of lack of completion on the part of community college students from a different paradigm that moves beyond concepts of individual student deficiencies and focuses instead on college structures and processes as critical to student success .... Examples from interviews are especially compelling as they provide a glimpse into student understandings of their college experience. Quantitative research is also abundant and adds an important dimension to this effort. This book can serve as a useful tool for community college leaders seeking to increase retention and success of students."
-COMMUNITY COLLEGE REVIEW

"After Admission continues an argument that James E. Rosenbaum began in his 2001 volume Beyond College for All. With a majority of high school graduates now attending some kind of college, the central issue is less access (though access remains inequitable) and more the completion and success of all students. The three authors provide novel perspectives about enhancing success by contrasting practices in public community colleges with those in private 'occupational colleges' providing similar degrees in occupational subjects .... [The book's] many insights will benefit not only community colleges and their private analogues, but also many public and private four-year colleges that provide access without real success."
-W. NORTON GRUBB, University of California, Berkeley

"After Admission is a book that will inspire renewed purpose among community college leaders. Community colleges promise upward mobility, but too often fail to deliver. Drawing on an impressive array of empirical data and pointed comparisons with private occupational colleges, James E. Rosenbaum, Regina Deil-Amen, and Ann E. Person show how community colleges can create the conditions for student success through confidence- building teaching practices, social skills development, clearer pathways to degrees, and stronger links to employers. This book provides the blueprint for a new era of reform in community colleges."
-STEVEN BRINT, University of California, Riverside

"After Admission provides an important message about the challenges community colleges face in serving first- generation college enrollees well. In a well-designed study making use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods, James E. Rosenbaum, Regina Deil-Amen, and Ann E. Person document that community colleges have become extraordinarily important actors on the American higher education scene .... After Admission provides state legislators and policymakers with a thoughtful diagnosis of the problems community colleges face in serving a new student population and what it will take to solve these problems .... After Admission is essential reading for anyone who cares about community colleges and the students who attend them."
-RICHARD J. MURNANE, Harvard University

Enrollment at America’s community colleges has exploded in recent years, with five times as many entering students today as in 1965. However, most community college students do not graduate; many earn no credits and may leave school with no more advantages in the labor market than if they had never attended. Experts disagree over the reason for community colleges’ mixed record. Is it that the students in these schools are under-prepared and ill-equipped for the academic rigors of college? Are the colleges themselves not adapting to keep up with the needs of the new kinds of students they are enrolling? In After Admission, James Rosenbaum, Regina Deil-Amen, and Ann Person weigh in on this debate with a close look at this important trend in American higher education.

After Admission compares community colleges with private occupational colleges that offer accredited associates degrees. The authors examine how these different types of institutions reach out to students, teach them social and cultural skills valued in the labor market, and encourage them to complete a degree. Rosenbaum, Deil-Amen, and Person find that community colleges are suffering from a kind of identity crisis as they face the inherent complexities of guiding their students towards four-year colleges or to providing them with vocational skills to support a move directly into the labor market. This confusion creates administrative difficulties and problems allocating resources. However, these contradictions do not have to pose problems for students. After Admission shows that when colleges present students with clear pathways, students can effectively navigate the system in a way that fits their needs. The occupational colleges the authors studied employed close monitoring of student progress, regular meetings with advisors and peer cohorts, and structured plans for helping students meet career goals in a timely fashion. These procedures helped keep students on track and, the authors suggest, could have the same effect if implemented at community colleges.

As college access grows in America, institutions must adapt to meet the needs of a new generation of students. After Admission highlights organizational innovations that can help guide students more effectively through higher education.

JAMES E. ROSENBAUM is professor of sociology, education, and social policy, and faculty fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University.

REGINA DEIL-AMEN is assistant professor at the Center for the Study of Higher Education, the University of Arizona College of Education.

ANN E. PERSON is a doctoral student in human development and social policy and a graduate fellow with the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University.

"One of the year's best books on Puerto Rico." —El Nuevo Dia, San Juan

"[The authors] are highly regarded labor economists who have written extensively and intelligently in the past, and again in this volume, on Puerto Rican migration and labor markets... There isabundant statistical data and careful analysis, some of which challenges the conventional wisdom. Highly recommended." —Choice

Island Paradox is the first comprehensive, census-based portrait of social and economic life in Puerto Rico. During its nearly fiftyyears as a U.S. commonwealth, the relationship between Puerto Rico's small, developing economy and the vastly larger, more industrialized United States has triggered profound changes in the island's industry and labor force. Puerto Rico has been deeply affected by the constant flow of its people to and from the mainland, and by the influx of immigrant workers from other nations. Distinguished economists Francisco Rivera-Batiz and Carlos Santiago provide the latest data on the socioeconomic status of Puerto Rico today, and examine current conditions within the context of the major trends of the past two decades.

Island Paradox describes many improvements in Puerto Rico's standard of living, including rising per-capita income, longer life expectancies, greater educational attainment, and increased job prospects for women. But it also discusses the devastating surge in unemployment. Rapid urbanization and a vanishing agricultural sector have led to severe inequality, as family income has become increasingly dependent on education and geographic location. Although Puerto Rico's close ties to the United States were the major source of the island's economic growth prior to 1970, they have also been at the root of recent hardships. Puerto Rico's trade andbusiness transactions remain predominantly with the United States, but changes in federal tax, social, and budgetary policies, along with international agreements such as NAFTA, now threaten to alter the economic ties between the island and the mainland.

Island Paradox reveals the social and family changes that have occurred among Puerto Ricans on the island and the mainland. The significant decline in the island's population growth is traced in part to women's increased pursuit of educational and employment opportunities before marrying. More children are being raised by singleparents, but this stems from a higher divorce rate and not a rise in teenage pregnancy. The widespread circular migration to and from the United States has had strong repercussions for the island's labor markets and social balance, leading to concerns about an island brain drain. The Puerto Rican population in the United States hasbecome increasingly diverse, less regionally concentrated and not, as some have claimed, in danger of becoming an underclass.

Within a single generation Puerto Rico has experienced social and economic shifts of an unprecedented magnitude. Island Paradox charts Puerto Rico's economic fortunes, summarizes the major demographic trends, and identifies the issues that will have the strongest bearings on Puerto Rico's prospects for a successful future.

FRANCISCO L. RIVERA-BATIZ is director of the Program in Economic Policy Management and associate professor in the Economics Department and the Latino Studies Program at Columbia University. He is also associate professor of international studies at Teachers College, Columbia University.

CARLOS E. SANTIAGO is professor in the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies and in the Department of Economics and associate vice president for academic affairs at the State University of New York, Albany.
 

A Volume in the RSF Census Series

Represents the first integrated effort to deal with age as a crucial variable in the social system. Of special interest to sociologists for whom the sociology of age seems destined to become a special field.

MATILDA WHITE RILEY, MARILYN JOHNSON, and ANNE FONER are in the Department of Sociology at Rutgers University.

CONTRIBUTORS: John A. Clausen, Richard Cohn, Anne Foner, Beth Hess, Marilyn Johnson, Robert K. Merton, Edward E. Nelson, Talcott Parsons, Gerald Platt, Matilda White Riley, Norman B. Ryder, Harris Schrank, Bernice C. Starr, and Harriet Zuckerman