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Seven principles of public life: time to rethink. (2013)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2014. Seven principles of public life: time to rethink. Public money and management [online], 34(1), pages 11-18. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2014.865927

The Seven Principles of Public Life, developed by the Nolan Committee, claim to be concerned with the development of an ethical culture, but they have been imposed by central authority. The principles are muddled and unclear, but beyond that they hav... Read More about Seven principles of public life: time to rethink..

Cohesion, exclusion and social quality. (2014)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2014. Cohesion, exclusion and social quality. International journal of social quality [online], 4(1), pages 95-107. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3167/IJSQ.2014.040107

The concept of social quality has been operationalized in terms of four component dimensions: social inclustion, social cohesion, socio-economic security and social empowerment. This article argues that inclusion and cohesion are aspects of the same... Read More about Cohesion, exclusion and social quality..

Policy translation: a reply. (2015)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2016. Policy translation: a reply. Global discourse: an interdisciplinary journal of current affairs and applied contemporary thought [online], 6(1-2), pages 116-118. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/23269995.2015.1004251

The purpose of this paper is explained as being to enhance the analysis of processes of movement of ideas between multiple actors and in the process of implementation of social policies. The core argument made by Latour is, as I read it, that network... Read More about Policy translation: a reply..

The devolution of social security benefits in Scotland: the Smith Commission. (2015)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2015. The devolution of social security benefits in Scotland: the Smith Commission. Journal of poverty and social justice [online], 23(1), pages 17-28. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1332/175982715X14226074788880

The United Kingdom is a unitary state, and social security benefits are some of the most centralised services in it. The powers of the Scottish Parliament in relation to benefits have been heavily restricted, to the point where they have fewer formal... Read More about The devolution of social security benefits in Scotland: the Smith Commission..

The real dependent variable problem: the limitations qualitative analysis in comparative policy studies. (2017)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2017. The real dependent variable problem: the limitations qualitative analysis in comparative policy studies. Social policy and administration [online], 52(1), pages 216-228. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12308

Comparative public policy relies heavily on processing quantitative data, typically done by looking for the relationship between variables or by grouping empirical data into categories. In methodological terms, comparative data commonly deal with nat... Read More about The real dependent variable problem: the limitations qualitative analysis in comparative policy studies..

Arguments for welfare: the welfare state and social policy. (2017)
Book
SPICKER, P. 2017. Arguments for welfare: the welfare state and social policy. London: Rowman and Littlefield International Ltd [online]. Available from: http://www.rowmaninternational.com/book/arguments_for_welfare/3-156-b8676521-173c-4557-9489-01d73d466f67

This book makes the case for the welfare state. Nearly every government in the developed world offers some form of social protection, and measures to improve the social and economic well-being of its citizens. However, the provision of welfare is und... Read More about Arguments for welfare: the welfare state and social policy..

New benefit powers for Scotland. (2016)
Report
SPICKER, P. 2016. New benefit powers for Scotland. Poverty Alliance briefing, 23. Glasgow: The Poverty Alliance [online]. Available from: http://www.povertyalliance.org/article/new_welfare_powers

Pending agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments, and the completion of the relevant Parliamentary processes, Scotland is set to gain significant new powers over aspects of the social security system. In order to help Poverty Alliance member... Read More about New benefit powers for Scotland..

What can the Scottish Parliament do with new social security powers? (2016)
Report
SPICKER, P. 2016. What can the Scottish Parliament do with new social security powers? Glasgow: Comon Weal [online]. Available from: http://allofusfirst.org/tasks/render/file/?fileID=5F353C60-ECE3-72D9-CAD3D044ACBB03D0

Professor Paul Spicker analyses the planned devolution of social security powers to the Scottish Parliament in the Scotland Bill and argues: The reforms have been represented as giving Scotland 'one of the most powerful devolved parliaments in the wo... Read More about What can the Scottish Parliament do with new social security powers?.

The fiscal framework and the delivery of welfare benefits. (2016)
Report
SPICKER, P. 2016. The fiscal framework and the delivery of welfare benefits. Written submission presented at the 10th Meeting of the Devolution (Further Powers) Committee (Scottish Parliament, session 4), 3 March 2016, Edinburgh, UK. Edinburgh: Scottish Parliament [online], pages 19-23. Available from: http://www.parliament.scot/Papers_20160303_updated_3.3.16.pdf

The author author was approached by the Clerks of the committee to comment on the Scotland Bill and Fiscal Framework, since the publication of the Committee's Interim Report published in May 2015. This is his written submission.

Poverty as a wicked problem. (2016)
Report
SPICKER, P. 2016. Poverty as a wicked problem. CROP poverty brief, no. 35. Bergen, Norway: CROP Secretariat [online]. Available from: http://www.crop.org/viewfile.aspx?id=1062

This brief argues for a pragmatic approach to poverty, rather than an analytical one: 1. Poverty is a wicked issue - complex, multidimensional, unclear and changeable. There is not one problem to be addressed. If we are not dealing with a set, specif... Read More about Poverty as a wicked problem..

A new future for social security: response to the consultation document. (2016)
Report
SPICKER, P. 2016. A new future for social security: response to the consultation document. In Scottish Government. Consultation on social security in Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Government [online], response ID 500312666. Available from: https://consult.gov.scot/social-security/social-security-in-scotland/consultation/view_respondent?_b_index=420&uuId=500312666

This submission covers genearl issues related to the statement of principles, broader issues of policy and general administrative arrangements. The main points are these: 1) The aims of benefit systems are complex. Oversimplification threatens to com... Read More about A new future for social security: response to the consultation document..

Principles of social welfare: an introduction to thinking about the welfare state. (2017)
Book
SPICKER, P. 2017. Principles of social welfare: an introduction to thinking about the welfare state. Translated to Arabic by H.M.I. Matter. Berlin: Democratic Arabic Centre [online]. Available from: http://democraticac.de/?p=46477

This book is about social policy and administration, which is a field of study mainly concerned with 'social welfare' and the 'social services'. Social policy is not a self-contained academic discipline. The book attempts to draw material together an... Read More about Principles of social welfare: an introduction to thinking about the welfare state..

Economics as practical wisdom. (2016)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2016. Economics as practical wisdom. Real-world economics review [online], 75, pages 113-125. Available from: http://www.paecon.net/PAEReview/issue75/Spicker75.pdf

The discipline of economics has been represented as deductive and theoretical, deductive and empirical, and inductive and empirical. All of these approaches have been subject to withering criticism in other social sciences: their weaknesses are theor... Read More about Economics as practical wisdom..

The future of social security in Scotland: views from inside the system. (2017)
Report
PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES UNION and SPICKER, P. 2017. The future of social security in Scotland: views from inside the system. Glasgow: PCS [online]. Available from: https://www.pcs.org.uk/sites/default/files/site_assets/regional_websites/scotland/2017/FSS_Scotland_FINAL.pdf

The report is based on group interviews and questionnaires done earlier this year with 228 DWP officers. This is not the first report ever to ask social security officers what they think, but it's a rare and rather special event. The officers general... Read More about The future of social security in Scotland: views from inside the system..

The takeup of benefits: lessons from the UK. (2017)
Book Chapter
SPICKER, P. 2017. The takeup of benefits: lessons from the UK. In Van Hootegem, H (ed.) Poverty and ineffectiveness of rights. Bruges: Die Keure [online]. Available from: https://www.diekeure.be/nl-be/professional/8167/armoede-en-ineffectiviteit-van-rechten-pauvrete-et-ineffectivite-des-droits

The issue of take-up has had a prominent role in the consideration of benefits in the UK, and there is a considerable amount of information available about the issues and problems. As time has gone on, however, the comfortable certainties about why p... Read More about The takeup of benefits: lessons from the UK..

Personalisation falls short. (2012)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2013. Personalisation falls short. British journal of social work [online], 43(7), pages 1259-1275. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcs063

Personalisation offers individualised treatment in circumstances where markets do not operate. Personalisation is described variously as a process involving an individualised assessment and response, the expression of individual preferences and choic... Read More about Personalisation falls short..

Introducing Universal Credit. (2013)
Book Chapter
SPICKER, P. 2013. Introducing Universal Credit. In Ramia, G., Farnsworth, K. and Irving, Z. Social policy review 25: analysis and debate in social policy. Bristol: Policy Press [online], pages 1-16. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781447312741.003.0001

In this chapter, author Paul Spicker interrogates the government's introduction of Universal Credit, a controversial scheme designed to unify various means-tested benefits for people of working age. The scheme brings together six existing benefits: i... Read More about Introducing Universal Credit..

What's wrong with social security benefits? (2017)
Book
SPICKER, P. 2017. What's wrong with social security benefits? Bristol: Policy Press [online]. Available from: https://policypress.co.uk/whats-wrong-with-social-security-benefits

In this thought-provoking book, Paul Spicker challenges readers to rethink social security benefits in Britain. Putting a case for reform of the system, Spicker argues that most of the criticisms made of social security benefits – that spending is ou... Read More about What's wrong with social security benefits?.

Health & homelessness in Aberdeen City: a report for the Scottish Health Council. (2007)
Report
LOVE, J.G., LOVE, A.P., VERTIGANS, S. and SUTTON, P.W. 2007. Health & homelessness in Aberdeen City: a report for the Scottish Health Council. Aberdeen: The Robert Gordon University.

1. Background According to the latest official figures, 1900 households presented themselves as homeless in Aberdeen City in the year 2005/2006 (Scottish Executive 2006). The problems faced by homeless people in Aberdeen and elsewhere have already be... Read More about Health & homelessness in Aberdeen City: a report for the Scottish Health Council..

Leadership: a perniciously vague concept. (2012)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2012. Leadership: a perniciously vague concept. International journal of public sector management [online], 25(1), pages 34-47. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1108/09513551211200276

Purpose “ Despite the vast amount of literature covering the concept of leadership, it remains contentious, under-conceptualised and often uncritical. The purpose of this paper is to question the validity of the concept and dispute its application. D... Read More about Leadership: a perniciously vague concept..

Five types of complexity. (2005)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2005. Five types of complexity. Benefits, 13(1), pages 5-9.

This article describes five types of complexity in the operation of social security benefits. The first is intrinsic complexity: some benefits are complex in their concept, structure or operation. The second is extrinsic: systems become complicated w... Read More about Five types of complexity..

Developing indicators: issues in the use of quantitative data about poverty. (2004)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2004. Developing indicators: issues in the use of quantitative data about poverty. Policy and politics [online], 32(4), pages 431-440. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1332/0305573042009499

Indicators are often confused with measures. This article argues that precise measurement is often inappropriate in relation to complex, multidimensional issues such as poverty. A good indicator should be understood as a pointer, not a measure. It sh... Read More about Developing indicators: issues in the use of quantitative data about poverty..

Matching services to needs in the health care of elderly people. (1997)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. and HANSLIP, J. 1997. Matching services to needs in the health care of elderly people. Health services management research, 10(1-2), pages 113-120. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/095148489701000112

This paper is based on the results of a postal enquiry to health care professionals working in the care of elderly people in a Scottish Health Board. Responses fall into three main categories. The first refers to issues of process, where lack of info... Read More about Matching services to needs in the health care of elderly people..

Perceived mismatches between needs and services in the health care of elderly people. (1994)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. and HANSLIP, J. 1994. Perceived mismatches between needs and services in the health care of elderly people. Scottish medical journal [online], 39(6), pages 172-174. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/003693309403900606

A postal enquiry to professionals involved in service delivery points to a number of problems in the process of referring elderly people appropriately. These problems related to lack of choice and constrained options, rather than mis-referral through... Read More about Perceived mismatches between needs and services in the health care of elderly people..

Understanding particularism. (1994)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 1994. Understanding particularism. Critical social policy [online], 13(39), pages 5-20. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/026101839401303901

Particularism refers to the idea that different moral standards apply to different people. This view is inherently discriminatory. The universal application of moral principles has been challenged in 'communitarian' critiques, which argue that moral... Read More about Understanding particularism..

Planning for the needs of people with dementia. (1992)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. and GORDON, D. 1992. Planning for the needs of people with dementia. Scottish medical journal [online], 37(2), pages 38-40. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/003693309203700203

Provision for people with dementia requires a complex mix of different kinds of services, primarily concerned with maintenance and support rather than treatment. In principle, planning for their needs begins with assessment of the problems, a review... Read More about Planning for the needs of people with dementia..

Equality versus solidarity. (1992)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 1992. Equality versus solidarity. Government and opposition [online], 27(1), pages 66-77. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-7053.1992.tb00767.x

Although equality and solidarity are often thought of as constituent parts of the same ideological framework, there are inconsistencies between them. Both concepts refer to a range of meanings: equality can refer to equal treatment, opportunity or re... Read More about Equality versus solidarity..

The principle of subsidiarity and the social policy of the European Community. (1991)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 1991. The principle of subsidiarity and the social policy of the European Community. Journal of European social policy [online], 1(1), pages 3-14. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879100100102

The idea of ’subsidiarity’ has been gaining influence within the European Community. ’Subsidiarity’ is based on a view of society in which responsibilities are conditioned by the closeness of people’s relationships. Intervention at higher levels of s... Read More about The principle of subsidiarity and the social policy of the European Community..

Social work and self-determination. (1990)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 1990. Social work and self-determination. British journal of social work [online], 20(3), pages 221-236. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjsw.a055683

Self-determination is a curious concept, related to, but not quite the same as, freedom and autonomy. As an ethical principle, the principle of self-determination bears little relationship to the way social workers behave. It is used as if clients we... Read More about Social work and self-determination..

Poverty and depressed estates: a critique of Utopia on trial. (1987)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 1987. Poverty and depressed estates: a critique of Utopia on trial. Housing studies [online], 2(4), pages 283-292. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/02673038708720608

Alice Coleman's Utopia on Trial explains the incidence of social problems in council housing in terms of the design of the estates. This paper offers an alternative explanation. Many issues which appear to be problems of planning, design, maintenance... Read More about Poverty and depressed estates: a critique of Utopia on trial..

Concepts of need in housing allocation. (1987)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 1987. Concepts of need in housing allocation. Policy and politics [online], 15(1), pages 17-27. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1332/030557387782514636

Policies for the allocation of council housing are subject to considerable local variation. Despite the differences, the schemes which housing departments have developed seem often to reflect a common understanding of the concept of 'need'. Their emp... Read More about Concepts of need in housing allocation..

Generalisation and phronesis: rethinking the methodology of social policy. (2010)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2011. Generalisation and phronesis: rethinking the methodology of social policy. Journal of social policy [online], 40(1), pages 1-19. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279410000334

Social policy research often depends on the application of generalisations from social science. Questions like "what works?" assume that general principles can be translated from specific examples into other contexts. Pawson and Tilley argue that eff... Read More about Generalisation and phronesis: rethinking the methodology of social policy..

What is a priority? (2009)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2009. What is a priority? Journal of health services research and policy [online], 14(2), pages 112-116. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1258/jhsrp.2008.008056

What does it mean to say that something is a priority? Priority setting is used to balance competing claims for resources, but the nature of the exercise is ambiguous. The priorities which are claimed might be for time, resources, process, rights or... Read More about What is a priority?.

The nature of a public service. (2009)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2009. The nature of a public service. International journal of public administration [online], 32(11), pages 970-991. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/01900690903050927

Public services have been misunderstood. They are not simply services in the public sector, they are not necessarily there because of market failure, and they cannot be analysed by the same criteria as market-based provision. They have four defining... Read More about The nature of a public service..

The ethics of policy research. (2007)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 2007. The ethics of policy research. Evidence and policy: a journal of research, debate and practice [online], 3(1), pages 99-118. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1332/174426407779702148

Codes of ethics governing research in social science have tended to focus on the rights of participants in research. This focus is too narrow to be an effective guide for ethical policy research. Some typical problems concern the development of organ... Read More about The ethics of policy research..

Charles Booth: the examination of poverty. (1990)
Journal Article
SPICKER, P. 1990. Charles Booth: the examination of poverty. Social policy and administration [online], 24(1), pages 21-38. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.1990.tb00322.x

Charles Booth's studies of poverty are widely misrepresented in the literature of social policy. His work is commonly bracketed with Rowntree's, but his methods were quite different. His definition of poverty was explicitly relative; he based the des... Read More about Charles Booth: the examination of poverty..

Stigma and social welfare. (2011)
Book
SPICKER, P. 2011. Stigma and social welfare. [Self-published]

This book looks at the concept of stigma in the context of social welfare. The idea of 'social welfare' is commonly identified with the 'social services'. Both terms are regrettably unclear. 'Welfare' can be taken to mean 'relief'; a 'welfare recipie... Read More about Stigma and social welfare..

Principles of social welfare: an introduction to thinking about the welfare state. (2013)
Book
SPICKER, P. 2013. Principles of social welfare: an introduction to thinking about the welfare state. [Self-published]

Author's note, 2013 Principles of social welfare was my second book. First published 1988 by Routledge, ISBN 0-415-00630-9 and 0-415-00631-7. The rights to publish have reverted to me,and I am making it freely available on the internet. The book was... Read More about Principles of social welfare: an introduction to thinking about the welfare state..

Thinking collectively: social policy, collective action and the common good. (2019)
Book
SPICKER, P. 2019. Thinking collectively: social policy, collective action and the common good. Bristol: Policy press [online]. Available from: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/thinking-collectively

In this book, well-respected author Paul Spicker lends a complementary voice to his Reclaiming Individualism, reviewing collectivism as a dimension of political discourse. Breaking down his analysis to examine collectivism through substantive, moral... Read More about Thinking collectively: social policy, collective action and the common good..

The welfare state: a general theory. (2000)
Book
SPICKER, P. 2000. The welfare state: a general theory. London: Sage. Hosted on Paul Spicker's blog [online]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/yxl44olq

A major orginal work of social theory, this book presents a distinctive and tightly argued theoretical model for understanding the basis of welfare in society. The author develops a theory of welfare based on a series of basic propositions: that peop... Read More about The welfare state: a general theory..

The poverty of nations: a relational perspective. (2020)
Book
SPICKER, P. 2020. The poverty of nations: a relational perspective. Bristol: Policy Press [online]. Available from: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-poverty-of-nations

In this persuasive study, social welfare and policy expert Paul Spicker makes a case for a relational view of poverty. Poverty is much more than a lack of resources. It involves a complex set of social relationships, such as economic disadvantage, in... Read More about The poverty of nations: a relational perspective..

Poverty: an international glossary. (2007)
Book
SPICKER, P., LEGUIZAMÓN, S.A. and GORDON, D. (eds.) 2007. Poverty: an international glossary. 2nd edition. CROP international studies in poverty research. London: Zed Books [online]. Available from: https://www.crop.org/viewfile.aspx?id=238

This second edition of this highly-successful glossary provides an exhaustive and authoritative guide to over 200 technical terms used in contemporary scholarly research on poverty. It seeks to make researchers, students and policy makers aware of th... Read More about Poverty: an international glossary..

The origins of modern welfare: Juan Luis Vives; on the relief of the poor, or of human need. (2011)
Book
SPICKER, P. (eds.) 2020. The origins of modern welfare: Juan Luis Vives: on the relief of the poor, or of human need. 2020 edition. Oxford: Peter Lang. Hosted on Paul Spicker's blog [online], 1. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/b6tfvka9

This book presents new translations of the earliest known studies in Social Policy. Juan-Luis Vives’s De Subventione Pauperum (On the Relief of the Poor) is an academic report on the organisation of social welfare, prepared for the senate of Bruges a... Read More about The origins of modern welfare: Juan Luis Vives; on the relief of the poor, or of human need..

The origins of modern welfare: city of Ypres, the government of poor relief. (2011)
Book
SPICKER, P. (eds.) 2020. The origins of modern welfare: city of Ypres, the government of poor relief. 2020 edition. Oxford: Peter Lang. Hosted on Paul Spicker's blog [online], 2. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/wzm8vhdc

The two books included in The Origins of Modern Welfare are probably the earliest studies ever written in the field of Social Policy, and among the earliest written about public administration. Social Policy is the study of welfare, policy and admini... Read More about The origins of modern welfare: city of Ypres, the government of poor relief..

Austerity and poverty. (2021)
Book Chapter
SPICKER, P. 2021. Austerity and poverty. In Greve, B. (ed.) Handbook of austerity, populism and the welfare state. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing [online], chapter 10, pages 130-141. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789906745.00016

The ambiguities of the terms 'austerity' and 'poverty' make it difficult to tie down any firm or clear relationship between the two. The idea of 'austerity' is variously used to refer to economic deflation, the reduction of public debt, the retrenchm... Read More about Austerity and poverty..

States and welfare states: government for the people. (2022)
Book
SPICKER, P. 2022. States and welfare states: government for the people. Bristol: Policy Press [online]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.56687/9781447367383

Most governments in the world – including many that are autocratic or authoritarian – have taken responsibility for social policy and elected to develop services in health, education and social security. This book explores the role of government and... Read More about States and welfare states: government for the people..