ABSTRACT

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.

chapter 1|16 pages

An Introduction to Life-Course Perspectives on Public Policies

ByJanet M. Wilmoth, Andrew S. London

chapter 2|14 pages

Process, Policy, and Unintended Consequences

The Life-Course Patterning of Cumulative (Dis)advantage
ByDale Dannefer, Chengming Han

chapter 3|10 pages

Structural Sexism and Life-Course Health

Implications for Public Policy
ByPatricia Homan

chapter 4|11 pages

Wealth Policy as Health Policy

A Population Aging and Racial Equity Perspective
ByCourtney Boen

chapter 5|12 pages

Understanding the Role of Housing Policy in Life-Course Health

HUD Rental Assistance and Health Outcomes for Children and Adults
ByAndrew Fenelon

chapter 6|10 pages

U.S. Food and Nutrition Policy Across the Life Course

ByColleen M. Heflin

chapter 7|13 pages

Crime and Delinquency Over the Life Course

Adolescence, Peers, and Policy
ByJason P. Robey, Michael Massoglia

chapter 9|14 pages

The Future of Long-Term Care in the Latino Population

Where Will the Burden Fall?
ByJacqueline L. Angel, Sunshine M. Rote

chapter 10|10 pages

How Social Policies Affect Grandparent Care Work

ByMadonna Harrington Meyer, Amra Kandic

chapter 11|13 pages

Social Policies for Older Workers

ByDebra Street, Áine Ní Léime