About the Book
Following the 2007-08 global financial crisis, Western nations engaged a variety of measures that departed quite dramatically from conventional neoliberal wisdom. However, these policies were quickly succeeded by what we now call "austerity" measures. This collection engages with the question: Is there something new in this era of austerity, or should this be understood as a continuation and intensification of earlier forms of neoliberalism? Finally, Jim Stanford's afterword probes to the heart of the question of why austerity in the first place.
About the Author: Donna Baines holds the Chair in Social Work and Policy Studies and is a Professor at the University of Sydney, Australia. Prior to this appointment, she taught labour studies and social work for 15 years at McMaster University. In 2006-07, she was Visiting Scholar, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Donna's teaching interests include social movements and advocacy, social policy, globalization and restructuring and social justice. Her research interests focus on the impact of restructuring on work in the human services, particularly in the social services; race, class, and gender in everyday social service work; social services work and unions; caring labour; radical social work practice and theory including feminist social work; gendered and racialized impacts of restructuring work, particularly in the social services; anti-racist social work; post modern social work; women and social policy; and structural social work. Donna has published extensively, in a wide variety of areas, including restructuring, health and safety, bullying, the organization of work for social workers, and social service public policy. Her articles have appeared in Social Work, Journal of Health and Safety, Women and Work, Australian Social Work, Social Justice and Studies in Political Economy, among several other journals. Donna is also editor of Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice. Building Transformative, Politicized Social Work. Donna is also a board member of Ferncliff Daycare and After School Programme, as well as a member in Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work, Progressive Economics Forum, Society for Socialist Studies, National Activist School Planning Project and Flying Flamingo Sisters.
