Reducing Inequality: Addressing the Wicked Problems Across Professions and Disciplines

Recognizing the lack of discussion of income inequality in most social work textbooks, Reducing Inequality: Addressing the Wicked Problems across Professions and Disciplines provides an overview of the potential impact of income inequality on the United States. It examines why the United States is the most unequal industrialized nation, and shares diverse curriculum and research on the topic.

Reducing Inequality places inequality in an international context to demonstrate the very high level of inequality in the United States, and identifies specific problems linked to inequality. It provides historical context to explain the shift between relative equality and relative inequality from the colonial period to the present, and discusses specific ways inequality can be reduced. It identifies strategies for uplifting those impacted by income inequality, and teaches practical skills such as developing policy briefs.

The book can easily be supplemented with readings that customize it to diverse courses. The content and approach make it appropriate for courses in social work, sociology, political science, and economics and sociology. The emphasis on practical skills also makes it a useful addition to classes in urban planning, public policy, and public health.

Bruce Jansson, who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, is the Margaret W. Driscoll/Louise M. Clevenger Professor of Social Policy and Social Administration at the University of Southern California. A prolific author, he has been a contributor to numerous books on social policy and community organization. In addition, Dr. Jansson is the author of several books including Becoming an Effective Policy Advocate and The Reluctant Welfare State: Engaging History to Advance Social Work Practice in Contemporary Society. He has been featured on media platforms such a National Public Radio, and in 2011 was awarded a major grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.