Social Welfare Policies, Perspectives and Challenges

Social scientists and philosophers alike have explored well-being and happiness. Well-being has been described as the "ultimate" dependent variable in social science. Well-being is an overall concept that includes a variety of aspects of satisfaction and health, and refers to both global and context-specific evaluations of one's life. However, well-being is elusive for historically marginalized communities, such as the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community. One aspect of well-being is finding meaningful employment where we are treated with dignity and respect. Employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, and bisexual workers remains a significant problem worldwide. This book begins with a discussion on the well-being of sexual minority workers. It also provides an analysis of theoretical and empirical social choices; safety net reconstruction; government preferences, import tariffs and social welfare; and an analysis of the second generation safety nets in Africa.