Life-Course Implications of US Public Policy

Janet Wilmoth and Andrew London’s timely collection assembles an impressive cast of social scientists to illuminate how American policies and programs create, perpetuate, or otherwise seek to offset inequalities in distinct periods of life and across the life course. In making these processes more visible, the authors invite us to reimagine policies and programs and intervene into the social world in order to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, and populations.

Richard A. Settersten, Jr., Barbara E. Knudson Endowed Chair and Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University

Life-Course Implications of US Public Policies, edited by Janet Wilmoth and Andrew London, draws attention to the manifold ways life course research and policy can and should inform public policy. Its ten chapters cover rapidly growing societal problems and needs, coupled with markedly insufficient extant policy responses, across a wide range of domains, including food and nutrition, health, housing, and immigration. The selections highlight escalating requirements for innovative programs and policies directed to issues that arise throughout the life course, from juvenile delinquency to long-term care of the elderly and grandparent care work. This comprehensive, highly accessible and engaging collection is a must read for scholars of the life course and for social policy makers.

Jeylan Mortimer, Professor of Sociology, University of Minnesota

This volume is a fantastic intersection between policy, life course concepts, and leading edge theoretical and empirical research. It is both timely and accessible, and therefore highly valuable to a broad range of readers in multiple disciplines across both academic and applied contexts.

Miles G. Taylor, Professor of Sociology, Florida State University