Integrating archival and documentary materials with an analysis of the sources of political support for work-welfare programmes, this work examines the reasons behind the lack of effective training and work programmes for the unemployed in Great Britain and the United States.

Why have both Great Britain and the United States been unable to create effective training and work programmes for the unemployed? Desmond King contends that the answer lies in the liberal political origins of these programmes. Integrating archival and documentary materials with an analysis of the sources of political support for work-welfare programmes, King shows that policy-makers in both Great Britain and the United States have tried to achieve conflicting goals through these programmes. The goal of work-welfare policy in both countries has been to provide financial aid, training and placement services for the unemployed. In order to muster support for these programmes, however, work-welfare programmes had to incorporate liberal requirements that they not interfere with private market forces and that they prevent the "undeserving" from obtaining benefits. For King, the attempt to integrate these incompatible functions is the defining feature of British and American policies as well as the cause of their failure.

Acknowledgments Introduction Ch. 1: Work-Welfare in Great Britain and the United States Ch. 2: "A Permanent Club for the Unemployed"? Establishing Labor Exchanges in Great Britain and the United States Ch. 3: "Financial Succour for the Unemployed"? The Institutionalization of British and American Exchanges Ch. 4: "A Cheap Pool of Forced Labor"? Work-Welfare Training Policy Ch. 5: Breaking the "Spider's Web of Dependency": The Pyrrhic Triumph of Modern Work-Welfare Ch. 6: Conclusion: The Politics of Institutions Appendix: Comparative Tables on Work-Welfare Notes Bibliography