The idea of social capital is increasingly prominent in international, national, and local policy-making and in the social sciences. However, its rapid rise to prominence has not been matched by proper scrutiny of the idea and its consequences. This book provides the first full critical analysis...

The paper examines the process by which men and women finish formal employment. It presents evidence that straightforward retirement is the experience of a diminishing proportion of the population, and explores the implications both for our image of the life-cycle and for social policy.

The paper provides a framework for reviewing developments in thinking about social capital over the last decade and for assessing future prospects. It argues for giving particular value to social capital as a phenomenon (conceptual and empirical) which is most effective when viewed in...