Realizing Rights

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in non-take-up, i.e. the phenomenon whereby people do not receive the benefits to which they are entitled. The book is unique for its broad and international coverage of the issue. It offers a discussion of all the relevant concepts and indicators, a critical analysis of measurement problems and rates and an international review of non-take-up figures. The core of it is a critical discussion of the latest theories and models on the causes of non-take-up, resulting in the presentation of two new models which express the central idea that non-take-up is a multi-level problem. That is, factors influencing non-take-up are not confined to eligible peoples' cognitions, motivations and behaviour, but are present at the levels of scheme structure and administration too. An application of the multi-level approach in the analyses of data from a number of surveys carried out in two major Dutch cities clearly shows how policy makers and administrators are responsible for the problem and not only clients. The book convincingly sets new directions for research as well as for the design and implementation of selective social policies.Oorschot, D. E. is the author of 'Realizing Rights', published 1995 under ISBN 9781859720714 and ISBN 1859720714.