Drawing upon both conceptual and empirical evidence, this volume argues the case for the centrality of social policy in development, focusing particularly on the message that social policy needs to be closely intertwined with economic policy. It is argued that social policy can provide the crucial link between economic development poverty eradication and equity. This volume is a significant contribution to thinking about social policy in a development context. H-J. CHANG Cambridge University, UK DIANE ELSON University of Essex, UK BEN FINE School for Oriental and African Studies, UK JAYATI GHOSH Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India HUCK-JU KWON UNRISD, Geneva, Switzerland MAUREEN MACKINTOSH Open University, Milton Keynes, UK CARMELO MESA-LAGO University of Pittsburgh, USA GUY MHONE University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa CHRISTOPHER PIERSON University of Nottingham, UK JUDITH TENDLER MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA PAULA TIBANDEBAGE Economic and Social Research Foundation, Tanzania PETER TOWNSEND University of Bristol, UK JUHANA VARTIANEN Labour Institute for Economic Research, Helsinki, Finland LAURENCE WHITEHEAD Nuffield College, University of Oxford, UK