This book analyzes forces fraying the social fabric of many countries, and the reasons why some Western countries have been more successful than others in addressing these trends. Part 1, "Poverty, Income Inequality, and Labor Market Insecurity: A Comparative Perspective," includes (1) "Markets and States: Poverty Trends and Transfer System Effectiveness in the 1980s" (K. McFate, T. Smeeding, and L. Rainwater); (2) "Poverty and Social-Assistance Dynamics in the United States, Canada, and Europe" (G. Duncan, B. Gustafsson, R. Hauser, G. Schmaus, S. Jenkins, H. Messinger, R. Muffels, B. Nolan, J. Ray, and W. Voges); (3) "A Comparison of Poverty and Living Conditions in the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Germany" (S. Mayer); (4) "Labor Insecurity through Market Regulation: Legacy of the 1980s, Challenge for the 1990s" (G. Standing); and (5) "The Impact of Technological Change, Deindustrialization, and Internationalization of Trade on Earnings Inequality: An International Perspective" (P. Gottschalk and M. Joyce). Part 2, "Changing Family Structures: Public Policy and Lone-Parent Families," includes: (6) "Gender Role and Family Structure Changes in the Advanced Industrialized West: Implications for Social Policy" (S. Kamerman); (7) "French Policies toward Lone Parents: Social Categories and Social Policies" (N. Lefaucheur); (8) "Single Mothers in Sweden: Why is Poverty Less Severe?" (S. Gustafsson); (9) "Lone Parents: The Canadian Experience" (R. Rose); and (10) "Single Mother Families and Social Policy: Lessons for the United States from Canada, France, and Sweden" (S. McLanahan and I. Garfinkel). Part 3, "Youth Labor Market Policies," includes: (11) "Is There a Problem With the Youth Labor Market, and If So, How Should We Fix It?" (P. Osterman); (12) "Apprentice Training in Germany: The Experiences of the 1980s" (B. Casey); (13) "Special Measures to Improve Youth Employment in Italy" (E. Pugliese); and (14) "Postindustrialization and Youth Unemployment: African Americans as Harbingers" (T. Duster). Part 4, "Minorities in Advanced Industrial Countries," includes: (15) "Divergent Destinies: Immigration, Poverty, and Entrepreneurship in the United States" (A. Portes and M. Zhou); (16) "The Impact of Economic Change on Minorities and Migrants in Western Europe" (I. Gordon); (17) "The Comparative Structure and Experience of Urban Exclusion:'Race,' Class, and Space in Chicago and Paris" (L. Wacquant); (18) "Immigration, Marginality, and French Social Policy" (S. Body-Gendrot); (19) "Poverty, Immigration, and Minority Groups: Policies toward Minorities in Great Britain" (C. Brown); and (20) "Ethnic Minorities in the Netherlands" (J. Veenman). Part 5, "The Future of Social Policy," includes: (21) "Trampolines, Safety Nets, or Free Fall? Labor Market Policies and Social Assistance in the 1980s" (K. McFate); (22) "The Social Question" (H. Heclo); and (23) "Poverty, Social Rights, and the Quality of Citizenship" (R. Lawson and W. Wilson). (SM)