The recent radical cutbacks of the welfare state in the UK have meant that poverty and income management continue to be of great importance for intellectual, public and policy discourse. Written by leading authors in the field, the central interest of this innovative book is the role and significance of family in a context of poverty and low-income. Based on a micro-level study carried out in 2011 and 2012 with 51 families in Northern Ireland, it offers new empirical evidence and a theorisation of the relationship between family life and poverty. Different chapters explore parenting, the management of money, family support and local engagement. By revealing the ordinary and extraordinary practices involved in constructing and managing family and relationships in circumstances of low incomes, the book will appeal to a wide readership, including policy makers.

Mary Daly is Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford. Among the fields in which she has published widely are parenting, poverty, care, gender, family and labour market policies.

Grace Kelly has been a researcher at Queen's University Belfast since 1999. Her main interests and expertise relate to issues of social need and poverty.

Introduction;

Introducing the respondents;

Family life through an economic lens;

The construction, possibilities and limits of family in conditions of poverty and low income;

Parents and their children;

Wider family relationships and support;

Social networks and local engagement;

Representing self and family;

The policy context and implications of the findings;

Conclusion.