There is a complex set of public policies and associated programs that constitute the social safety net in the United States. In Life-Course Implications of U.S. Public Policies, the authors encourage others to systematically consider the influence of policies and programs on lives, aging, and the life course, and how the consequences might vary by gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, and social class.

The volume aims to foster an appreciation of how policy influences connect and condition the life course. Chapters examine issues relating to health, housing, food security, crime, employment, and care work, amongst other issues, and demonstrate how the principles of the life-course perspective and cumulative inequality theory can be used to inform contemporary public policy debates.

Life-Course Implications of U.S. Public Policies will be a great resource for students of gerontology, sociology, demography, social work, public health and public policy, as well as policy makers, researchers in think tanks, and advocates, who are concerned with age-based policy.

Janet M. Wilmoth is Professor and Chair of Sociology, and Director of the Aging Studies Institute, at Syracuse University. She is affiliated with the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, the Center for Policy Research, and the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion. Her research examines older adult migration, living arrangements, and health status, and explores how military service shapes various life-course outcomes.

Andrew S. London is Associate Dean and Professor of Sociology at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He is affiliated with the Aging Studies Institute, the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, the Center for Policy Research, and the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion. His areas of specialization are in medical sociology, demography, aging and the life course, veterans, families, poverty, and social welfare.