Dr James Kaufman
School of Health & Society
Current positions
University Fellow
Biography
I am a social policy researcher with interests in social security, bureaucracy, and the interface between the welfare state and labour market. My research addresses the emerging field of eco-social policy explores how the social security system might support the just transition to sustainable patterns of living and working. Within this I am interested in the role of employment services, universal basic income, and universal basic services. I am also a Co-I on the participatory project Changing Realities, working with parents and carers on low incomes to document their experiences of the benefit system, develop policy recommendations, and push for change. In this context I am particularly interested in alternatives to conditionality, and ways to improve the accessibility and adequacy of existing benefits. Cutting across these different areas of work, I have an interest in issues of power, democracy and accountability in policy making and public services.