Bouncing back? Recession, resilience and everyday lives. (February 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Harrison, Elizabeth
• Is Part Of: Critical social policy. Volume 33:Number 1(2013)
• Page Start: 97
• Page End: 113
• Publication Date: 2013-02
• Subjects: economic crisis -- gender -- poverty -- UK; Welfare economics -- Periodicals; Socialism -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Social policy -- 1979- -- Periodicals; 361.94105
• DOI: 10.1177/0261018312439365
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0261-0183

Abstract

This paper critically engages with a recent shift towards an emphasis on 'resilience' in policy and academic fields. The paper suggests that this shift is problematic for several reasons: that it supports normative value judgements; that it may overemphasize the ability of people to 'bounce back' and undervalue the hidden costs of resilience, especially those with gendered dimensions; and that it may be associated with policy prescriptions that shift responsibility for dealing with crisis away from the public sphere. The empirical illustration for this analysis is a qualitative study of the impact of economic decline in the Sussex town of Newhaven.