Social policy

Social policy is a term which is applied to various areas of policy, usually within a governmental or political setting (such as the welfare state and study of social services).

It can refer to guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare, such as a person's quality of life. The Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics defines social policy as "an interdisciplinary and applied subject concerned with the analysis of societies' responses to social need", which seeks to foster in its students a capacity to understand theory and evidence drawn from a wide range of social science disciplines, including economics, sociology, psychology, geography, history, law, philosophy and political science. The Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard University describes social policy as "public policy and practice in the areas of health care, human services, criminal justice, inequality, education, and labor". Social policy might also be described as actions that affect the well-being of members of a society through shaping the distribution of and access to goods and resources in that society. Social policy often deals with wicked problems.

The discussion of "social policy" in the United States and Canada can also apply to governmental policy on social issues such as tackling racism,LGBT issues (such as same-sex marriage) and the legal status of abortion,guns,euthanasia,recreational drugs and prostitution.

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