In this authoritative study, originally published in 1980, R. J. Bennett examines who receives what benefit, where and at what cost, from the social services. He adopts an integrated approach to taxes, benefits and intergovernmental grants, drawing empirical examples from a wide range of countries, including the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and Europe.

****AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**An unthinkable crime. A fatal conspiracy. A suspect without a trace.The heir to one of the Empire's most powerful families sits in jail, accused of murder. His hands are covered in his victim's blood, and he can neither deny his guilt nor explain his actions.If the great detective Ana Dolabra - along with her assistant Dinios Kol - cannot save him, the farming canton of Sa...

'A riveting murder mystery wrapped in a twisty conspiracy' FONDA LEE'A twisty detective story, a weird fantasy, a thrilling adventure' MAX GLADSTONEIn sequel to the Hugo award-winning The Tainted Cup**, an eccentric detective matches wits with a seemingly omniscient adversary in this brilliant bio-punk fantasy mystery.**An impossible crime has occurred. A Treasury officer ha...

**WINNER OF THE 2025 HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL**A peculiar crime. A brilliant investigator. A mystery of epic proportions.In an opulent mansion at the borders of the Empire, an Imperial officer lies dead - killed when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even here, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it's a death at once terrifying and impossible.Called in to solve t...

SCIENCE FICTION Ultimate Box Set gathers more than 170 foundational tales of speculation, catastrophe, discovery, and social transformation. Its immense range moves from lunar voyages, subterranean realms, and lost civilizations to mechanized futures, plague-stricken societies, totalitarian states, and post-apocalyptic survival. Romance, Gothic terror, satire, adventure narrative, philosophical fable, scientific extrapolation, and utopian and dystopian fiction coexist here, revealing scien...

'Robert Jackson Bennett deserves a huge audience' - Brent Weeks, New York Times bestselling author of The Black PrismIn the city of stairs, nothing is as it seems.You've got to be careful when you're chasing a murderer through Bulikov, for the world is not as it should be in that city. When the gods were destroyed and all worship of them banned by the Polis, reality folded; now stairs lead to nowhere, alleyways have become...

Enjoy this meticulously edited SF Collection, jam-packed with space adventures, dystopian apocalyptic tales and the greatest sci-fi classics: H. G. Wells: The Time Machine The War of the Worlds The Island of Doctor Moreau The Invisible Man… Jules Verne: Journey to the Center of the Earth 20.000 Leagues under the Sea The Mysterious Island… Mary Shelley: Frankenstein The Last Man Edgar Wallace: Planetoid 127 The Green Rust… Otis Adelbert Kline: The Venus Trilogy The Mars Series Malcolm James...

Spanning centuries, 'The Greats of Sci-Fi: H.G. Wells Edition' emerges as a seminal anthology that traverses the varied terrains of science fiction. The works selected for this collection not only showcase the inventive richness that characterizes the genre but also illuminate the essential themes of exploration, societal critique, and technological speculation. From the haunting depths of psychological manipulation to the exhilarating realms of interstellar travel, the literary styles var...

e-artnow presents to you the greatest Christmas novels, magical Christmas tales, legends, most famous carols and the unique poetry of the giants of literature dedicated to this one and only holiday: The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry) The Holy Night (Selma Lagerlöf) A Merry Christmas & Other Christmas Stories (Louisa May Alcott) A Letter from Santa Claus (Mark Twain) Silent Night The Night After Christmas The Child Born at Bethlehem The Adoration of the Shepherds The Visit of the Wise Men As J...

SF Boxed Set: 140+ Intergalactic Action Adventures, Dystopian Novels & Lost World Classics encapsulates an extraordinary roster of pioneering works that sculpted the sci-fi landscape. Featuring an assortment that spans from gothic horror to speculative future vistas, the anthology marries the quaint charm of early science fiction with startling prophetic insights. From mysterious, fog-laden landscapes on distant planets to intricate dystopian societies, these tales are varied in style yet ...

The Big Book of Christmas Novels, Stories, Myths & Carols represents a vast tapestry of the Christmas season as portrayed by an extraordinary confluence of authors spanning different continents and centuries. This anthology compiles works ranging from heartwarming tales and profound poems to revelatory myths and spirited carols, each enriching the festive lore with diverse literary styles and perspectives. The collection traverses the scope from Dickens' Victorian England to Andersen's fai...

The Greatest Christmas Novels, Short Stories & Poems in One Volume (Illustrated) gathers a remarkably wide spectrum of seasonal writing, from fireside lyric and moral fable to gothic fantasy, domestic realism, fairy tale, and comic sketch. Its Christmas is not merely sentimental: it is charitable, uncanny, childlike, skeptical, devotional, and socially alert, presenting holiday literature as a major imaginative tradition across genres and nations. The contributors represent an extraordinar...