Poverty as human contestibility failure proposes an alternative framework for poverty analysis and identifies poverty as a situation of human contestibility failure. The nature and causes of poverty are numerous and no doubt vary considerably between communities and over time. This book argues that poverty is not just a matter of low income, but is a 'situation of human contestibility failure that prevents individuals, families and groups to fully participate in society'. Further ' a person's ability to 'compete' in the society is ... a function of that person's capabilities and command over resources'. A major element in the judgement as to whether someone is poor comes from measuring their current income (and hence their immediate command over resources). But the ability to 'compete' in society is also linked (and perhaps increasingly linked) with skills, training and education. The lack of skills is a major handicap in competing in the labour market, thereby generating low income; but low income itself is a barrier to the aquisition of skills and eductaion. The detailed investigation into poverty amongst the South Asian communities of the United Kingdom provides much food for thought, and should be of particular interest to anyone concerned with the levels of poverty and inequality in the UK and anyone interested in the position of ethnic minorities in British society. The approach of the book is textual, analytical and empirical.