Are disabled people lagging behind in the development of living conditions? Are more disabled people being excluded from work? There is a growing interest in the study of disabled peoples’ living conditions, in order to uncover social problems, to compare social groups and describe development over time. If a group is shown to fall behind, this will be an important backing of claims for political action. This book presents the present state of the art in this field of research and social reporting. Our concern is not about the need to gather information on disabled peoples’ living conditions, but that research of this kind has been undertaken without due attention to the underlying theory and practice. This also applies to fundamental questions such as: How to define disability? How to take account of a relative or social understanding of disability? Researchers from different countries have been invited to contribute based on their own perspectives and experiences. The book is intended for researchers and students in disability studies, but will be of relevance to all those interested in reporting on the living conditions of disabled people. The ambition with the series ”Social Research on Disability” is to introduce Nordic scientific research oriented towards disability to an international audience. Series Editors are Ove Mallander and Magnus Tideman, senior lecturers at the universities of Malmö and Halmstad, Sweden. Mer information om våra bokserier och övriga böcker inom ämnesområdet finns på webbplatsen Handikapp och funktionshinder.