Incentive-based policies may not be appropriate for disadvantaged young people, according to a literature review carried out for the Social Exclusion Unit. The report, compiled by Gill Jones, retired professor of sociology in the School of Social Relations at Keele University, aims to inform policy development by interpreting the thinking and behaviour of young adults. It says policies based on incentives, such as the educational maintenance allowance, assume finance is the only barrier to engagement. In fact, says the report, external factors such as the local labour and housing market may provide barriers. The report states: "Damage can be caused...