For researchers and lay persons concerned with understanding the predicament of the urban poor, Jordan offers a theorectic approach equalled only by William Julius Wilson's most recent works. Jordan examines human behavior with regard to resource allocation, grouping and survival. Jordan demonstrates that the problems of the poor are exacerbated by the social policies of those who focus more on negative behavior and less on the socioeconomic policies driving the behavior. In conducting a comparative analysis, Jordan is able to show that problems of social exclusion are systemically generated and that the resulting antisocial behavior among the urban poor is to be expected. Finally, in relation to poverty and social exclusion, one can draw conclusions from Jordan's work on what developed free-trade countries should expect in the future.