Atkinson became first interested in economics because of his experiences in Hamburg of the 1960s, but also credited the book 'The Poor and the Poorest', by Brian Abel-Smith and Peter Townsend, as having a large influence on his career goals. He was impressed by this account of poverty. At the same time he 'felt that it did not address what to do about the problem'. This motivated him to provide this missing piece and he published his answer in 'Poverty in Britain and the Reform of Social Security' in 1969.