Aktivierende Arbeitsmarktpolitik im internationalen Vergleich
"Aktivierung" als zentrales Prinzip der Leistungsgewährung für Langzeitarbeitslose bzw. erwerbsfähige Sozialhilfeempfänger wurde in Deutschland mit der sogenannten "Hartz IV-Reform" eingeführt. Dänemark, Schweden, die Niederlande und Großbritannien haben diesen Schritt bereits früher vollzogen. Dieses Themendossier bietet Literatur zur Ausgestaltung dieser Programme, zu den Zugängen und ihren Effekten auf die Erwerbsintegration und den Abgang aus dem Leistungsbezug.
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Literaturhinweis
Chronic Unemployment: A New Concept for Capturing Weak Labor Market Attachment (2025)
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Aho, Simo, Magnus Jespersen, Regina Konle-Seidl, Rasmus Lind Ravn & Stine Rasmussen (2025): Chronic Unemployment: A New Concept for Capturing Weak Labor Market Attachment. In: Nordic journal of working life studies, S. 1-22. DOI:10.18291/njwls.158790
Abstract
"In this article, we develop, unfold, and explore the concept of ‘chronic unemployment’ to capture a segment that is weakly attached to the labor market because of repeated spells of unemployment, interrupted only by shorter intervals of temporary employment, inactivity, and/or participation in active labor market policy measures (ALMP). We do this to capture this segment more adequately than conventional long-term unemployment statistics. We analyze unemployment trajectories of chronically unemployed individuals across different labor market and welfare regimes over more than 10 years based on longitudinal and comparable register data in Denmark, Germany, and Finland. We find that in these developed welfare states, unemployment of a more chronic character is a much wider problem than what conventional statistics reveal, and that sustainable integration into gainful employment at the open labor market is a distant goal for a considerable share of the group." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The household as a constraint on social assistance: analysing the household-construct in the Netherlands’ parliamentary history on social assistance (2025)
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Brink, Barbara & Maarten Bouwmeester (2025): The household as a constraint on social assistance: analysing the household-construct in the Netherlands’ parliamentary history on social assistance. In: The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Jg. 33, H. 1, S. 71-95. DOI:10.1332/17598273y2024d000000034
Abstract
"The household means test plays an essential role in social assistance schemes worldwide. Consequently, the legal definition of what constitutes a household importantly impacts social outcomes, while also being constantly challenged by the dynamic societal reality of living arrangements. Despite its significance, this ‘household-construct’ has received strikingly little attention among social policy analysts. Our contribution explores this issue through a longitudinal analysis of the household-construct in the Netherlands’ social assistance legislation and parliamentary history. After conceptualising the household means test in view of the literature on targeted and conditional welfare provision, we discuss the importance of demographic developments (diversifying household composition) as a continuous challenge for household means-tested income support. We then provide a longitudinal analysis of the most important legislative changes (and underlying rationales) to the household-notion in the Dutch main social assistance (minimum subsistence) scheme. The results demonstrate that the household means test has gone through considerable alterations over time, largely in response to societal shifts and in recent decades also as an outflow of the welfare conditionality paradigm. At the same time, the fundamental logic of (1) needs-based targeting and (2) needs assessment at the level of household resources (rather than the individual) have remained intact, thereby adhering to the traditional conception of the economic union of marriage and maintenance obligations between partners. The study demonstrates how a systematic examination of legislative documents can provide valuable insights into the complex interrelationships between this specific area of social security policy, the changing social context and social policy paradigms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 PolicyPress) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Employer Engagement with Third-Sector Activation Programmes for Vulnerable Groups: Interrogating Logics and Roles (2025)
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Butler, Peter & Jonathan Payne (2025): Employer Engagement with Third-Sector Activation Programmes for Vulnerable Groups: Interrogating Logics and Roles. In: Journal of Social Policy, Jg. 54, H. 2, S. 632-650. DOI:10.1017/S0047279423000211
Abstract
"Employer engagement with active labor market programs (ALMPs) and related employability projects is seen as vital to their ‘success’. However, the role of employers remains under-researched – a gap which widens in relation to non-governmental programs led by not-for-profit, third-sector organizations (TSOs). Recent studies suggest that engaging employers may depend on addressing both human resource (HR) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) ‘logics’ and linking the roles of ‘gatekeeper to jobs’ and ‘proactive strategic partner’. A key question is whether TSO-led programs are better placed to combine these logics and roles in engaging employers to help vulnerable groups into decent sustainable employment. The article explores this through a case study of two projects in England. The findings highlight the challenges that TSOs face in having to appeal almost exclusively to a CSR logic and explores why this is the case." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Can labor policies reduce precarization? The case of youth employment in Italy (2025)
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Caravaggio, Nicola (2025): Can labor policies reduce precarization? The case of youth employment in Italy. In: Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Jg. 75, S. 163-187. DOI:10.1016/j.strueco.2025.06.003
Abstract
"The so-called Dignity Decree (DD), which came into force in summer 2018, represents one of the most significant legislative interventions in employment protection within the Italian labor market. This study examines the role of DD in shaping the career paths of young workers (aged 15-29) who recently entered the labor market. Specifically, we focus on their probability of being employed one year or more after the reform’s implementation and their likelihood of securing an open-ended contract within the same time frames. The analysis relies on an exclusive database of Compulsory Communications data and employs a Propensity Score Matching estimation. The findings suggest a modest improvement in the persistence of the labor market, with the probability of remaining employed increasing by approximately 1.5% one year after DD implementation. The result is more evident for open-ended contracts, with the probability of being employed in a permanent position rising to almost 4.5% after one year and half. Additionally, the DD is associated with a slight reduction in the number of contract activations and an increase in working days, reaching an additional 11 days 1.5 years after the reform’s introduction." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Trauma‐Informed Practice in Welfare‐to‐Work and Employment Services: A Scoping Review (2025)
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Corbett, Emily, Michael McGann, Mark Considine & René Rejón (2025): Trauma‐Informed Practice in Welfare‐to‐Work and Employment Services: A Scoping Review. In: Australian journal of social issues. DOI:10.1002/ajs4.70015
Abstract
"There is increasing recognition within welfare services, including employment services, that many participants may have histories of trauma. Research suggests that experiences of trauma not only impact individuals' psychosocial health but also vocational elements such as job performance, employability, career progression, and financial security. Yet, there is a notable lack of research detailing effective strategies for the delivery of trauma-informed employment services nor is there a well-established, empirically-tested model designed to assist such disadvantaged jobseekers in achieving long-term employment. This scoping review examines what is known regarding trauma-informed models within employment service delivery and social security systems, with a view to directing future research, practice, and policy recommendations. A total of 596 articles were identified through a comprehensive search across social science databases; 14 articles met the criteria and were included in this review. The study found that out of the articles examined, half (n = 7) were primarily theoretical in design. There was a significant lack of empirical evidence concerning the outcomes of trauma-informed employment services, including participants' experiences." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Work Hazards and Social Class among ‘successful’ ALMP-Participants in Norway (2025)
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Dahl, Espen, Kjetil A. van der Wel, Åsmund Hermansen & Magne Bråthen (2025): Work Hazards and Social Class among ‘successful’ ALMP-Participants in Norway. In: Journal of Comparative Social Work, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 89-119. DOI:10.31265/jcsw.v19i2.664
Abstract
"Background and research question. Studies of the outcomes of participation in Active Labor Market Programs (ALMP) focus primarily on employment status or earnings. Few studies address the social class and work environment that “successful ” ALMP-participants transit to. Little is also known about whether participation in different types of ALMPs leads to different social classes and work environments. This is unfortunate since many ALMP participants have health challenges and reduced work ability and thus are particularly susceptible to poor working conditions. Data and methods: Using Norwegian register data, we examined social class and exposure to hazardous working conditions, measured by a Mechanical Job Exposure Matrix and a Psychosocial Job Exposure Matrix, that characterized the jobs of “successful” ALMP participants, compared with the general work force. Results: We found that both mechanical and psychosocial job exposures in male ALMP-participants were higher than those of the general work force. For female participants, mechanical exposures were higher than the average level in the general work force, while psychosocial exposures were lower. Further, job exposures differed by ALMP type, but after adjustment for age, education and social class, only negligible differences in job exposures between ALMP types remained. Social class contributed to variation in both mechanical and psychosocial job exposures, most for mechanical exposures among male participants, and least for psychosocial exposures among female participants. Conclusion: Compared with the general working population, former ALMP participants, regardless of what type of programs they participated in, entered lower social classes and tended to face more hazardous work environment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Statistical Profiling as a Targeting Tool: Can It Enhance the Efficiency of Active Labor Market Policies? (2025)
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Eppel, Rainer, Ulrike Huemer, Helmut Mahringer & Lukas Schmoigl (2025): Statistical Profiling as a Targeting Tool: Can It Enhance the Efficiency of Active Labor Market Policies? (WIFO working papers 694), Wien, 33 S.
Abstract
"Digitization has spurred interest in the potential of statistical profiling to improve the targeting of active labor market policies. Despite growing adoption, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of such profiling in program allocation is scarce. We evaluate a semi-automated statistical profiling model in Austria that aims to target policies based on predicted reemployment prospects (low, medium, high). Our analysis shows that a reallocation of resources from low-chance to medium-chance segments, as envisaged by the Public Employment Service, would not yield the desired efficiency gains. Employment programs have a stronger impact on jobseekers with low job prospects than on those with medium prospects, and training programs are not consistently less effective in the low-chance segment either. Our findings suggest that the focus should remain on the most disadvantaged, both from an efficiency and an equity perspective. They caution against relying on overly coarse profiling and stress the need for nuanced targeting strategies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Work inclusion of marginalized groups in a troubled city district - How can active labor market policies improve? (2025)
Frøyland, Kjetil ; Bull, Helen ; Lystad, June Ullevoldsæter ; Skarpaas, Lisebet Skeie ; Spjelkavik, Øystein ; Berget, Gerd ;Zitatform
Frøyland, Kjetil, Helen Bull, Lisebet Skeie Skarpaas, Gerd Berget, Øystein Spjelkavik & June Ullevoldsæter Lystad (2025): Work inclusion of marginalized groups in a troubled city district - How can active labor market policies improve? In: Social Policy and Administration, Jg. 59, H. 3, S. 588-601. DOI:10.1111/spol.13058
Abstract
"Active labor market policies (ALMP) have faced challenges in integrating marginalised groups into the workforce. This study explores perceptions among managers and frontline workers on enhancing work inclusion for neurodiverse citizens, marginalized youth, and individuals suffering from mental health or substance use disorders in a troubled city district. An examination of dialogue conferences and group interviews uncovers problems with current practises, attitudes, and service organisation. The proposed local solutions primarily include improved coordination of support and services, as well as enhanced competence within these services. Our results indicate that co-creation at the system, organization, and individual levels, coupled with expanded knowledge translation, can mobilise local actors to create new or adopt existing knowledge-based strategies. Therefore, local co-creation presents a potential for developing local inclusion strategies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The post-socialist neoliberal agenda through the prism of Europeanization in social and labour market policy (2025)
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Guardiancich, Igor & Eugenio Borgognoni (2025): The post-socialist neoliberal agenda through the prism of Europeanization in social and labour market policy. In: Journal of European Social Policy. DOI:10.1177/09589287251331577
Abstract
"In post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the European Commission acted as an advocate of social and labour market policy change, promoting an almost ideal-typical neoliberal agenda, whose central tenets were fiscal sustainability in pensions and internal devaluation in wage setting. Related country-specific recommendations and their routine reviews, however, show not only the Commission’s preferences in the two policy fields, but also its perception of the liberal credentials of the targeted countries. Exploiting such a methodological innovation, the article investigates the extent and reasons for the variation in the EU’s recommendations and evaluations. These reveal that whereas in wage setting deregulation and decentralization predominate, CEE pension systems, despite rounds of avantgardist reforms, are replete with inherited path-dependent elements; the divergence possibly explained by the power resources of those interest groups defending the socialist or early transition status quo. The considerable consistency across countries at the level of individual policy fields, coupled with variation in the adherence to neoliberal principles, neatly dovetails with the literature that emphasizes capitalist and/or welfare regime diversity within a circumscribed liberal-oriented range." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The Influence of a Health Promotion Program on Health and Paid Employment Among Long-Term Non-employed Individuals in the Netherlands (2025)
Hijdra, Roos W.; Schuring, Merel ; Kalken, Marike van; de Zeeuw, Stijn; Burdorf, Alex ; Dijkstra, Arie;Zitatform
Hijdra, Roos W., Marike van Kalken, Stijn de Zeeuw, Arie Dijkstra, Alex Burdorf & Merel Schuring (2025): The Influence of a Health Promotion Program on Health and Paid Employment Among Long-Term Non-employed Individuals in the Netherlands. In: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, S. 1-10. DOI:10.1007/s10926-025-10290-7
Abstract
"Purpose: Long-term unemployment is accompanied by worse health, making it challenging to enter paid employment. This study aims to investigate effects of a health promotion program on physical and mental health, work ability, and entering paid employment among long-term non-employed individuals. Methods: In a longitudinal study, Exercise Works participants (N = 208) and a treatment-as-usual group (N = 117) were followed with measurements at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months. The Exercise Works program is a health promotion program that lasts 12 to 18 weeks. It consists of individual- and group-based physical exercises, lifestyle education, and individual coaching for two half days per week. A generalized linear mixed model for repeated measurements was used to investigate changes within individuals in health status, employment participation, and work ability during the Exercise Works program in comparison to the control group. Subgroup analyses were performed based on socio-demographic characteristics and a per protocol analysis. Interviews with 20 participants and 21 professionals were conducted. Results: This study demonstrated no significant improvements in physical and mental health, work ability and being in paid employment participation among participants of Exercise Works compared to the control group. Participants and professionals had a very positive impression of the Exercise Works program. Conclusion: Despite the Exercise Works program being positively received, the effect evaluation did not demonstrate its effectiveness. Complex problems of non-employed persons should be addressed when developing a health promotion program." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Profiles Among Women Without a Paid Job and Social Benefits: An Intersectional Perspective Using Dutch Population Register Data (2025)
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Kröner, Lea, Deni Mazrekaj, Tanja van der Lippe & Anne‐Rigt Poortman (2025): Profiles Among Women Without a Paid Job and Social Benefits: An Intersectional Perspective Using Dutch Population Register Data. In: Social Policy and Administration, Jg. 59, H. 5, S. 717-728. DOI:10.1111/spol.13080
Abstract
"Despite their potential vulnerability and untapped work potential, research on the group of women without a paid job and social benefits is limited. This study is the first to identify profiles among women in this group based on their intersecting economic, sociodemographic and contextual characteristics. A cluster analysis conducted on Dutch population register data from 2019 challenges previous research that lumped women without a paid job and social benefits into a single group. Rather, we reveal three distinct profiles: ‘Dutch empty nesters (i.e., mothers with adult children) in affluent households’, ‘Migrant women in urban living areas’ and ‘Dutch, educated mothers with affluent partners’. The identification of these three profiles can mark a significant step in developing tailored active labour market policies for women without a paid job and social benefits." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Monetary work-incentives within the Austrian tax and benefit system (2025)
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Kucsera, Dénes, Hanno Lorenz & Wolfgang Nagl (2025): Monetary work-incentives within the Austrian tax and benefit system. In: Empirica, Jg. 52, H. 1, S. 39-62. DOI:10.1007/s10663-024-09632-0
Abstract
"This paper analyses incentives to take up work or to increase working hours within the Austrian tax and benefit system. We analyze the monetary work incentives for a variety of family constellations (singles, single parents, families with children) with different incomes from dependent employment, when receiving unemployment benefits, and in the system of means-tested minimum income. Moreover, the effect of different earning ceilings (childcare and unemployment) and childcare costs is additionally investigated. Insufficient and, therefore, privately provided childcare is viewed as a missing component of the benefit system. The Austrian tax and benefit system is designed to be incentive-compatible for singles. Only marginal employment without deductions in the event of unemployment creates a negative incentive to expand employment beyond this extent. However, raising children creates negative monetary incentives. On the one hand, through the upper limits on additional earnings during times of childcare allowance, but especially when childcare costs arise." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Do Financial Incentives for Training and Caseworker Meetings Enhance Re-employment? (2025)
Kyyrä, Tomi; Verho, Jouko;Zitatform
Kyyrä, Tomi & Jouko Verho (2025): Do Financial Incentives for Training and Caseworker Meetings Enhance Re-employment? (VATT working papers / Valtion Taloudellinen Tutkimuskeskus (Helsinki) 175), Helsinki, 39 S.
Abstract
"In 2005, displaced workers in Finland with at least three years of work history were given the option to enroll in a Re-employment Program. Participants met with a caseworker at the beginning of their unemployment and drafted an employment plan. In return, they became eligible for higher benefits for four weeks, as well as for the duration of individually targeted training programs specified in their plan. The program aimed to provide early counseling, encourage participation in labor market training, and improve matches between training programs and job seekers. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we show that the program increased caseworker meetings and participation in training programs but had no effect on unemployment duration in the short run or employment in the longer run. The effect on training participation was particularly strong for men, older workers and low-skilled workers, yet unemployment and employment effects were equally disappointing across all subgroups." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Iterations of work inclusion beyond the standard service: Personalized welfare services in the era of activation and innovation (2025)
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Lundberg, Kjetil G., Suzan M. Skjold, Arnhild Melve & Astrid O. Sundsbø (2025): Iterations of work inclusion beyond the standard service. Personalized welfare services in the era of activation and innovation. In: Journal of Comparative Social Work, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 63-88. DOI:10.31265/jcsw.v19i2.663
Abstract
"Employment services are repeatedly criticised for building barriers to service user participation and decent employment due to combinations of conditionality, bureaucratic logics, high caseloads and scarce resources. However, a range of newer service approaches recognise some of these shortcomings, and aim for personalization, service coordination, and/or increased connection to employers. In this article, we compare four programmes and their key worker roles, implemented in Norwegian postreform welfare and employment services (NAV) in the 2010s, as iterations of work inclusion beyond the standard follow-up service. These approaches are sensitive to gaps in the current service system, and they invest in the relationship between the professional worker and the service user, working both within and beyond social work approaches. Situated in the broader research literature on activation, personalisation and street-level organizations, we provide an analysis of how these approaches go beyond “business as usual” through strengthened key worker roles. We argue that the relational work approach adopted in these measures has the potential to foster the participation of service users, and to smoothen and sometimes tone down the conditional aspects of services, but that different organisational demands and accountability mechanisms produce a different space of action for key workers and users to shape the path towards labour and social inclusion." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Two faces of activation attitudes. Explaining citizens' diverging views on demanding versus enabling activation policies (2025)
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Meuleman, Bart, Arno Van Hootegem, Federica Rossetti & Koen Abts (2025): Two faces of activation attitudes. Explaining citizens' diverging views on demanding versus enabling activation policies. In: Social Policy and Administration, Jg. 59, H. 1, S. 174-191. DOI:10.1111/spol.13055
Abstract
"This study examines public attitudes towards two types of ALMPs: enabling activation, which prioritises training, skill formation, and human capital improvement; and demanding activation, which involves leading people towards employment through sanctions and benefit cuts. While previous research has predominantly focused on demanding activation, this study is the first to compare public support for the two distinct faces of activation. Analyzing data from the 2020 Belgian National Elections Study, we examine the role of self-interest, political ideology, social justice preferences, and stereotypical images towards the unemployed in explaining both types of activation attitudes. We find that attitudes towards enabling and demanding activation policies are clearly distinct in their measurement and driving forces. While the enabling type appeals especially to the principle of equality and positive attitudes towards the unemployed, support for demanding ALMPs is based on the principle of equity and stereotypical views about the jobless." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
What the street level can teach us about the social investment state – Insights from encounters between caseworkers and vulnerable unemployed clients in Denmark (2025)
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Nielsen, Mathias Herup (2025): What the street level can teach us about the social investment state – Insights from encounters between caseworkers and vulnerable unemployed clients in Denmark. In: Acta sociologica, S. 1-12. DOI:10.1177/00016993251349015
Abstract
"This article offers a street-level perspective to the ongoing scholarly discussions over the social investment state. Hitherto, the social investment state literature has been dominated by macro-level studies, while evidence from street-level caseworker–client encounters is very rare. As one of few to provide such evidence, this article analyses how frontline public officials adapt to social investment thinking as they process the cases of some of the most vulnerable people in the Danish society: hard-to-employ unemployed persons in job centres. Based on focus group discussions with 78 public officials of Danish job centers, this article examines what challenges street-level workers face in practice as they are expected to conduct their work in accordance with social investment thinking. It concludes (a) that adding a street-level component to the social investment literature is needed, because it emphasizes the importance of studying ‘how’ social investment policies are delivered; (b) that caseworkers under the canopy of social investment logics face a distinct set of challenges; and (c) that a street-level perspective can shed new light on some of the main assumptions of the social investment literature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
"I feel good here": A qualitative study on subsidised employment in a Swedish municipal labour market programme (2025)
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Parsland, Ellen & Gabriella Scaramuzzino (2025): "I feel good here". A qualitative study on subsidised employment in a Swedish municipal labour market programme. In: Journal of Comparative Social Work, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 38-62. DOI:10.31265/jcsw.v19i2.657
Abstract
"The aim of this article is to understand how a group of subsidized employees constructed a collective identity and symbolic community, and the role the municipal labor market programme played in that process. Further, it explores whether and how a shared collective identity and symbolic community may provide an explanation for how the ‘successful intervention/lock-in effect paradox’ occurs when using subsidized employment as an activation intervention. The article is based on a qualitative interview study with eight social workers and 11 subsidized employees from a Swedish municipal labour market program that offered subsidised employment as its main intervention. The interviews were analysed using the concepts of social identity and symbolic community. The article shows that subsidized employment plays a crucial role in subsidised employees constructing their identity as ‘persons with a job’, as distinct from the activation interventions usually associated with social assistance. The labor market programme serves as a transformative space where receiving a salary becomes a symbol of distinction, marking a significant departure from past experiences of receiving social assistance. The article also highlights the role of social workers in subsidised employees’ identity processes. The social workers perceived the subsidised employees as participants with special needs, and subsidiszd employment as an intervention which could influence the planning and support provided during the subsidized employment. The collective identity developed by the participants fostered a sense of community, but also led to reluctance to leave the program, driven by the fear of reverting to social assistance, and once again being excluded from the labor market. The article concludes that the subsidized employees risked getting stuck in a borderland between work exclusion and work inclusion and, therefore, that subsidised employment can potentially place participants in a state of ‘marginalised inclusion’ in the labor market, instead of supporting participants into regular employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The Limits of the Possible: Third Sector Employability Support for Vulnerable Users and the Challenge of Job Quality (2025)
Zitatform
Payne, Jonathan, Jonathan Rose & Peter Butler (2025): The Limits of the Possible: Third Sector Employability Support for Vulnerable Users and the Challenge of Job Quality. In: Social Policy and Administration, S. 1-11. DOI:10.1111/spol.13162
Abstract
"Many third-sector organizations (TSOs) deliver employability support for vulnerable groups, but can they address the quality of jobs their users enter? The question is timely in the UK, given structural constraints presented by its neoliberal labor market/welfare regime and the recently elected Labor Government's aim of moving job centers towards a supportive approach focused on ‘good work’. An interesting comparison emerges with Scotland, where ‘fair work’ is more established in policy. Drawing upon third-sector literature, we develop an analytical framework for exploring TSOs' engagement with job quality, centered around framing suitable employment/employ , shaping user choices and shaping employer practice . Using surveys and interviews with TSO managers in England and Scotland, we find TSOs can adopt different strategies and that Scotland's approach may make a difference, underscoring the role of policy paradigms and power in structuring the limits of possibility." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Activation, Work and Well‐Being: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications (2025)
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Whitworth, Adam (2025): Activation, Work and Well‐Being: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications. In: Social Policy and Administration. DOI:10.1111/spol.13120
Abstract
"Despite the centrality of activation, paid work and well-being to advanced welfare systems their inter-relationships remain fragmented and underdeveloped in scholarship and policy. The present article makes original contributions to theory, evidence and policy in this context. Theoretically the article presents the two alternative accounts of these relationships and argues for their integration into a single framework. Empirically, path analyses within multivariate structural equation models examine this novel integrated theorization quantitatively for the first time in the literature using the policy case study of a UK-based voluntary Individual Placement and Support (IPS) activation program for people with substance misuse issues. The findings support our integrated theoretical framework and highlight the direct importance of activation programs to client well-being through programme participation alongside their indirect well-being importance through the well-being effects of resulting paid work transitions. The well-being implications for policy and practice are significant and further research is needed to further develop our understanding of how different activation approaches affect well-being both directly and through its shaping of differing employment types and trajectories." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Deemed as ‘Distant’: Categorizing Unemployment in Sweden’s Evolving Welfare Landscape (2025)
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Östling, Maja (2025): Deemed as ‘Distant’: Categorizing Unemployment in Sweden’s Evolving Welfare Landscape. In: Social Sciences, Jg. 14, H. 3. DOI:10.3390/socsci14030129
Abstract
"Over the past 30 years, Swedish labor market politics has swayed towards stronger workfare tendencies, emphasizing activation requirements for unemployed individuals to access welfare benefits. This process aligns with broader neoliberal reforms, fostering an individualistic view of unemployment characterized by personal responsibility for employability. In 2023, the Swedish Public Employment Service (PES) published a report addressing the needs of and solutions for long-term unemployed individuals ‘distant from the labor market’ (Sw. personer långt från arbetsmarknaden), marking the first formal use of this term as the main adhesive category in a political document. This paper examines the construction of the subject position ‘distant from the labor market’, investigating how it delineates and differentiates subgroups within the unemployed population, how this subgroup is understood in relation to other actors, and how discursive frameworks imbue this category with various meanings. Lastly, the paper discusses the categorization in relation to the current developments in the Swedish welfare system, arguing that the formalization of this category should be understood in relation to parallel political processes, such as proposals for a duty of activity for the unemployed, suggesting how this points to a way forward defined by neoliberal tendencies and welfare conditionality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))