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Villanueva, Ernesto & Effrosyni Adamopoulou (2022): Employment and wage effects of extending collective bargaining agreements. Sectoral collective contracts reduce inequality but may lead to job losses among workers with earnings close to the wage floors. (IZA world of labor 136), Bonn, 12 S. DOI:10.15185/izawol.136.v2

Abstract

"Der Gesamteffekt der Allgemeinverbindlichkeit von Tarifverträgen hängt davon ab, wie viele Arbeitsplätze aufgrund der tariflich geregelten Lohnuntergrenzen und sonstigen Arbeitsbedingungen abgebaut werden. Um die Auswirkungen auf Löhne und Beschäftigung bewerten zu können, müssen Informationen über Tarifverträge mit Längsschnittdaten zu Arbeitgebern und Arbeitnehmern verknüpft werden. Neue Erkenntnisse der Forschung zeigen, dass negative Effekte meist auf Arbeitnehmer mit Verdiensten in der Nähe der Mindestlöhne beschränkt sind. Öffnungsklauseln und Repräsentativitätserfordernisse können dem entgegenwirken." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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(2022): Employment and Social Developments in Europe - Quarterly Review October 2022. (Employment and social developments in Europe : quarterly review), Luxembourg, 23 S.

Abstract

"The October 2022 edition of the Employment and Social Developments Quarterly Review presents and discusses data that was mostly collected in the first half of 2022 and made available in the weeks ahead of publication of this review. The Russian unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that started on 24 February 2022 has caused immense human suffering, significantly disrupted global supply chains, and led to a dramatic rise of energy prices and an increase in inflation. This has caused an increase in the uncertainty for economic operators, worsening their expectations for future economic growth and employment. The thematic section of this review analyses the impact of rising prices on households in the EU." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"The European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) provides financial support to promote a high level of quality and sustainable employment, guarantee adequate and decent social protection, combat social exclusion and poverty, and improve working conditions across the EU. With a view to the regular monitoring of the programme, the EaSI Regulation foresees that ‘the Commission shall draw up an initial qualitative and quantitative monitoring reports covering consecutive two-year periods. This is the fourth EaSI Performance Monitoring Report presenting the results achieved by the programme in 2019-2020. It focuses on the products (outputs) delivered by the programme and the benefits they brought in 2019-2020. Over the period 2019 and 2020, the Commission committed more than EUR 255 million towards implementation of the programme’s activities." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Although men and women are typically taxed under the same rules, their different social and economic characteristics (e.g. income levels or labour force participation) mean that the tax system can inadvertently contribute to gender inequalities in society. Understanding and improving the impact of taxes on gender equality is a key dimension that governments need to consider as part of tax design to support inclusive growth. This report provides the first cross-country overview of governments' approaches to tax policy and gender, including reforms undertaken to date and potential areas of explicit and implicit gender bias. Covering 43 countries, it also explores the extent to which governments take into account gender implications in policy development, gender considerations in tax administration and compliance, and the availability and use of gender-disaggregated data. Finally, it also discusses priorities for further work on tax policy and gender issues." (Author's abstract, © 2022 OECD) ((en))

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Bagger, Jesper, Espen R. Moen & Rune Majlund Vejlin (2021): Equilibrium Worker-Firm Allocations and the Deadweight Losses of Taxation. (IZA discussion paper 14865), Bonn, 57 S.

Abstract

"We analyse the deadweight losses of tax-induced labor misallocation in an equilibrium model of the labour market where workers search to climb a job ladder and firms post vacancies. Workers differ in abilities. Jobs differ in productivities and amenities. A planner uses affine tax functions to finance lump-sum transfers to all workers and unemployment benefits. The competitive search equilibrium maximizes after-tax utility subject to resource constraints and the tax policy. A higher tax rate distorts search effort, job ranking and vacancy creation. Distortions vary on the job ladder, but always result in deadweight losses. We calibrate the model using matched employer-employee data from Denmark. The marginal deadweight loss is 33 percent of the tax base, and primarily arise from distorted search effort and vacancy creation. Steeply rising deadweight losses from distorted vacancy creation imply that the deadweight loss in the calibrated economy exceeds those incurred by very inequality averse social planners." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bhaumik, Sumon Kumar, Richard Frensch & Stephan Huber (2021): Political economy of labor market institutions in a globalised era. (IOS working papers 391), Regensburg, 29 S.

Abstract

"The paper extends the literature on the political economy of labor market institutions by developing a framework in which owners of capital can benefit from both greater labor market flexibility and better rule of law. Their choice of location of manufacturing centres can, therefore, by influenced both by reduction in expropriation that is associated with better rule of law and greater bargaining power vis-à-vis workers by way of greater labor market flexibility. It follows that where owners of capital are better placed to influence government choices of these institutions, labor market flexibility is influenced by both labor market institutions intensity of exports and as well as rule of law intensity of exports. These predictions are borne out by a cross-country empirical analysis." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cairo, Sofie & Robert Mahlstedt (2021): Transparency of the Welfare System and Labor Market Outcomes of Unemployed Workers. (IZA discussion paper 14940), Bonn, 43 S.

Abstract

"We study how the transparency of welfare systems affects labor market outcomes of unemployed workers in a large-scale field experiment. Our low-cost information intervention uses a personalized online tool that informs benefit recipients about their personal risk of a benefit reduction when not complying with a work requirement. We find disparate effects reflecting individuals' job search status. Providing personalized information improves labor market outcomes by mitigating the pressure to accept unstable part-time jobs among active job seekers with a low sanction risk. Inactive persons with a high sanction risk leave welfare and rely on alternative income support more frequently." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Carey, David, Naomitsu Yashiro & Hyunjeong Hwang (2021): Boosting employment in Finland. (OECD Economics Department working papers 1671), Paris, 60 S.

Abstract

"In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic contraction and government debt build-up, the government is formulating reforms to raise employment by 80 thousand workers by 2029. Finland's employment rate has been lagging behind the Scandinavian Nordics, with most of the gap attributable to older workers, who have more favourable access to early retirement schemes than their Scandinavian counterparts. To restrict their use, extended unemployment benefit, which is paid to unemployed persons aged 61 or more after normal unemployment benefit expires until they retire or reach 65, should be phased out and non-medical conditions should no longer be taken into account for disability benefit applications of persons aged 60 or more. Activity rates for mothers of young children are also lower in Finland than in the Scandinavian Nordics mainly owing to Finland's generous homecare allowance. It should be reduced and access to convenient early childhood education and care services expanded to improve mothers' work incentives. By increasing mothers' work experience at critical points in their careers, such a reform would also help to narrow Finland's large gender wage gap. As part of its 2021 budget, the government is setting out labour market reforms to increase employment by 31 to 36 thousand workers. Such reforms should focus on promoting employment of older workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Coady, David, Samir Jahan, Riki Matsumoto & Baoping Shang (2021): Guaranteed Minimum Income Schemes in Europe: Landscape and Design. (IMF working paper 2021,179), Washington, DC, 40 S.

Abstract

"This paper provides an overview of the design of means-tested Guaranteed Minimum Income schemes, which constitute an important component of social protection systems in European countries. It discusses how key design features differ across countries, including how countries balance the primary objective of poverty alleviation against the desire to both manage the work disincentives inherent in such programs and contain fiscal cost. The analysis finds a clear trade-off between both concerns in practice, with many countries combining low generosity with low benefit withdrawal rates (BWRs) thus prioritizing employment incentives over the primary objective of poverty alleviation. Many countries can reduce this trade off by combining higher generosity with higher BWRs. Countries with very high BWRs should consider reducing these, including through allowing income disregards and time dependent (rather than income-dependent) benefit withdrawal. The work disincentives associated with higher BWRs can also be attenuated through strengthening complementary activation policies that incentivize and support participation in the labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Edelhoch, Marilyn, Cynthia Flynn & Qiduan Liu (2021): Impact of South Carolina's TANF Program on Earnings of New Entrants Before and During the Great Economic Recession. In: Journal of Social Policy, Jg. 50, H. 4, S. 871-890. DOI:10.1017/S0047279420000677

Abstract

"This study assesses the impact of South Carolina’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, Family Independence (FI), on the longitudinal earnings of three cohorts of new entrants who entered the study before, at the beginning of, and at the height of the 2007-2009 recession. Applicants who began the application process but did not enroll in TANF were propensity-score matched to entrants by background characteristics including pre-intervention earnings history, and served as the comparison group. We constructed a latent growth curve model to test whether earnings histories were similar for the program and comparison groups up until FI intake, to estimate program impact by comparing post-intake earnings of program participants to those of the comparison group, and to determine the statistical significance of cohort differences in program impact. The findings showed FI had a positive impact on the earnings of participants before the recession. The effect became weaker during the state’s period of rising unemployment, and disappeared during the worst economic recession in decades. This study demonstrates the usefulness of longitudinal administrative data, propensity score matching, and latent growth modeling techniques for evaluating the impact of program interventions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Eleveld, Anja (2021): Disrespect or dignity? Experiences of mandatory work participants in the Netherlands from the perspective of the right to work. In: The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Jg. 29, H. 2, S. 155-171. DOI:10.1332/175982721X16149598814264

Abstract

"This article explores the extent to which mandatory work programmes (MWPs) which oblige social assistance recipients to perform work activities in order to improve or develop basic work skills, can be considered in conformity with the human right to work. Drawing on qualitative research in three municipalities in the Netherlands, the findings indicate that overall, the work in the MWPs infringed the right to work. However, part of the MWP participants were able to realise the right to work to the extent that participation in an MWP enhanced their dignity, self-respect and their opportunities for self-development." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2021 Policy Press) ((en))

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Guillemette, Yvan & David Turner (2021): The long game: Fiscal outlooks to 2060 underline need for structural reform. (OECD economic policy papers 29), Paris, 44 S. DOI:10.1787/a112307e-en

Abstract

"This paper updates the long-term scenarios to 2060 last published in July 2018, with a special focus on fiscal sustainability and risks. In a baseline economic and fiscal scenario, trend real GDP growth for the OECD + G20 area declines from around 3% post-COVID to 1½ per cent in 2060, mainly due to a deceleration of large emerging-market economies. Meanwhile, secular trends such as population ageing and the rising relative price of services will keep adding pressure on government budgets. Without policy changes, maintaining current public service standards and benefits while keeping public debt ratios stable at current levels would increase fiscal pressure in the median OECD country by nearly 8 percentage points of GDP between 2021 and 2060, and much more in some countries. Policy scenarios show that reforms to labour market and retirement policies could help boost living standards and alleviate future fiscal pressures. An ambitious reform package combining labour market reforms to raise employment rates with reforms to eliminate early retirement pathways and keep effective retirement ages rising by two thirds of future gains in life expectancy could halve the projected increase in fiscal pressure in the median country, even after taking into account future spending pressures associated with ageing." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hadjar, Andreas & Edith Kotitschke (2021): How the Welfare-State Regime Shapes the Gap in Subjective Well-Being Between People With and Without Disabilities. In: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Jg. 73, H. 4, S. 501-525. DOI:10.1007/s11577-021-00805-4

Abstract

"Der vorliegende Beitrag nimmt Behinderung, eine wenig beleuchtete Ungleichheitsachse, und subjektives Wohlbefinden in den Blick. Aufbauend auf die Theorie der sozialen Produktionsfunktionen wird der allgemeinen Annahme gefolgt, dass Menschen mit Behinderungen nicht die gleichen Möglichkeiten wie Menschen ohne Behinderungen haben, Ressourcen, instrumentelle Ziele und letztlich Wohlbefinden zu erlangen. Soziale Teilhabe und Arbeitsmarktintegration scheinen bedeutsame Mechanismen hinter den angesprochenen Disparitäten zu sein. Das Sozialsystem eines Landes auf der Makroebene prägt ebenso Unterschiede im subjektiven Wohlbefinden zwischen Gruppen. Die Hauptziele dieses Beitrags bestehen entsprechend darin, den Unterschied im subjektiven Wohlbefinden zwischen Menschen mit und ohne Behinderungen zu analysieren. Inwieweit lässt sich dieser Unterschied durch Unterschiede in sozialer Teilhabe und Arbeitsmarktintegration erklären, und wie prägt das Wohlfahrtsstaatsregime den Unterschied in subjektivem Wohlbefinden zwischen Menschen mit und ohne Behinderungen? Im Kern der Forschung stehen Mehrebenenanalysen von kumulierten Daten des European Social Survey aus 31 europäischen Ländern. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass Menschen mit Behinderungen ein signifikant geringeres subjektives Wohlbefinden zeigen als Menschen ohne Behinderungen. Wohlfahrtsstaatsregimes moderieren diesen Unterschied, wobei die Performanz der skandinavischen sozialdemokratischen (und familienorientierten) Länder hinsichtlich der Bereitstellung gleicher Lebensbedingungen für Menschen mit und ohne Behinderungen offenbar im Vergleich am stärksten erscheint." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag)

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Hammer, Bernhard, Michael Christl & Silvia De Poli (2021): Redistribution across Europe: How much and to whom? (JRC working papers on taxation and structural reforms 2021-14), Seville, 28 S.

Abstract

"Governments face a potential trade-off between provision for the growing population in retirement and the support of working-age households with low income. Using EUROMOD-based microdata from 28 countries, we (a) quantify the redistribution to the pensioner and non-pensioner populations, (b) study the position of net beneficiaries in the overall income distribution and (c) analyse how taxes and benefits affect the working-age population with low income. Our results provide novel insights into the distributive role of tax-benefit systems across Europe. Interestingly, a strong overall redistribution between households is associated with generous pensions for a portion of the retirees but negatively related to support for low-income households." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Heyes, Jason & Ludek Rychly (Hrsg.) (2021): The Governance of Labour Administration. Reforms, Innovations and Challenges. Cheltenham: Elgar, 320 S. DOI:10.4337/9781802203158

Abstract

"Focusing on public administration activities in the field of national labour policy, this timely book provides detailed analyses of labour administration reforms, innovations and challenges in different countries, including detailed case studies from Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the US." (Author's abstract, © Edward Elgar Publishing) ((en))

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Holzer, Harry J., Glenn Hubbard & Michael R. Strain (2021): Did Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Reduce Employment? Evidence from Early State-Level Expirations in June 2021. (IZA discussion paper 14927), Bonn, 37 S.

Abstract

"The generosity of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits was expanded during the pandemic (FPUC), along with the groups of workers eligible for benefits (PUA). These two programs were set to expire in September 2021, but 18 states opted out of both in June 2021. Using Current Population Survey data, we present difference-in-difference and event study estimates that the flow of unemployed workers into employment increased by over one half following early termination. We construct a counterfactual scenario that implies the national unemployment rate in each of July and August would have been around 0.3 percentage point lower than they were, and the employment-population ratio would have been around 0.1-0.2 percentage point higher than it was, had all states ended FPUC and PUA in June. Expanded eligibility and generosity of UI may have both slowed transitions from unemployment to employment. We also present some suggestive evidence that households with relatively high confidence in their ability to meet expenses may have been less sensitive to the termination of expanded benefits. Finally, we present evidence that early termination reduced the share of households that had no difficulty meeting expenses by five percent. The welfare implications of the early termination of FPUC and PUA are therefore ambiguous." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pignatti, Clemente & Eva van Belle (2021): Better together: Active and passive labor market policies in developed and developing economies. In: IZA journal of development and migration, Jg. 12, H. 1. DOI:10.2478/izajodm-2021-0009

Abstract

"We investigate the macroeconomic impact of public expenditure in active labor market policies (ALMPs) and passive labor market policies (PLMPs) on main employment indicators (i.e., unemployment, employment, and labor force participation) for a large and novel panel database of 121 countries (36 developed, 64 emerging and 21 developing economies). Compared to previous studies, we include for the first time evidence from developing and emerging economies and explicitly examine the possible presence of complementarities between active and passive policies. We find that the interaction between interventions is crucial, as the effect of spending in either of the two policies is more favorable the more is spent on the other. Even the detrimental labor market effects of passive policies disappear on the condition that sufficient amounts are spent on active interventions. This complementarity seems even more important for emerging and developing economies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ylöstalo, Hanna & Lisa Adkins (2021): Economizing the political: Workfare reform in strategic management mode. In: Current Sociology, Jg. 69, H. 5, S. 723-741. DOI:10.1177/0011392120913579

Abstract

"The focus of this article is a recent round of workfare reform in Finland. Departing from many existing analyses of workfare, it focuses on issues of governance. Drawing on policy documents and interviews with key policy actors, it shows how this reform and attempts at implementation took place along the lines of a specific form of managerial governance, namely strategic governance, involving the enrolment of strategic management into policy making. The article details how this mode of policy making enabled an intensification and depoliticization of workfare policies via the replacement of political concerns with economic imperatives and in so doing contributed to the broader process of economization of the state. While the latter is often located as central to the project of neoliberalism, the practices through which it is instantiated often remain hazy. This article therefore contributes knowledge on how the process of the economization of the political operates in practice." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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(2021): Joint Employment Report 2021. As adopted by the Council on 9 March 2021. (Joint employment report), Brüssel, 141 S.

Abstract

"The Joint Employment Report by the European Commission and the Council is mandated by Article 148 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The European Commission’s proposal for this report is part of the Autumn package. The Joint Employment Report provides an annual overview of key employment and social developments in the European Union as well as Member States’ reform actions, in line with the Guidelines for the Employment Policies of the Member States. The report follows the structure of the Guidelines: boosting the demand for labor (Guideline 5), enhancing labor supply and improving access to employment, skills and competences (Guideline 6), enhancing the functioning of labor markets and the effectiveness of social dialogue (Guideline 7), and promoting equal opportunities for all, fostering social inclusion and fighting poverty (Guideline 8). In addition, the Joint Employment Report monitors Member States’ performance in relation to the Social Scoreboard set up in the context of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The Pillar was proclaimed jointly by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 17 November 2017. It identifies principles and rights in three areas: i) equal opportunities and access to the labor market, ii) fair working conditions, and iii) social protection and inclusion. Monitoring of progress in these areas is underpinned by a detailed analysis of the Social Scoreboard accompanying the Pillar. The Joint Employment Report is structured as follows: an introductory chapter (Chapter 1) reports on main labor market and social trends in the European Union, to set the scene. Chapter 2 presents the main results from the analysis of the social scoreboard associated with the European Pillar of Social Rights. Chapter 3 provides a detailed cross-country description of key indicators (including from the social scoreboard), looking at Member States’ performance, challenges and policies implemented to address the Guidelines for Employment Policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Andersen, Ditte (2020): Stuck! Welfare state dependency as lived experience. In: European Societies, Jg. 22, H. 3, S. 317-336. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2019.1616796

Abstract

"The concern that public support may spur dependency has been voiced throughout the history of welfare states. Nevertheless, little research examines the experience of welfare state dependency in the context of recipients' everyday lives. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of a case involving Anna, who depends on the Danish welfare system for financial benefits and other forms of support. The study spans five years from age 19 to 24, and includes some of the significant others in Anna's everyday life - her mother, who also depends on welfare, and her caseworkers. By situating Anna's experiences in a temporal and social context, the case study advances a nuanced understanding of welfare state dependency and identifies three driving forces of the experience: (1) the concern about intergenerational transmission of dependency that spurs a shared sense of hopelessness among Anna and her significant others; (2) the recurrent changes of diagnoses that adds to the feeling of dependency by repeatedly generating waiting time, e.g. for new psychiatric assessments; (3) the system's requirement to produce numerous but sketchy future plans that lack real-world plausibility. The case study clarifies the importance that respectable exits out of welfare state dependency are not only imaginable but also believable." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Benda, Luc, Ferry Koster & Romke van der Veen (2020): Activation is not a panacea: Active labour market policy, long-term unemployment and institutional complementarity. In: Journal of social policy, Jg. 49, H. 3, S. 483-506. DOI:10.1017/S0047279419000515

Abstract

"Evaluation studies of active labour market policy show different activation measures generate contradictory results. In the present study, we argue that these contradictory results are due to the fact that the outcomes of activation measures depend on other institutions. The outcome measure in this study is the long-term unemployment rate. Two labour market institutions are of special interest in this context: namely, employment protection and unemployment benefits. Both institutions, depending on their design, may either increase or decrease the effectiveness of active labour market policies in lowering long-term unemployment. Based on an analysis of macro-level data on 20 countries over a period of 16 years, our results show that employment protection strictness and unemployment benefit generosity interact with the way in which active labour market policies relate to long-term unemployment. Our results also indicate that, depending on the measure used, active labour market policies fit either in a flexible or in a coordinated labour market. This suggests that active labour market policies can adhere to both institutional logics, which are encapsulated in different types of measures." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bruckmeier, Kerstin & Regina Konle-Seidl (2020): Folgen der Corona-Krise für die sozialen Sicherungssysteme im Ländervergleich (Serie "Corona-Krise: Folgen für den Arbeitsmarkt"). In: IAB-Forum H. 02.10.2020 Nürnberg, o. Sz., 2020-10-01.

Abstract

"Ähnlich wie in Deutschland hat die Corona-Krise auch in anderen Ländern Lücken in der sozialen Absicherung bestimmter Beschäftigtengruppen offenbart. Um diese in der Krise besser zu schützen, wurde eine Reihe von Sozialleistungen länderübergreifend ausgeweitet. Gleichwohl besteht auch über die Krise hinaus Handlungsbedarf. So bedarf es etwa in Deutschland vor allem einer grundlegenden Reform der Minijobs und einer besseren Absicherung von Solo-Selbstständigen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Grandia, Jolien, Yvonne M. La Grouw & Peter M. Kruyen (2020): Motivating the unemployed: A full-range model of motivational strategies that caseworkers use to activate clients. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 54, H. 3, S. 375-389. DOI:10.1111/spol.12540

Abstract

"Governments use activation policies to stimulate unemployed citizens in finding work. Caseworkers are, as front-line workers, responsible for concrete activation trajectories based on these activation policies. Little is known about how caseworkers try to get clients to participate in these activation trajectories. In a qualitative, inductive study (consisting of observations and reflective interviews) in two welfare agencies, we identified 10 motivational strategies that caseworkers employed. The full-range leadership model appeared to be an appropriate perspective to understand, systematize, and reflect on these strategies, in particular as our analyses show that these motivational strategies can be placed on a continuum ranging from laissez-faire to transactional and transformational strategies. We found that caseworkers matched their motivational strategy to the situation and client but preferred transformational strategies. Our findings implicate chances but also challenges for activation in practice and literature on front-line workers." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Hansen, Helle Cathrine (2020): From problems to barriers: A bottom-up perspective on the institutional framing of a labour activation programme. In: Social policy and society, Jg. 19, H. 1, S. 75-87. DOI:10.1017/S1474746419000241

Abstract

"Human resource development (HRD) approaches aim to increase service users' labour market prospects through training and upskilling. However, research on activation policy implementation suggests that individualised, tailored measures may be difficult to implement because of organisational structures, standardised procedures, contradictory professional interests, and broad framework laws. This qualitative study explored the institutional framing of the Norwegian Qualification Programme and how that framing created barriers in service users' trajectories towards labour market inclusion. The study applied a bottom-up perspective to analyse how these barriers are entangled in a multidimensional web of interrelated and sometimes contradictory relations. Highlighting the service users' perspective, the study aimed to examine how institutional framing may interfere with the activation policy goal of qualifying service users for the labour market. The results point to how institutional framing governs local practice and creates barriers that ultimately may impede activation policy goals." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Knotz, Carlo Michael (2020): Does Demanding Activation Work? A Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Unemployment Benefit Conditionality on Employment in 21 Advanced Economies, 1980–2012. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 36, H. 1, S. 121-135. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcz041

Abstract

"Whether or not putting the unemployed under greater pressure to seek and accept jobs really helps to raise levels of employment remains a controversially discussed question. Empirical research into this question has so far focused on the micro-level whereas the macro-level effects remain unexplored. This article fills this gap, using a novel comparative dataset on the strictness of job-search and availability requirements and sanction rules for unemployment benefit claimants in 21 countries between 1980 and 2012. It is shown that requiring more active job-search and availability for a wider range of jobs does indeed lead to increased employment, while no evidence for a similar positive effect of tougher sanction rules on employment is found. The data do indicate, however, that sanction rules are themselves a product of adverse labour market conditions. Interactive estimations also suggest a negative moderating influence of tough sanction rules on the effectiveness of stricter conditions, whereas more generous unemployment insurance and assistance benefits appear to strengthen the effects of stricter conditions. Overall, the results suggest that to increase employment, the treatment of the unemployed may be demanding but should not be punitive and should include supportive elements, providing claimants with the resources they need to effectively look for work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Millar, Jane & Tess Ridge (2020): No margin for error: Fifteen years in the working lives of lone mothers and their children. In: Journal of social policy, Jg. 49, H. 1, S. 1-17. DOI:10.1017/S0047279418000752

Abstract

"Over the past two decades, the emphasis on paid work has become one of the defining features of social security policy in the UK. Lone mothers and their families have been one of the key groups affected. In this article we focus on the working and family lives of lone mothers and their children over time, drawing on material from a long-term qualitative research study, and setting this in the context of policy developments. We explore the long-term consequences of trying to sustain work, and manage low-income family life as children grow up and needs change over time. This highlights some of the tensions and limitations in family support and relationships when resources are limited. We reflect on the links between insecurity, legacies and the state." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Morris, Lydia (2020): Activating the Welfare subject : The problem of agency. In: Sociology, Jg. 54, H. 2, S. 275-291. DOI:10.1177/0038038519867635

Abstract

"While accepting Banton's recently expressed view that sociology and social policy are distinct disciplines, this article argues that times of radical change can profitably bring the two into closer dialogue. Considering an argument from Emirbayer and Mische that agency becomes especially apparent in unsettled times, it focuses on conceptions of agency at play in the design and implementation of recent UK welfare reforms, and in subsequent legal challenges. Identifying a series of key measures in the Welfare Reform Act of 2012 and the Welfare and Work Act of 2016, this article examines the challenges that have ensued, and the way that agency is revealed as both a site of disciplinary control and as a focus for contestation, pitting the purposive rationality of welfare reform against the practical reason that emerges from claimant experience." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Naumann, Elias, Wouter De Tavernier, Laura Naegele & Moritz Hess (2020): Public support for sanctioning older unemployed. A survey experiment in 21 European countries. In: European Societies, Jg. 22, H. 1, S. 77-100. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2019.1660394

Abstract

"The public opinion literature has found that the age of the benefit recipient is an important determinant in the formation of welfare state attitudes. Older people are perceived as more deserving of help and also punished less for not accepting a job. We argue that such a preferential treatment of older people depends on the social and economic context. In this article, we examine public support for demanding active labour market policies in 21 European countries. Relying on a survey experiment varying the age of the unemployed person, our analysis confirms that older unemployed are punished less than younger unemployed for not accepting a job offer. However, this effect varies between countries and our evidence suggests that support for exempting older individuals from demanding active labour market policies disappears as societies age. Moreover, support for stricter sanctions in general is higher in countries with a higher unemployment rate and in countries that already have rather strict active labour market policies. These findings question the public's role as a veto player in the reform process as it seems unlikely that public opinion will block attempts to further strengthen demanding active labour market policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ohls, Carolina (2020): Dignity-based practices in Norwegian activation work. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, Jg. 29, H. 2, S. 168-178. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12388

Abstract

"This qualitative study sought to identify dignity‐based practices in a Norwegian activation programme − the Qualification Programme. Some welfare recipients are likely to experience shame in connection with their interaction with the welfare system. Previous research suggests that a dignity‐based approach could help welfare recipients to avoid such negative experiences. The operational components of dignity have been identified as autonomy, empathy and rights. Data gathered through individual interviews with participants and activation workers were examined using interpretative phenomenological analysis with a focus on exploring respondents’ perceptions of events to which they ascribe meaning. The findings indicate that accounts of empathy were common, but that the study’s participants seldom reported experiencing that their autonomy and rights were enhanced. Participation in the programme appeared to undermine the participants’ dignity, particularly when individual needs were overlooked. An underlying reason could be the current move away from a comprehensive understanding of service users’ different needs and to a narrow focus on employability." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Osiander, Christopher & Monika Senghaas (2020): Woran orientieren sich Einschätzungen zur Zumutbarkeit einer Beschäftigung? Befunde aus einer Vignettenbefragung. In: Zeitschrift für Sozialreform, Jg. 66, H. 1, S. 3-34., 2019-05-22. DOI:10.1515/zsr-2020-0002

Abstract

"Dieser Beitrag geht der Frage nach, unter welchen Bedingungen die Ablehnung von Stellenangeboten durch Empfänger/-innen von Arbeitslosengeld als (un-)zumutbar gilt. Wir untersuchen dies anhand einer Vignettenstudie, in deren Rahmen wir Teilnehmenden an einer Online-Befragung mehrere Beschreibungen fiktiver Arbeitsloser vorlegen, die Stellenangebote erhalten und ablehnen. Empirisch zeigt sich, dass Abschläge im Vergleich zum früheren Einkommen dazu führen, dass Befragte eine Stelle als weniger zumutbar einschätzen. Dasselbe gilt, wenn das Anforderungsniveau niedriger ist. Außerdem wird Älteren eher zugestanden, ein Stellenangebot abzulehnen als Jüngeren; umgekehrt ist es bei Personen, die bereits in der Vergangenheit arbeitslos waren. Die Zahl der verfügbaren Stellen und die Art der angebotenen Tätigkeit (Zeitarbeit, Befristung) beeinflussen das Urteil hingegen nicht." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Ranaldi, Marco (2020): Distributional Aspects of Economic Systems. (Stone Center On Socio-Economic Inequality. Working paper series 05), New York, NY, 54 S. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/n7wj4

Abstract

"This paper proposes a methodology to jointly analyze the distributions of capital and labor and of saving and consumption across the population. Hinging on the novel concept of income composition inequality and on its technical assessment through a specific indicator, this paper classifies economic systems by bringing together these two distributions in a two-dimensional box. Economic systems can be classified as Kaldorian Systems or as Representative Agent Systems depending on their position in the box. In Kaldorian Systems, the rich individuals save capital income and the poor individuals consume labor income. In Representative Agent Systems, all individuals are identical in terms of ownership and behaviors. The paper illustrates this methodology via an empirical application to the European context, in which two major clusters of economic systems – Mediterranean and Northern European – emerge. Furthermore, this paper illustrates how the classification proposed can be useful in understanding a country’s long-run performance in terms of capital accumulation, inequality and growth." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Whitworth, Adam & Eleanor Carter (2020): Programme form and service user well-being. Linking theory and evidence. In: Social Policy and Administration, Jg. 54, H. 5, S. 844-858. DOI:10.1111/spol.12582

Abstract

"Since the early 1990s, the “activation turn” has become a standard welfare orthodoxy at the heart of international welfare systems. Although policymakers talk confidently about the well-being gains of activation interventions and their employment outcomes, a growing body of research has focused instead on questions around “activation process well-being”—the potential well-being effects of participation in activation programmes themselves. The present article makes three main contributions to the theory, knowledge, and policy practice of this activation well-being literature. First, the paper develops an original conceptual framework that newly connects well-being theory, qualitative variation in programmatic form, and empirically testable well-being expectations for participating service users. Second, the paper uses multivariate statistical analyses to examine six conceptually derived hypotheses around variation in programme forms and implications for participating service users' well-being, drawing on the case study of U.K. activation policy. Noteworthy is the paper's unique distributional insights into well-being effects across different types of service users. Third, the paper offers new policy contributions around the relevance of policy form to service user well-being as well as important pointers to key programme features in this regard." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Whitworth, Adam (2020): Activating spatial inequality: the case of the UK Work Programme. In: The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Jg. 28, H. 2, S. 207-226. DOI:10.1332/175982720X15803104493984

Abstract

"International evidence finds consistent equity concerns in quasi-marketised activation policies in terms of systematically worse experiences and outcomes for service users with greater support needs. However, equivalent risks around spatial inequalities are neglected within policy debates and empirical analyses. This article responds to that ongoing geographical gap through rich spatial analysis of the UK’s Work Programme, a vanguard experiment in aggressively quasi-marketised employment activation policy. Findings show consistent evidence for spatial inequalities in outcomes patterned according to local economic deprivation, with more deprived local authorities losing out on millions of pounds compared to the per capita resourcing in wealthier areas." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2020 Policy Press) ((en))

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(2020): Joint Employment Report 2020. As adopted by the EPSCO Council on 8 April 2020. (Joint employment report), Brüssel, 133 S.

Abstract

"The Joint Employment Report (JER) by the European Commission and the Council is mandated by Article 148 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The initial proposal for this report by the European Commission is part of the Autumn package, which includes the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy launching the European Semester cycle. The Joint Employment Report provides an annual overview of key employment and social developments in Europe as well as Member States' reform actions, in line with the Guidelines for the Employment Policies of the Member States. The reporting on these reforms follows the structure of the Guidelines: boosting demand for labor (Guideline 5), enhancing labour supply and improving access to employment, skills and competences (Guideline 6), enhancing the functioning of labour markets and the effectiveness of social dialogue (Guideline 7), and promoting equal opportunities for all, fostering social inclusion and combatting poverty (Guideline 8). In addition, the Joint Employment Report monitors Member States' performance in relation to the Social Scoreboard set up in the context of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The Pillar was proclaimed jointly by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 17 November 2017. It identifies principles and rights in three areas: i) equal opportunities and access to the labor market, ii) fair working conditions, and iii) social protection and inclusion. Monitoring of progress in these areas is underpinned by a detailed analysis of the Social Scoreboard accompanying the Pillar. The Joint Employment Report is structured as follows: an introductory chapter (Chapter 1) reports on main labor market and social trends in the European Union, to set the scene. Chapter 2 presents the main results from the analysis of the social scoreboard associated with the European Pillar of Social Rights. Chapter 3 provides a detailed cross-country description of key indicators (including from the social scoreboard) and policies implemented by Member States to address the Guidelines for Employment Policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"The European Union Program for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) provides financial support to promote a high level of quality and sustainable employment, guarantee adequate and decent social protection, combat social exclusion and poverty, and improve working conditions across the EU. With a view to the regular monitoring of the program, the EaSI Regulation foresees that ‘the Commission shall draw up initial qualitative and quantitative monitoring reports covering consecutive two-year periods.’ This is the third EaSI Performance Monitoring Report presenting the results achieved by the program in 2017-2018. It focuses on the products (outputs) delivered by the program and the benefits they brought in 2017-2018. In 2017 and 2018, the Commission committed more than EUR 257 million for the implementation of all the program’s activities. The implementation of EaSI Work Programmes in 2017 and 2018 was well in line with the EaSI Regulation. The following positive developments were noted in 2017-2018: EaSI-funded policy evidence remained sound and highly useful in the view of the stakeholders. EaSI-funded events continued providing much-appreciated platforms for effective and inclusive information sharing, mutual learning and dialogue in relevant policy fields. EU-funded support for social policy innovations gained more visibility; The use of the EURES Job Mobility Portal was rather uneven from one year to another, but the number of registered users increased. EURES remained a catalyst for effective recruitment and placing of workers, organized through cross-border partnerships and targeted mobility schemes. 2017-2018 marked a strong period for the Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship axis. Microfinance support continued to provide real added value. In 2018, 27 contracts worth EUR 57.4 million were signed with microfinance intermediaries, which resulted in 47 684 microloans worth EUR 129.3 million (the leverage of 4.4 was achieved). EaSI support for social enterprises has taken momentum. In total, 949 social enterprises had received funding through the EaSI Social Entrepreneurship Window by the end of 2018." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ahmad, Nisar, Michael Savrer & Amjad Naveed (2019): The effect of active labour market programmes and benefit sanctions on reducing unemployment duration. In: Journal of labor research, Jg. 40, H. 2, S. 202-229. DOI:10.1007/s12122-019-09288-x

Abstract

"The purpose of this paper is to simultaneously investigate whether the active labour market programmes (ALMPs) and the imposition of benefit sanctions help unemployed insured workers in Denmark to find a job sooner than those who do not get any activation. Earlier studies have modelled ALMPs and benefit sanctions separately, which may have resulted in over- or underestimation of the true effect. As part of our empirical methodology, we used a multivariate mixed proportional hazard model and optimally selected the number of support points for the specification of unobserved heterogeneity distribution in our sample. Our results revealed that the impositions of both benefit sanctions and employment subsidies in the private sector have a positive impact on reducing unemployment duration. Some policy implications are drawn." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Bruckmeier, Kerstin & Regina Konle-Seidl (2019): Reforming the German basic income system in international perspective: yes to new avenues, no to a fundamental change. In: IAB-Forum H. 12.12.2019, o. Sz., 2019-12-04.

Abstract

"In Germany, politicians and the public have been debating for quite some time now whether the means-tested basic income scheme, colloquially referred to as Hartz IV, should be fundamentally reformed or even replaced by an unconditional basic income. Discussions, pilot projects and reform-attempts in this area can also be observed in other countries. A look beyond national borders is therefore highly instructive for the German - and international - reform debate." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Buss, Christopher (2019): Public opinion towards workfare policies in Europe. Polarisation of attitudes in times of austerity? In: International journal of social welfare, Jg. 28, H. 4, S. 431-441. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12368

Abstract

"Increasing wage inequality, strong labour market divides and welfare retrenchment are widely believed to result in more polarised public opinion towards the welfare state. The present study examined if attitudes towards workfare policies have become more polarised in Europe over recent decades. To achieve this aim, the study analysed public opinion data from the European Value Study (EVS) from 23 European countries in the years 1990 - 2008, using multi-level regression analysis. It is found that individuals who are most affected by workfare - the unemployed, the poor and the young - most strongly oppose workfare concepts. Against expectations, there was no evidence of an increasing polarisation of attitudes in Europe. Attitudinal cleavages based on employment status, income and education have remained stable. Differences between age groups have even dissolved because younger cohorts increasingly favour strict workfare policies. The results suggest that warnings of increasing social conflicts and an erosion of solidarity in European societies are exaggerated" (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Castillo, Daniel (2019): Employer-oriented labour market policies in Sweden: Creating jobs and the division of labour in the public sector. In: International social security review, Jg. 72, H. 2, S. 75-95. DOI:10.1111/issr.12200

Abstract

"In vielen europäischen Ländern sind Arbeitsmarktstrategien ins Zentrum der Aufmerksamkeit gerückt, mit denen die Arbeitgeber angehalten werden, Erwerbslosen den Weg zurück in die Arbeitswelt zu ermöglichen. Damit soll die Arbeitskräftenachfrage der Arbeitgeber gedeckt und ihr Wille beeinflusst werden, Erwerbslose verschiedener Gruppen (oft auch mit Behinderung) einzustellen, weiterzubilden oder anzuleiten. Dieser Artikel legt anhand einer qualitativen Interviewstudie mit Teilnehmern eines arbeitgeberorientierten Programms in einer mittelgroßen Stadt in Schweden dar, wie diese Strategien zur Beeinflussung der Arbeitgeber eingesetzt werden, um diese dazu zu bewegen, erwerbslose Arbeitnehmer einzustellen, und wie sich die dadurch geschaffenen Arbeitsplätze von regulären Arbeitsplätzen unterscheiden. Der Artikel kommt zum Schluss, dass die Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen durch neue Vorkehrungen für die Arbeitsteilung mit dem Ziel, die regulären Mitarbeiter von unqualifizierten Aufgaben zu entlasten, den Willen der Arbeitgeber beeinflussen kann, Erwerbslose einzustellen, sofern diese Maßnahmen durch andere politische Instrumente ergänzt werden. Es wird jedoch auch gezeigt, dass diese neue Arbeitsteilung, bei der die Teilnehmer des Programms hauptsächlich Aufgaben ausführen, für die keine Qualifikation erforderlich ist, schwierig umzusetzen ist, da die neu Eingestellten nach und nach immer mehr Aufgaben übernehmen, die zuvor von den regulär Beschäftigten erledigt wurden." (Autorenreferat, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons)

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Cockx, Bart & Eva van Belle (2019): Waiting longer before claiming, and activating youth. No point? In: International journal of manpower, Jg. 40, H. 4, S. 658-687. DOI:10.1108/IJM-04-2017-0060

Abstract

"The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of two policies (an extension of the waiting period before entitlement to unemployment insurance (UI) and an intensification of counselling) targeted at unemployed school-leavers in Belgium on unemployment duration and on the quality of work.
The length of both policies is sharply determined by two distinct age thresholds. These thresholds are exploited to estimate the impact within a regression discontinuity design using a large administrative data set of all recent labour market entrants.
The longer waiting period does not significantly impact job finding while the Youth Work Plan does increase the job-finding rate eight months after the onset of the programme. The accepted wage is unaffected, but both policies lower the number of working days resulting in lower earnings. This effect is especially prevalent for youth from low-income households.
For both policies, participation was delineated by an age cut-off which was only four months apart. This sizeably reduced the width of the age window to detect a corresponding discontinuity in behaviour and hereby also the statistical power of the estimator. Additionally, due to confounding policies the estimated effects are local treatment effects for highly educated youth around the age cut-offs.
The findings suggest that threatening with a sanction is not the right instrument to activate highly educated unemployed school-leavers. While supportive measures appear to be more effective, this may be partly a consequence of acceptance of lower quality jobs due to liquidity constraints and of caseworkers giving misleading advice that temporary jobs are stepping stones to long-term employment.
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to estimate the impact of changing the waiting period in UI. The paper adds to the existing literature on the effects of counselling and UI design on employment and job quality." (Author's abstract, © Emerald Group) ((en))

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Dall, Tanja & Sophie Danneris (2019): Reconsidering 'What works' in welfare-to-work with the vulnerable unemployed. The potential of relational causality as an alternative approach. In: Social policy and society, Jg. 18, H. 4, S. 583-596. DOI:10.1017/S1474746419000186

Abstract

"There is growing interest in research that informs more effective practices in employment services across Europe, Australia and the USA. However, despite the ever-expanding amount of research on the implementation and efficacy of various policy programmes in practice, the knowledge on how to bring unemployed individuals closer to the labour market remains ambiguous and inconclusive. This is especially so in the context of the more vulnerable unemployed, who face physical, mental and social challenges in addition to unemployment. In this article, we examine the existing literature in terms of its potential to inform (the development of) effective employment policies. On this basis, we outline an alternative approach based on the concept of relational causality, and discuss the implications of such an approach for applied policy research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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De Wilde, Marjolijn & Sarah Marchal (2019): Weighing up work willingness in social assistance: A balancing act on multiple levels. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 35, H. 5, S. 718-737. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcz028

Abstract

"In all European countries, social assistance legislation specifies that the receipt of benefits is conditional upon the willingness to work. Nevertheless, the manner in which such policies are implemented in practice has remained a black box. From the literature on social policy, social work, and social administration, we know that implementation is the result of decisions at multiple levels. To our knowledge, however, this study is the first quantitative attempt to bring together the insights from these various strands of literature into a combined assessment of factors that determine willingness-to-work assessments. We build on an innovative and purpose-designed survey of social workers in Belgium. We identified factors determining the perceptions of 584 case managers, clustered in 89 municipalities, with regard to sanction decisions upon job refusal, based on almost 5,000 experimentally varied client cases (vignette experiment). These unique data make it possible to distinguish between the effects of case managers who assess individual cases and characteristics of the local welfare agencies and municipalities in which they operate. The results reveal relatively little variation between municipalities, which can be largely explained by characteristics of the municipalities (e.g. political ideology and organizational setting). Surprisingly, however, we find extensive variation at the case-manager level. Although some of this variation remains unexplained, a substantial share can be explained by characteristics of individual case managers (e.g. age and attitudes concerning the welfare state). This finding raises concerns about the unintended consequences of the broad discretion granted to case managers within contemporary social assistance schemes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dinan, Shannon (2019): A typology of activation incentives. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 53, H. 1, S. 1-15. DOI:10.1111/spol.12456

Abstract

"Activation has received an enormous amount of attention over the past decade and a half. Despite the immense academic interest, activation policies remain difficult to compare. This is notably because these policies can be adapted multiple ways and are not confined to one policy area. Furthermore, common activation indicators such as expenditures can be misleading as not all activation instruments affect spending levels. These limitations notwithstanding, states continue to create and adapt activation policies. With the objective of identifying and comparing second-order change, the author proposes a typology of activation policies according to how they affect target population behavior through incentives. The typology first identifies the lever to the labor market, supply, or demand. Second, it determines whether the mechanism for labor market integration is financial or human capital. In so doing, it allows for a more detailed understanding of the policy instruments adopted. This can be used as a tool in qualitative analysis to identify a change in policy instruments within and between cases." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Eriksen, Andreas (2019): Reclaiming responsibility: The case of welfare-to-work policy. In: Journal of social policy, Jg. 48, H. 3, S. 529-546. DOI:10.1017/S0047279418000612

Abstract

"Welfare-to-work programmes have a contested normative foundation. Critics argue that 'citizen responsibility' is being promoted to the sacrifice of more important social values, such as solidarity and fairness. This paper seeks to recapture what is valuable in citizen responsibility and to challenge the idea that the concept is intrinsically bound up with detrimental policy strategies. The paper develops a view of the responsible citizen as an appropriate addressee of moral expectations. This view highlights how addressing someone as responsible involves a presumption of reasonableness. Thereafter, the view is applied to conditions of street-level interaction, the design of policy instruments, and political discourse." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gielens, Erwin, Femke Roosma & Peter Achterberg (2019): Deservingness in the eye of the beholder. A vignette study on the moderating role of cultural profiles in supporting activation policies. In: International journal of social welfare, Jg. 28, H. 4, S. 442-453. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12392

Abstract

"People support welfare policy if its beneficiaries are perceived as deserving of support. This study found that individuals' cultural worldviews play a role in assessing the deservingness of welfare recipients. We investigated whether four different cultural profiles find some beneficiaries to be more deserving than others and how this relates to support for social rights (welfare benefit, retraining, job coach) and obligations (mandatory volunteering). A Dutch vignette experiment showed that reasons for supporting social rights differ between people with different cultural profiles: equality advocates grant support if beneficiaries are needy, while the centre and trusting groups do so when beneficiaries reciprocate. We found that irrespective of deservingness, people with equality-advocating and trusting profiles tend to be more supportive of social rights, whereas socially discontented citizens tend to emphasise the importance of obligations. In general, obliging beneficiaries to do volunteer work was deemed appropriate by almost all respondents in the study, whereas their cultural values determined the ways in which they considered social rights to have been earned." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Griesser, Markus (2019): Deutungsrahmen der aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik. Ein deutsch-österreichischer Vergleich von diskursiven Frames aus Anlass von 50 Jahren Arbeits(markt)förderungsgesetz. In: Momentum Quarterly, Jg. 8, H. 3, S. 116-182. DOI:10.15203/momentumquarterly.vol8.no3.p166-182

Abstract

"Mit dem Arbeitsmarktförderungsgesetz (AMFG) bzw. dem Arbeitsförderungsgesetz (AFG) wurde Ende der 1960er-Jahre in Österreich und Deutschland unter vergleichbaren ökonomischen Ausgangsbedingungen ein weitreichender Policy-Wandel im Politikfeld staatlicher Arbeitsmarktpolitik vollzogen. Die Art und Weise, wie dies geschah, war dabei zentral vom schwedischen Modell einer aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik geprägt, das als Beispiel guter Praxis von internationalen Organisationen wie insbesondere der OECD propagiert wurde. Der vorliegende Artikel untersucht die diskursiven Deutungsrahmen, die mit den Reformen im politischen Diskurs der beiden Länder verbunden waren. Dadurch soll es gelingen, in international vergleichender Perspektive einen Beitrag zu einem vertieften Verständnis von Policy-Wandel zu leisten." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Haikkola, Lotta (2019): Shaping activation policy at the street level. Governing inactivity in youth employment services. In: Acta sociologica, Jg. 62, H. 3, S. 334-348. DOI:10.1177/0001699318784341

Abstract

"Activation policies form the core of employment policies in most OECD countries. They are part of 'active' welfare states and associated neoliberal forms of governance that seek to govern through freedom by producing self-governing and responsible subjectivities. Ethnographies of governmentalities have been used in the research reported in this article to examine if and how such subjectivities are put in practice in street-level encounters in local welfare delivery. Based on an ethnographic research of youth services in the Public Employment Services (PES) in Helsinki, Finland, it is shown that despite the policy focus on active citizenship the street-level practice entails not only liberal ideas of self-governing individuals but also authoritarian measures. What is governed in the meetings is not the young people's selves but their time and behaviour. In the process, the notion of active citizenship is emptied and transformed to mean participation in supervised activities offered by the PES. Such practice also reworks the temporal structures and creates insecure and eventful experience of time for PES clients. In contrast to governing through freedom, the localized interpretation of activation policies represents the authoritarian and paternalistic side of neoliberal governance." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Knotz, Carlo (2019): Why countries 'get tough on the work-shy': The role of adverse economic conditions. In: Journal of social policy, Jg. 48, H. 3, S. 615-634. DOI:10.1017/S0047279418000740

Abstract

"There has been a clear trend toward greater conditionality and coercion in labour market and social policy in recent decades, a key part of which is tougher sanctions for unemployment benefit claimants who refuse offers of employment or otherwise fail to comply with their obligations. Our understanding of this trend and its determinants is so far built only on a corpus of small-N evidence, while systematic comparative large-N analyses are lacking. As a result, the broad patterns of policy change and their general political drivers remain underexplored. This paper fills this gap by examining unemployment benefit sanction reforms in 20 democracies between 1980 and 2012 using an original dataset. It is shown that governments introduce tougher sanctions in order to reconcile two competing pressures that arise during economic downturns: an increased need for social protection and reduced fiscal revenues. The findings, which are also applicable to other historical periods and policy areas, provide an impulse for future comparative large-N research on 'demanding activation' policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Laenen, Tijs & Bart Meuleman (2019): Public support for the social rights and social obligations of the unemployed. Two sides of the same coin? In: International journal of social welfare, Jg. 28, H. 4, S. 454-467. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12369

Abstract

"In light of the ever-growing shift towards activation in European welfare states, the present article examines the relationship between citizens' welfare generosity (i.e., support for social rights) and welfare conditionality (i.e., support for social obligations) with regard to the unemployed. Using data from the 2014 Belgian National Elections Study, we found that generosity and conditionality appear to be two sides of the same coin. The two factors are negatively correlated, and most of their respective attitudinal drivers are quite similar in strength, yet opposite in direction. In addition to self-interest and conventionally recognised ideational beliefs, such as egalitarianism and individualism, beliefs about welfare deservingness - an explanatory factor that has remained understudied in the field - are particularly influential in shaping people's welfare preferences. A stronger emphasis on criteria of deservingness such as control, attitude and reciprocity considerably lowers support for social rights and strengthens support for social duties." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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McGuinness, Seamus, Philip J. O'Connell & Elish Kelly (2019): Carrots, no stick, no driver: The employment impact of job search assistance in a regime with minimal monitoring and sanctions. In: Journal of labor research, Jg. 40, H. 2, S. 151-180. DOI:10.1007/s12122-019-09285-0

Abstract

"This paper uses a high quality administrative longitudinal dataset to assess the impact of an active labour market intervention consisting of referral for interview plus job search assistance with the public employment service in the Republic of Ireland. During the period of the interventions, both job search monitoring and sanctions were virtually non-existent in the country. We found that, relative to a control group that received no public employment service assistance, unemployed individuals that received the interview letter and participated in job search assistance were 11.2 percentage points less likely to have exited to employment prior to 12 months. This result holds when tested against the influences of both sample selection and unobserved heterogeneity bias. The negative treatment impact is attributed to individuals lowering their job search intensity on learning through the activation interview of the lax nature of the activation process in Ireland at that time. The research finds job search assistance being less effective unless combined with other key aspects of the activation process, such as regular job search monitoring and sanctions for non-compliance." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))