Zitatform

Considine, Mark & Siobhan O'Sullivan (2015): Contracting-out welfare services. Comparing national policy designs for unemployment assistance. (Broadening Perspectives on social policy), Chichester: Wiley Blackwell, 173 S.

Abstract

Contracting-out Welfare Services focuses on the design and overhaul of welfare-to-work systems around the world in the light of the radical re-design of the welfare system; internationally based authors utilise a national/program case study, considering employment services policy and activation practices.
Content:
Mark Considine; Siobhan O'Sullivan: Introduction: Contracting out welfare services: comparing national policy designs for unemployment assistance (1-9);
Katharina Zimmermann, Patrizia Aurich, Paolo R. Graziano, Vanesa Fuertes: Local worlds of marketization - employment policies in Germany, Italy and the UK compared (11-32);
Ludo Struyven: Varieties of market competition in public employment services - a comparison of the emergence and evolution of the new system in Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium (33-53);
Mark Considine, Siobhan O'Sullivan, Phuc Nguyen: Governance, Boards of directors and the impact of contracting on not-for-profits organizations - an Australian study (55-74);
Rik van Berkel: Quasi-markets and the delivery of activation - a frontline perspective (75-90);
Isabel Shutes, Rebecca Taylor: Conditionality and the financing of employment services - implications for the social divisions of work and welfare (91-108);
James Rees, Adam Whitworth, Elle Carter: Support for all in the UK work programme? Differential payments, same old problem (109-128);
Matthias Knuth: Broken hierarchies, quasi-markets and supported networks - a governance experiment in the second tier of Germany's Public employment service (129-150);
Avishai Benish: The public accountability of privatized activation - the case of Israel (151-166).

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Deeming, Christopher (2015): Foundations of the workfare state. Reflections on the political transformation of the welfare state in Britain. In: Social Policy and Administration, Jg. 49, H. 7, S. 862-886. DOI:10.1111/spol.12096

Abstract

"The British 'welfare state' has been transformed. 'Welfare' has been replaced by a new 'workfare' regime (the 'Work Programme') defined by tougher state regulatory practices for those receiving out-of-work benefits. US-style mandatory community work programmes are being revived and expanded. This article, therefore, considers shifting public attitudes to work and welfare in Britain and changing attitudes to working-age welfare and out-of-work benefits in particular. It also considers the extent to which recent transformations of the state may be explained by declines in traditional labourist politics and class-based solidarity. Thus, we attempt to develop a richer understanding of changing public attitudes towards welfare and the punitive regulatory 'workfare' practices engaged by the modern state in the liberal market economy; reflecting on the nature of the relations between ideology, party policies, popular attitudes and their political impact." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Djuve, Anne Britt & Hanne C. Kavli (2015): Facilitating user involvement in activation programmes. When carers and clerks meet pawns and queens. In: Journal of social policy, Jg. 44, H. 2, S. 235-254. DOI:10.1017/S0047279414000804

Abstract

"User involvement has become an explicit goal within social service provision. Even so, the term remains ambiguous, and its implementation troublesome. Implementation theory lists a number of factors influencing bureaucratic behaviour; in this paper we investigate the 'human factor'. Our ambition is to provide a framework for analysis of user influence in activation programmes that includes the individual characteristics of both service users and service providers. Building on theoretical insights from the literature on activation and agency, we develop a framework that distinguishes between two ideal types of service users: Pawns and Queens, and two types of service providers: care-oriented Carers and rule-oriented Clerks. This framework is then applied to identify key challenges for the interaction between users and caseworkers in two challenging situations: when service users express little or no agency and when they express agency that is incompatible with the overall goals of the programme. We find that Carers show pronounced reluctance to overrule the choices made by service users even when they have conflicting views - and tend to postpone decisions when they interact with Pawns. Clerks tend to overrule the decisions of Queens when they have conflicting views, and to make decisions on behalf of Pawns. The analysis draws on data collected from 126 qualitative interviews with service providers and participants in the Norwegian Introductory Programme for immigrants and a survey of 320 caseworkers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dümig, Kathrin (2015): Politik und Arbeitsmarktperformanz. Eine quantitative Analyse von 21 etablierten OECD-Ländern. (Vergleichende Analyse politischer Systeme), Baden-Baden: Nomos, 304 S.

Abstract

"Hohe Arbeitslosigkeit und eine geringe Beschäftigung gehören zu den zentralen Problemen der Wirtschaftspolitik. Doch inwiefern kann die Politik die Arbeitsmarktperformanz beeinflussen? Die Autorin untersucht diese Frage anhand einer quantitativen Analyse der Unterschiede in den Arbeitslosen- und Beschäftigungsquoten etablierter OECD-Länder seit den 1960er Jahren." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Erhel, Christine & Charlotte Levionnois (2015): Labour market policies in times of crisis. A reaction function approach for the period 1985 - 2010. In: Labour, Jg. 29, H. 2, S. 141-162. DOI:10.1111/labr.12050

Abstract

"This article examines the reaction function of labour market expenditure to unemployment in 24 OECD countries, over the period 1985 - 2010, using the OECD panel data. The level of public debt is also introduced as a factor that is likely to influence these expenditures. Using a fixed-effect model with interaction terms, this research focuses on two periods of crisis (1992 - 93 and 2007 - 09). The results confirm the counter-cyclical variation of labour market policy expenditures. Nevertheless, the sensitivity of labour market expenditure to the economic cycle has in general decreased and the policy mix has changed. This could result from the important labour market reforms undertaken in the last 20 years." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Escudero, Verónica (2015): Are active labour market policies effective in activating and integrating low-skilled individuals? An international comparison. (PSE working paper / Paris School of Economics 2015-01), Paris, 45 S.

Abstract

"This paper examines the effectiveness of active labour market policies (ALMPs) in improving labour market outcomes, especially of low-skilled individuals. The empirical analysis consists of an aggregate impact approach based on a pooled cross country and time series database for 31 advanced countries during the period 1985 - 2010. A novelty of the paper is that it includes aspects of the delivery system to see how the performance of ALMPs is affected by different implementation characteristics. Among the notable results, the paper finds that ALMPs matter at the aggregate level, both, in terms of reducing unemployment, but also in terms of increasing employment and participation. Interestingly, start-up incentives are more effective in reducing unemployment than other ALMPs. The positive effects seem to be particularly beneficial for the low-skilled. In terms of implementation, the paper finds that the most favourable aspect is the allocation of resources to programme administration. Finally, a disruption of policy continuity is associated with negative effects for all labour market variables analysed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fletcher, Del Roy (2015): Workfare - a blast from the past? Contemporary work conditionality for the unemployed in historical perspective. In: Social policy and society, Jg. 14, H. 3, S. 329-339. DOI:10.1017/S1474746414000232

Abstract

"During 2011, the UK Government introduced the Mandatory Work Activity scheme, which requires JSA claimants to work in order to continue receiving benefit. Workfare has been viewed as a radical departure in the evolution of British labour market policy. However, an historical review of workfare in inter-war Britain reveals that the most recent proposals merely resuscitate a heritage of compelling the long-term unemployed to work for their benefit. Both then and now workfare has flourished in times of economic crisis, and particularly where Governments have pursued economic theories which exalt the market. Historical analysis reveals important continuities and changes in the nature of contemporary workfare." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gal, Peter & Adam Theising (2015): The macroeconomic impact of policies on labour market outcomes in OECD countries. A reassessment. (OECD Economics Department working papers 1271), Paris, 65 S. DOI:10.1787/5jrqc6t8ktjf-en

Abstract

"This paper presents a first set of updates and extensions of the large body of existing evidence about the aggregate labour market impact of structural policies, in the context of enhancing the OECD's supply-side framework for the quantification of reform packages. In line with previous findings, elements of the tax benefit system, activation policies and wage setting institutions are found to be robust policy determinants of the aggregate employment and unemployment rates. Looking beyond the overall employment impact, outcomes for vulnerable groups such as the low educated, the youth and the elderly tend to be more affected by certain structural policies, including specific measures targeted at them. Finally, more competition-friendly product market regulations are also found to impact aggregate employment rates positively and significantly, although less robustly." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gama, André, Catherine Saget & François Eyraud (2015): Inventory of labour market policy measures in the EU 2008-13. The crisis and beyond. Synthesis Report. Genf, 150 S.

Abstract

"'The 'Inventory of labour market policy measures in the EU 2008-13: The crisis and beyond' report studies the way in which the labour market policies of Member States of the European Union evolved after the financial crisis of 2007/08, and the extent to which those policies were successful in mitigating the negative impact the crisis had on their labour markets.
Policy-makers reacted quickly to the crisis, with a balanced approach with respect to the main beneficiaries of those policy efforts. While a significant share of policies enhanced the rights of workers and increased the support offered to jobseekers, there was also significant effort dedicated to policy measures in which firms were the main beneficiary. After peaking in 2009/2010, however, these policy efforts decreased significantly thereafter.
Most of the attention of policy-makers went towards structural labour market reforms, together with interventions changing ALMP or wage rules, including collective bargaining.
The report highlights the need for constant and continuous dedication to the improvement of the resilience of labour market by policy-makers, even if this requires higher levels of public expenditure in the short term. A combination of policy measures which provide employers with enough flexibility to adjust their demand for labour together with interventions that improve working conditions and increase the support given to jobseekers will provide the only path for policy-makers across the EU to enable labour markets to recover from their current sluggish state and resume a pattern of sustainable employment growth and improving working conditions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gooderham, Paul N., Steen E. Navrbjerg, Karen Modesta Olsen & Christina Roe Steen (2015): The labor market regimes of Denmark and Norway. One Nordic model? In: The journal of industrial relations, Jg. 57, H. 2, S. 166-186. DOI:10.1177/0022185614534103

Abstract

"The literature on the Danish and Norwegian labor market systems emphasizes the commonalities of the two systems. We challenge this perception by investigating how employers in multinational companies in Denmark and Norway communicate with employees on staffing changes. We argue that the development of 'flexicurity' in Denmark grants Danish employers considerably greater latitude in engaging in staffing changes than its Nordic counterpart, Norway. Institutional theory leads us to suppose that large firms located in the Danish setting will be less likely to engage in employer - employee communication on staffing plans than their Norwegian counterparts. In addition, we argue that in the Danish context indigenous firms will have a better insight into the normative and cognitive aspects to flexicurity than foreign-owned firms, meaning that they are more likely to engage in institutional entrepreneurialism than their foreign-owned counterparts. We supplement institutional theory with an actor perspective in order to take into account the role of labor unions. Our analysis is based on a survey of 203 firms in Norway and Denmark which are either indigenous multinational companies or the subsidiaries of foreign multinational companies. The differences we observe cause us to conclude that the notion of a common Nordic model is problematic." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kröll, Martin (Hrsg.) (2015): Europäische Arbeitsmarktstrategien auf dem Prüfstand. (Bildung und Arbeitswelt 28), Berlin: LIT, 316 S.

Abstract

"Die europäische Gemeinschaft steht vor der Herausforderung zu klären, welche Arbeitsmarktstrategien sich vor dem Hintergrund der hohen Arbeitslosigkeit und der begrenzten finanziellen Mittel für die unterschiedlichen Zielgruppen als passend erweisen. Hierzu werden im ersten Teil dieses Buches verschiedene europäische Arbeitsmarktkonzepte und -situationen dargestellt. Daran anknüpfend werden Instrumente vorgestellt und diskutiert, die im Kontext der jeweiligen Arbeitsmarktstrategien aufgegriffen werden können. Im letzten Teil werden Praxisbeispiele dargestellt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Langenbucher, Kristine (2015): How demanding are eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits, quantitative indicators for OECD and EU countries. (OECD social, employment and migration working papers 166), Paris, 84 S. DOI:10.1787/5jrxtk1zw8f2-en

Abstract

"Eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits, which require recipients to actively look for work, take up suitable job offers or take part in active labour market programmes (ALMPs), or risk benefit sanctions, can play an important role in offsetting the negative impact of generous unemployment benefits on employment incentives. This paper presents information on the strictness of eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits for 40 OECD and/or EU member countries. It covers availability requirements during ALMPs and suitable work criteria, job search requirements and monitoring of independent job search effort, and sanctions for voluntary unemployment, refusing a job offer or participation in active labour market measures. These qualitative data are then used to compile a composite indicator of the strictness of eligibility criteria and some comparisons are made with the results of a similar exercise by the OECD in 2011. This indicator complements existing cross-country indicators relating to unemployment benefits, such as net replacement rate data from the OECD Taxes and Benefits Database and data on ALMP expenditure compiled annually by Eurostat and the OECD." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lundqvist, Åsa (2015): Activating women in the Swedish model. In: Social Politics, Jg. 22, H. 1, S. 111-132. DOI:10.1093/sp/jxu025

Abstract

"The 1960s marked the beginning of a new era of family and gender relations in Sweden. It was a time when traditional values and ideas concerning the family were questioned and redefined in policymaking. The Women's movement and political radicalization underpinned the emergence of gender equality policy ambitions, culminating in several gender neutral reforms in the 1970s. These policy ambitions coincided with the introduction of active labour market policies. In fact, the introduction of activation policies contributed already in the 1960s to incentivizing various groups to enter the labour force, among others married women without gainful employment. In this article, the National Labour Market Board is investigated as an active agent in a time when women's participation in the labour market increased dramatically. Attention is drawn to how activation policies were established, designed, and performed in order to enable women to do paid work. Three examples of how activation was accomplished will be presented: first, vocational training for women, second, a radio programme from 1966 called 'The Housewife Changing her Profession', and, third, the work done by a group of civil servants labelled activating inspectors. The empirical data are grounded in a comprehensive body of qualitative material amassed from in-depth interviews with former civil servants working within the National Labour Market Board and archive material. The results suggest that activation programmes in the 1960s functioned as a link between the ambition to increase female labour market participation to secure economic growth and to support women's economic independence." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Sabatinelli, Stefania & Matteo Villa (2015): Happy ever after in the quasi-market place? The dowry logic of active labour policy in the Lombardy region. In: The international journal of sociology and social policy, Jg. 35, H. 11/12, S. 812-827. DOI:10.1108/IJSSP-11-2014-0114

Abstract

"Purpose: The dote system is the most recent and only way to finance and deliver services in the training and labour policy field in Lombardy (Italy), strengthening the regional quasi-market approach. The purpose of this paper is to analyse its logic and highlight the implications for the policy system.
Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative case-study including preliminary documentation, analysis of administrative data, in-depth interviews with stakeholders and practitioners.
Findings: The dote system is based on a strongly pre-structured and pure performance logic. It predefines forms, ways and steps towards people's 'autonomy', further categorising the policy system and establishing a combination of individualisation without personalisation. The strict regulation makes it difficult to design accessible, high-quality and tailor-made interventions. Dote could represent an interesting innovation for high-profile measures, but as a universal equivalent it often fails to match the needs of people and the labour market.
Research limitations/implications: The self-funded research is limited to a regional context, analysed against the background of European welfare transformations. Greater effort in qualitative research could improve the knowledge about the implications of NPM and quasi-markets.
Practical implications: Regional centralism is strengthened; local authorities and private bodies are excluded from planning; freedom of choice is limited. A marriage of convenience between providers and users increases the level of stress and the dispersion of resources.
Originality/value: Dote is a particular experiment in the panorama of activation. It works in a unique way, impacting on governance and activation modes. The paper is addressed to researchers, practitioners and policy makers interested in gaining better understanding of the implications of quasi-markets and NPM." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Sowa, Frank & Stefan Zapfel (2015): Aktivierung als globales Modell der Weltpolitik? Konzeptionelle Überlegungen zum Wandel der Arbeitsmarktpolitik in europäischen Wohlfahrtsstaaten. In: Sozialer Fortschritt, Jg. 64, H. 3, S. 47-54., 2014-09-30. DOI:10.3790/sfo.64.3.47

Abstract

"Seit den letzten Dekaden des ausgehenden zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts sind die europäischen Wohlfahrtsstaaten mit einer spürbaren Zunahme der Arbeitslosigkeit konfrontiert. Die sich auf den neoliberalen Diskurs beziehende Kritik am Wohlfahrtsstaat führte daraufhin zu einer schrittweisen Neuausrichtung der damit in Verbindung stehenden Sozialpolitik und des dazugehörigen Verwaltungsapparats. Aktivierung prägt seitdem die sozialpolitischen Reformwellen in Ländern historisch unterschiedlichen Wohlfahrtszuschnitts. Dadurch kommt es zu einer tendenziellen Angleichung der europäischen Wohlfahrtsregime, zur Herausbildung zunehmend isomorpher Strukturen im sozialpolitischen Bereich. Der neoliberale Diskurs trifft jedoch auf unterschiedliche, nationalstaatlich geprägte Institutionen und Organisationen mit ihrer je eigenen Historie, Tradition und Kultur. Daher bleiben Unterschiede in den Praktiken der Arbeitsmarktpolitik bestehen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Spohr, Florian (2015): Pfadwechsel in der Arbeitsmarktpolitik. Eine Analyse aktivierender Reformen in Großbritannien, Deutschland und Schweden anhand des Multiple Streams Ansatzes. (Policy-Analyse 05), Baden-Baden: Nomos, 307 S. DOI:10.5771/9783845263908

Abstract

"Dieser Band analysiert die Bedingungen, unter denen in Großbritannien, Deutschland und Schweden die Pfadabhängigkeit der Arbeitsmarktpolitik durchbrochen und eine Neuausrichtung entlang eines aktivierenden Leitbildes möglich wurde. Der Autor widmet sich damit einer offenen Frage in der gegenwärtigen Wohlfahrtsstaatsforschung, in der der Annahme einer Angleichung der Wohlfahrtsstaaten durch Policy-Lernen und Europäisierung die Theorie der Pfadabhängigkeit gegenübersteht, nach der Wohlfahrtsstaaten nur schwer und unter hohen Kosten zu reformieren sind. Zur Analyse der Bedingungen für Pfadwechsel werden entlang des historischen Institutionalismus die ermöglichenden und beschränkenden Wirkungen von Institutionen in den Multiple Streams Ansatz integriert. Der Vergleich der Reformprozesse zeigt, dass aufgrund starker Institutionalisierung und Schuldvermeidung als leitender Handlungsprämisse von Politikern Zeitfenster und das strategische Geschick von Akteuren von zentraler Bedeutung sind." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Vikström, Johan (2015): Evaluation of sequences of treatments with application to active labor market policies. (Working papers / Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy 2015,05), Uppsala, 47 S.

Abstract

"This paper proposes a new framework for analyzing the effects of sequences of treatments with duration outcomes. Applications include sequences of active labor market policies assigned at specific unemployment durations and sequences of medical treatments. We consider evaluation under unconfoundedness and propose conditions under which the survival time under a specific treatment regime can be identified. We introduce inverse probability weighting estimators for various average effects. The finite sample properties of the estimators are investigated in a simulation study. The new estimator is applied to Swedish data on participants in training, in a work practice program and in subsidized employment. One result is that enrolling an unemployed person twice in the same program or in two different programs one after the other leads to longer unemployment spells compared to only participating in a single program once." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Walwei, Ulrich (2015): Arbeitsmarktreformen im internationalen Vergleich: Deutschland hat die Nase vorn. In: IAB-Forum H. 2, S. 4-13., 2015-11-30. DOI:10.3278/IFO1502W004

Abstract

"Seit Jahren vollzieht sich in Deutschland ein bemerkenswerter Aufschwung am Arbeitsmarkt. Dieser wird immer wieder mit den umfassenden Arbeitsmarktreformen der Jahre 2002 bis 2005 in Verbindung gebracht. Auch wissenschaftliche Befunde deuten darauf hin, dass das große Reformpaket zur Verbesserung der hiesigen Beschäftigungssituation beigetragen hat. Der internationale Vergleich liefert ebenfalls Indizien dafür, dass bestimmte Reformmaßnahmen positive Arbeitsmarktwirkungen entfalten können." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Wiggan, Jay (2015): Reading active labour market policy politically. An autonomist analysis of Britain's Work Programme and Mandatory Work Activity. In: Critical social policy, Jg. 35, H. 3, S. 369-392. DOI:10.1177/0261018315588231

Abstract

"Drawing on Autonomist Marxist theory this article situates the 2010 - 15 Conservative - Liberal Coalition government's active labour market policy as the most recent phase in a state 'strategy of underdevelopment' (Cleaver, 1977) to erode the autonomy of labour power and facilitate a reconfiguration of labour and work to impose (competition for) undesirable jobs on the terms and conditions offered by capital (Peck, 2001: 349). The article contends that Mandatory Work Activity and the Work Programme facilitate a pattern of differentiated activation, where segmentation and stratification of the non-employed population (re)produces an insecure, disciplined, segmented and stratified labour power for insecure, segmented, stratified labour markets. From the perspective of capital and the state the differential job outcomes associated with these programmes are less a mark of policy failure than of policy success." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Updated regularly, the 'Catalogue of Measures' provides an insight into the labour market reforms taking place across 32 European countries (the 28 Member States of the EU, plus Iceland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia).
The Catalogue acts as an important source for anyone seeking detailed information on the measures that different countries have introduced, including - their main objectives,
- their legal status
- their budget,
- the extent to which they meet the EU Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs).
From general changes to labour law, to details on specific activation measures to get people back to work, the latest issue of the Catalogue covers reforms introduced between January and September 2015." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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(2015): Improving benefit systems and employment services for jobseekers with mental ill-health. In: OECD (Hrsg.) (2015): Fit Mind, Fit Job, S. 141-173. DOI:10.1787/9789264228283-9-en

Abstract

"The ability of benefit systems to identify clients’ mental illness is crucial to helping them back into the labour market quickly and sustainably. Mental ill-health is highly prevalent not only among disability benefit recipients, but also among unemployment and social assistance recipients. Across OECD countries, between one-third and one-half of all benefit recipients suffer from mental ill-health. Activation policies can assure fast return to work for those people and prevent high caseloads in the disability benefit scheme." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Berkel, Rik van (2014): Quasi-markets and the delivery of activation. A frontline perspective. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 48, H. 2, S. 188-203. DOI:10.1111/spol.12056

Abstract

"This article analyzes the delivery of activation or welfare-to-work programmes and services in the context of quasi-market service provision. It adopts a frontline perspective, looking in particular into two issues often discussed in the literature on quasi-markets: risk selection in provider agencies and the administrative costs and burden related to monitoring provider agencies and agents. Data from a Dutch study of frontline workers in purchaser and provider agencies is presented to analyze frontline practices of risk selection and monitoring. The article concludes that interpreting provider behaviour in terms of risk selection may not be as straightforward as it seems, and that the widespread occurrence of risk selection processes throughout service provision chains makes it rather difficult to attribute risk selection unequivocally to rational provider behaviour. The monitoring process is experienced as an administrative burden, especially by workers in provider agencies, but it also has elements which workers consider as making a positive contribution to service provision processes in circumstances where actions of purchasers and providers need to be coordinated. This is partly related to the double function of monitoring in the context of activation policies in quasi-market contexts: monitoring provider behaviour as well as monitoring client behaviour." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bock-Schappelwein, Julia, Stefan Fuchs, Ulrike Huemer, Helmut Mahringer, Regina Konle-Seidl & Thomas Rhein (2014): Aktive und passive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Österreich und Deutschland. Aufkommen und Verwendung der Mittel im Vergleich. Endbericht. Wien, 103 S.

Abstract

"Zum Aufgabenspektrum der Arbeitsmarktpolitik gehören neben der Bereitstellung existenzsichernder Leistungen (passive Arbeitsmarktpolitik) die Entwicklung und Umsetzung von Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung der Arbeitsmarktintegration (aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik) in Form von Beschäftigungsprogrammen, Qualifizierungsangeboten, der Beratung und Vermittlung. In einer modernen Politikkonzeption werden aktive und passive Arbeitsmarktpolitik nicht als getrennte, sondern als interagierende Systeme verstanden. Aus der Gegenüberstellung von Ausgaben und Mittelaufbringung der Arbeitsmarktpolitik-Systeme in Österreich und Deutschland zeigt die vorliegende Studie praktizierte Kombinationen eines aktiven und passiven Mitteleinsatzes auf. Österreich gibt demnach für Schulungen, Sicherung des Lebensunterhalts und Frühpensionierungen mehr, für Service, Beschäftigungsanreize und Gründungsinitiativen weniger aus als Deutschland." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Dörre, Klaus, Kerstin Jürgens & Ingo Matuschek (Hrsg.) (2014): Arbeit in Europa. Marktfundamentalismus als Zerreißprobe. Frankfurt am Main: Campus-Verl., 399 S.

Abstract

"Auf den europäischen und globalen Arbeitsmärkten ist im Zuge der Finanzkrise eine zunehmende Prekarisierung zu beobachten. Ausgehend von diesem Befund lenken die Autorinnen und Autoren den Blick auf neue soziale Ungleichheiten in Europa und dabei auf die Folgen einer - am deutschen Modell ausgerichteten - aktivierenden, marktkonformen Regulierung von Arbeit: Die Rezepte des 'deutschen Jobwunders' verhindern Wachstum geradezu, tragen wenig zur Lösung der Schuldenproblematik bei und verstärken die Gefahr sozialer, ja gewalttätiger Konflikte. Das Buch liefert eine Bestandsaufnahme der aktuellen Arbeitsmarktsituation in Europa, diskutiert kritisch die Übertragbarkeit des deutschen Modells und skizziert darüber hinaus alternative Ansätze einer nachhaltigeren Arbeitspolitik und Wirtschaftsdemokratie. Mit Beiträgen von Brigitte Aulenbacher, Martin Baethge, Martin Beckmann, Adelheid Biesecker, Kristina Binner, Gerhard Bosch, Maria Dammayr, Klaus Dörre, Nico Dragano, François Dubet, Kerstin Jürgens, Steffen Lehndorff, Steffen Liebig, Josep Banyuls Llopis, Maria Markantonatou, Albert Recio, Stefan Schmalz, Olaf Struck, Hans-Jürgen Urban, Edward Webster, James Wickham und Erik Olin Wright." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Eleveld, Anja (2014): The duty to work without a wage. A legal comparison between social assistance legislation in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In: European Journal of Social Security, Jg. 16, H. 3, S. 204-224. DOI:10.1177/138826271401600302

Abstract

"Since the rise of the activation paradigm in the 1990s, the duty to work without a wage has become widespread in European social assistance legislation. This paper investigates in a precise way the extent to which the duty to work without a wage follows the legal logic of a contractual relationship and how this duty is related to the fundamental right to an adequate standard of living. A comparison between German, Dutch and British social assistance legislation shows that the duty to work without a wage increasingly takes the form of a reciprocity requirement. That is, instead of re-integrating into regular paid work, recipients of social assistance are required to show that they are worthy of attaining basic social rights, not only by improving their capability to work but, above all, by showing a willingness to work. It concludes that the duty to work without a wage enhances governmental control over recipients of social assistance rather than improving their employability and notes that, in this respect, the Dutch social assistance regime seems to be stricter than the German and British ones." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gualmini, Elisabetta & Roberto Rizza (2014): Activation, employability, and recent trends in labour policies. A comparison of the Italian and German cases. In: Sozialer Fortschritt, Jg. 63, H. 6, S. 131-139. DOI:10.3790/sfo.63.6.131

Abstract

"Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, die Aktivierungsstrategien zweier europäischer Länder zu vergleichen: Italien und Deutschland. Zunächst erläutern die Autoren kurz die einschlägige Literatur zum neuen Paradigma im Bereich Wiedereingliederungsmaßnahmen, um dann die Entwicklung der Aktivierungspolitik im Detail zu rekonstruieren. Dabei wird vor allem auf drei sehr spezifische Politikfelder eingegangen: Flexibilität und Deregulierung im Arbeitsmarkt, Neuorganisation des Vermittlungssystems sowie Reformen der Arbeitslosenbezüge." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Heidenreich, Martin, Norbert Petzold, Marcello Natili & Alexandru Panican (2014): Active inclusion as an organisational challenge. Integrated anti-poverty policies in three European countries. In: Journal of international and comparative social policy, Jg. 30, H. 2, S. 180-198. DOI:10.1080/21699763.2014.934901

Abstract

"Active inclusion aims at the reduction of poverty by strengthening the agency of excluded persons by the provision of a minimum income, activation and social services. The contribution to poverty alleviation is determined by expenditure levels and the organisation of these three policy fields. This can be shown by three examples: The comprehensive Swedish regime is characterised by high expenditures; the redistributive German regime is characterised by lower service levels and in Italy, all three dimensions are least developed. In addition, the organisation of services differs: Decentralised and discretionary system for the provision of services in Sweden, 'creaming and parking' effects in Germany and fragmented providers in Italy. As a result of different expenditure levels and organisational patterns, the selectivity of active inclusion strategies is low in Sweden, medium in Germany and high in Italy. Both the financial and organisational dimensions of active inclusion therefore are decisive for poverty alleviation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Konle-Seidl, Regina, Thomas Rhein & Parvati Trübswetter (2014): Arbeitsmärkte im europäischen Vergleich: Erwerbslose und Inaktive in verschiedenen Sozialsystemen. (IAB-Kurzbericht 08/2014), Nürnberg, 8 S.

Abstract

"Seit mehr als drei Jahrzehnten ist Langzeit-Erwerbslosigkeit eines der größten Probleme auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt. Trotz struktureller Verbesserungen ist es nicht gelungen, den harten Kern der Erwerbslosigkeit aufzubrechen. Vielmehr scheint es, dass dieser ein Kennzeichen post-industrieller Arbeitsmärkte ist. Mit einer Bestandsaufnahme von Umfang und Struktur der Langzeit-Nichterwerbstätigkeit im Ländervergleich geht der Kurzbericht der Frage nach, ob es einen solchen harten Kern tatsächlich immer und überall gibt, oder ob es anderen Ländern besser gelingt, verfestigte Erwerbslosigkeit zu vermeiden. Untersucht wird die langfristige Nichterwerbstätigkeit in Deutschland im Vergleich mit Dänemark, Schweden, den Niederlanden, Großbritannien und Spanien in den Jahren 2008 und 2012." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Lodemel, Ivar & Amilcar Moreira (Hrsg.) (2014): Activation or workfare? Governance and neo-liberal convergence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 367 S.

Abstract

"The last decade of the 20th century was marked by a shift in how welfare-states deal with those at the bottom of the income ladder. This shift involved the introduction/strengthening of work-obligations as a condition for receiving minimum income benefits - which, in some countries, was complemented by efforts to help recipients return to the labour market, namely through the investment in active labour market policies (ALMP).
Based on case-studies of developments in the US and eight European nations (UK, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, France, Portugal and the Czech Republic), this book argues that this first set of reforms was followed by a second wave of reforms that, whilst deepening the path towards the focus on work, brings important innovations- be it the tools used to help recipients back to the labour markets (ex., financial incentives) and in how activation policies are delivered (ex., integration of benefit and employment services).
Looking at the array of developments introduced during this period, we discern two key trends. The first concerns the strengthening of the role of the market in the governance of activation, which is visible in the strengthening of the focus on work, or the marketisation of employment services. The second, concerns a move towards the individualisation of service delivery, visible in the expansion of the use of personal action plans or in efforts to streamline service delivery.
Finally, we show that the onset of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, has triggered a new wave of reforms. Whilst tentative only, our analysis points to a worrying trend of the curtailment or benefits (Portugal) and activation services (Netherlands, Czech Republic) to minimum income recipients and, in parallel, a further deepening of the focus on work-conditionality (UK and Norway)." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Martin, John P. (2014): Activation and active labour market policies in OECD countries. Stylized facts and evidence on their effectiveness. (IZA policy paper 84), Bonn, 33 S.

Abstract

"Activation policies aimed at getting working-age people off benefits and into work have become a buzzword in labour market policies. Yet they are defined and implemented differently across OECD countries and their success rates vary too. The Great Recession has posed a severe stress test for these policies with some commentators arguing that they are at best 'fair weather' policies. This paper sheds light on these issues mainly via the lens of recent OECD research. It presents the stylized facts on how OECD countries have responded to the Great Recession in terms of ramping up their spending on active labour market policies (ALMPs), a key component in any activation strategy. It then reviews the macroeconomic evidence on the impact of ALMPs on employment and unemployment rates. This is followed by a review of the key lessons from recent OECD country reviews of activation policies. It concludes with a discussion of crucial unanswered questions about activation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ploung, Niels (2014): Investing in people to promote activation and empowerment. The case of Denmark and lessons for other countries. In: International social security review, Jg. 67, H. 3-4, S. 61-74. DOI:10.1111/issr.12048

Abstract

"Danish labour market policies and the Danish flexicurity model were feted during the 1990s when active labour market policies combined with economic policies were able to revitalize the Danish economy and to reduce unemployment from 12.0 per cent to 1.4 per cent by mid-2008. This article explains the background for this development, explains the major features of the Danish flexicurity model, and uses this to explain recent reform developments in Denmark. Investing in people and decentralization of the implementation of policies are important features of the relative success of Denmark's policies. The importance of taking the individual's competences and labour market experience into consideration as well as the importance of adapting active labour market polices to needs in the local labour market are lessons to be drawn from policy developments in Denmark. The article underlines that Denmark's policies are seen as structural policies that seek to adapt structures in the labour market, social benefit system and educational system to future challenges - and that for structural policies to be successful their timing with economic policies is important. This timing is thought to have been successful the 1990s, but it remains to be seen if this has been so in relation to the most recent reforms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Rees, James, Adam Whitworth & Elle Carter (2014): Support for all in the UK work programme? Differential payments, same old problem. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 48, H. 2, S. 221-239. DOI:10.1111/spol.12058

Abstract

"The UK has been a high profile policy innovator in welfare-to-work provision which has led in the Coalition government's Work Programme to a fully outsourced, 'black box' model with payments based overwhelmingly on job outcome results. A perennial fear in such programmes is providers' incentives to 'cream' and 'park' claimants, and the Department for Work and Pensions has sought to mitigate such provider behaviours through Work Programme design, particularly via the use of claimant groups and differential pricing. In this article, we draw on a qualitative study of providers in the programme alongside quantitative analysis of published performance data to explore evidence around creaming and parking. The combination of the quantitative and qualitative evidence suggests that creaming and parking are widespread, seem systematically embedded within the Work Programme, and are driven by a combination of intense cost-pressures and extremely ambitious performance targets alongside overly diverse claimant groups and inadequately calibrated differentiated payment levels." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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(2014): Evaluierung "Arbeitslos(früh)meldung". Wien, 86 S.

Abstract

"Das Angebot der Arbeitslosfrühmeldung bietet jenen Personen, welche noch in Beschäftigung stehen, aber bereits das Ende ihres Beschäftigungsverhältnisses kennen, die Möglichkeit, schriftlich oder mündlich eine Arbeitslosmeldung abzugeben. Die Arbeitslosfrühmeldung bringt für Arbeitsuchende den Vorteil, dass sie innerhalb von 10 Tagen nach tatsächlichem Eintritt der Arbeitslosigkeit den Anspruch auf Arbeitslosengeldleistungen geltend machen können und dennoch lückenlose Transferleistungen erwarten können. Für die BeraterInnen bietet das frühzeitige Bekanntwerden der Arbeitslosigkeit die Chance, Termine mit den KundInnen gezielt planen zu können. Für beide Seiten ist es als vorteilhaft zu sehen, dass Vermittlungsbemühungen unvermittelt gestartet werden können und somit eine Verkürzung der Arbeitslosigkeit sowie lückenlose Übergänge in Beschäftigung möglich sind.
Ausgehend von der quantitativ aktuell noch geringen Bedeutung der Frühmeldung wurde im Rahmen dieser Studie untersucht, welche Rolle unterschiedliche Personen- und Berufsmerkmale auf Seite der Arbeitsuchenden für die Nutzung der Arbeitslosfrühmeldung spielen bzw. welche regionalen Unterschiede in der Nutzung bestehen. Den Längsschnittdaten zufolge ist der Nutzungsgrad bei Frauen, Personen im Haupterwerbsalter, höher Gebildeten und Nicht-MigrantInnen überdurchschnittlich hoch. Weiteres lassen sich Berufe mit überdurchschnittlich hohem Nutzungsgrad, wie Wirtschaftsberufe, TechnikerInnen, Büroberufe, Lehr- und Kulturberufe, Verwaltungs- und Gesundheitsberufe identifizieren. Diesen stehen Berufe mit geringem Nutzungsgrad, wie Reinigung, Hilfsberufe und der Baubereich, sowie Fremdenverkehrsberufe gegenüber." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

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Røed, Knut & Jens Fredrik Skogstrøm (2014): Unemployment insurance and entrepreneurship. In: Labour, Jg. 28, H. 4, S. 430-448. DOI:10.1111/labr.12040

Abstract

"Based on administrative registers from Norway, we examine how unemployment insurance (UI) and active labor market programs (ALMP) affect the transition rates from unemployment to regular employment and entrepreneurship. We find that the entrepreneurship hazard is highly responsive with respect to UI incentives, and that the probability of starting up a new business increases sharply around the time of UI exhaustion. We also find that while participation in ALMP has a positive impact on the employment hazard, it has no effect on entrepreneurship. We speculate that this reflects the programs' one-sided focus on job search rather than job creation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Schmieja, Vanessa & Karin Schulze Buschoff (2014): Arbeitsmarktpolitik in nationalen Kontexten. Beispiele guter Praktiken in Europa. (WSI-Diskussionspapier 193), Düsseldorf, 26 S.

Abstract

"Seit den 1970er Jahren führt ein grundlegender struktureller Wandel der Arbeitsmärkte - einhergehend mit den Folgen der Krise - zu Herausforderungen für die europäischen Staaten. Diese bestehen vor allem in der Arbeitslosigkeit, die in den letzten Jahren in Europa stetig gestiegen ist, und in der Zunahme atypischer, häufig prekärer Beschäftigung.
Ziel einer solidarischen Arbeitsmarktpolitik muss es sein, Arbeitslosigkeit zu bekämpfen und möglichst vielen Menschen die Beteiligung am Arbeitsmarkt zu guten Bedingungen zu ermöglichen. Konkrete Maßnahmen müssen dabei vor dem Hintergrund der nationalen Arbeitsmarktsituation und der länderspezifischen Problemlagen entwickelt werden. Erfahrungen aus den europäischen Nachbarländern und erfolgreiche Reformen bzw. 'gute Praktiken' können helfen, Diskussionen im Vorfeld von Reformen zu bereichern und zu strukturieren.
In diesem Papier wird anhand von konkreten Beispielen gezeigt, in welchen Bereichen der nationalen Politiken 'Good Practices' identifizierbar sind." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Turrini, Alessandro, Gabor Koltay, Fabiana Pierini, Clarisse Goffard & Áron Kiss (2014): A decade of labour market reforms in the EU. Insights from the LABREF database. (European economy. Economic papers 522), Brüssel, 43 S. DOI:10.2765/70268

Abstract

"This paper analyses the determinants and impact of labour market reforms in the European Union over the period of 2000-2011. The source of information on reforms is the LABREF database developed in DG ECFIN of the European Commission in cooperation with the Economic Policy Committee of the ECOFIN Council. The database collects information on measures adopted by EU Member States. Despite limitations of count data on reform events, the evidence permits a number of interesting insights. The 2008 crisis triggered increased policy activity in most policy domains in a large number of EU countries, in particular in domains with macro-structural relevance (employment protection legislation, unemployment benefits, wage setting). Reforms tend to be more frequently carried out in countries characterised by disappointing labour market outcomes and a high initial level of regulation or fiscal burden on labour. Econometric evidence on the effects of selected reforms on aggregate labour market outcomes is broadly supportive of common priors: tax and benefit reforms tend to be followed, after a time lag, by improved activity rates and lower unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Zimmermann, Katharina, Patrizia Aurich, Paolo R. Graziano & Vanesa Fuertes (2014): Local worlds of marketization. Employment policies in Germany, Italy and the UK compared. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 48, H. 2, S. 127-148. DOI:10.1111/spol.12053

Abstract

"The majority of the European countries have experienced a turn towards activation policies during the last two decades (Serrano Pascual and Magnusson 2007; van Berkel and Borghi 2008; Bonoli 2010; Aurich 2011; Graziano 2009 and 2012). The interlinked aim to increase employment rates by integrating formerly excluded groups into the labour market requires new forms of governance and new structures of policy implementation. One of these policy changes concerns the marketization of employment and social services (Considine 2001; Newman 2001), an important part of policy delivery in most welfare states although in very different forms and extents. Since the local level plays a crucial role in delivering policies (Künzel 2012; Green and Orton 2012), an important element, and the main focus of the article, is the level of discretion of local actors and their relation to activation interventions.
This article draws on the findings of three qualitative case studies on the organization of activation policies in three most different countries regarding worlds of welfare: Germany, Italy and the UK. It develops a theoretical framework of regulating marketization in regard to activation, and analyses the three empirical cases according to it. The findings show a link between the regulation of market-based interventions (i.e. type of marketization, outsourcing decisions and purchaser-provider split) and the level of discretion for local actors with regard to these measures. Local contexts of policy-making and their suitability and willingness to become marketized will affect the usage of local discretion." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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(2014): Labour market policy - expenditure and participants. Data 2011. (Eurostat statistical books), Brüssel, 207 S. DOI:10.2785/50210

Abstract

"Die Statistiken zur Arbeitsmarktpolitik (AMP) liefern Informationen zu arbeitsmarktpolitischen Eingriffen in den EU-Ländern und Norwegen. Diese Publikation enthält Daten zu den öffentlichen Ausgaben und den Teilnehmern (oder Leistungsempfängern) von arbeitsmarktpolitischen (AMP) Eingriffen im Jahr 2011. Zusätzlich enthält die Publikation Tabellen mit Zeitreihen für die Jahre 1998-2011; diese zeigen AMP Ausgaben zu konstantem Preisniveau sowie Bestandsdaten für Teilnehmer nach Alter und Geschlecht." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Brodkin, Evelyn Z. & Gregory Marston (Hrsg.) (2013): Work and the welfare state. Street-level organizations and workfare politics. (Public management and change series), Kopenhagen: DJOF Publishing, 324 S.

Abstract

"Work and the Welfare State places street-level organizations at the analytic center of welfare-state politics, policy, and management. This volume offers a critical examination of efforts to change the welfare state to a workfare state by looking at on-the-ground issues in six countries: the US, UK, Australia, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Content:
Part I INTRODUCTION
EVELYN Z. BRODKIN: Work and the Welfare State (3-16);
EVELYN Z. BRODKIN: Street-Level Organizations and the Welfare State (7-34);
PART II WHAT'S AT ISSUE: POLITICS, POLICIES, AND JOBS
MICHAEL LIPSKY: The American Welfare State: Two Narratives (37-55);
EVELYN Z. BRODKIN, FLEMMING LARSEN: The Policies of Workfare: At the Boundaries between Work and the Welfare State (57-67);
SUSAN LAMBERT, JULIA HENLY: Double Jeopardy: The Misfit between Welfare-to-Work Requirements and Job Realities (69-84);
PART III GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT: WORKFARE'S "SECOND TRACK"
RIK VAN BERKEL: Triple Activation: Introducing Welfare-to-Work into Dutch Social Assistance (87-102);
FLEMMING LARSEN: Active Labor-Market Reform in Denmark: The Role of Governance in Policy Change (103-123);
Joe SOSS, RICHARD FORDING, SANFORD F. SCHRAM: Performance Management as a Disciplinary Regime: Street-Level Organizations in a Neoliberal Era of Poverty Governance (135-140);
PART IV STREET-LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS AND THE PRACTICES OF WORKFARE
EVELYN Z. BRODKIN: Commodification, Inclusion, or VVhat? Workfare in Everyday Organizational Life (143-166);
CELESTE WATKINS-HAYES: Race, Respect, and Red Tape: Inside the Black Box of Racially Representative Bureaucracies (167-184);
MARTIN BRUSSIG, MATTHIAS KNUTH: Good Intentions and Institutional Blindness: Migrant Populations and the Implementation of German Activation Policy (185-208);
GREGORY MARSTON: Frontline Workers as Intermediaries: The Changing Landscape of Disability and Employment Services in Australia (209-225);
PART V ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE: CHALLENGING WORKFARE PRACTICES
MICHAEL ADLER: Conditionality, Sanctions, and the Wealcness of Redress Mechanisms in the British "New Deal" (229-248);
VICKI LENS: Redress and Accountability in US Welfare Agencies (249-267);
PART VI CONCLUSION
EVELYN Z. BRODKIN: Chapter 15 Work and the Welfare State Reconsidered: Street-Level Organizations and the Global Workfare Project (271-281).

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Haux, Tina (2013): Lone parents and activation – towards a typology of approaches. In: Journal of international and comparative social policy, Jg. 29, H. 2, S. 122-133. DOI:10.1080/21699763.2013.818566

Abstract

"There has been an international trend towards activating lone parents, with the United Kingdom being the most recent example. It has been argued that the most common criterion for deciding which lone parents should have to be available for work is the age of the youngest child. However, by examining the activation policies in the OECD countries more closely, a number of criteria used in conjunction with age of the child have been identified, such as the availability of childcare and the employability of lone parents. It is therefore argued that a typology can be developed consisting of three main approaches: general activation, age of child and no activation, with three sub-categories for the age of child approach. The different (sub-)categories will be illustrated using country case studies as examples." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Heyes, Jason (2013): Flexicurity in crisis. European labour market policies in a time of austerity. In: European journal of industrial relations, Jg. 19, H. 1, S. 71-86. DOI:10.1177/0959680112474749

Abstract

"This article compares labour market policies implemented by EU member states in response to the economic crisis that erupted in 2008. It also considers the implications of the crisis for the European Commission's flexicurity agenda. The discussion focuses on Ireland, the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic. The article demonstrates that responses to the crisis have been shaped by established features of national employment regimes in the four countries; but each employment regime is also affected by the implementation of austerity measures, which undermine conditions for implementing those components of flexicurity that have appealed most to trade unions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Molander, Anders & Gaute Torsvik (2013): Getting people into work. What (if anything) can justify mandatory activation of welfare recipients? (CESifo working paper 4317), München, 35 S.

Abstract

"So-called activation policies aiming at bringing jobless people into work have been a central component of welfare reforms across OECD countries during the last decades. Such policies combine restrictive and enabling programs, but their characteristic feature is that also enabling programs are mandatory, and non-compliers are sanctioned. There are four main arguments that can be used to defend mandatory activation of benefit recipients. We label them efficiency, sustainability, paternalism, and justice. Each argument is analyzed in turn and according to a strict scheme. First we clarify which standards it invokes. Thereafter we evaluate each argument according to its own standards Finally we introduce competing normative concerns that have to be taken into account. In the conclusion we discuss possible constellations of arguments that make up the normative space for activation policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Sarfati, Hedva (2013): Coping with the unemployment crisis in Europe. In: International Labour Review, Jg. 152, H. 1, S. 145-156. DOI:10.1111/j.1564-913X.2013.00173.x

Abstract

"Since the 1970s, Europe has been plagued by a chronic unemployment crisis, which has escalated with the current Great Recession. The author discusses a number of relevant elements in this regard, including the extent to which social dialogue and social pacts have been successful in reforming labour markets and pension systems, the effect of active labour market policies and the characteristics of 'resilient' economies. She concludes with the need to rethink social dialogue, social safety nets, the granting of loans - especially to SMEs - and the coordination of macroeconomic policies to increase labour demand." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Wulfgramm, Melike & Lukas Fervers (2013): Unemployment and subsequent employment stability. Does labour market policy matter? (IZA discussion paper 7193), Bonn, 23 S.

Abstract

"This paper analyses the effect of unemployment insurance generosity and active labour market policy on reemployment stability in Europe. Using EU-SILC and OECD data, we conduct discrete time survival analyses with shared frailty specification to identify policy effects at the micro and macro level. Empirical evidence suggests that unemployment benefit receipt is associated with longer reemployment duration at the individual level. Furthermore, countries with more generous unemployment insurance and higher ALMP spending show a more sustainable reintegration record of previously unemployed workers. These results point to a policy trade-off between the well-confirmed disincentive and locking-in effect of unemployment benefits and ALMP programmes on the one hand, and their positive effect on reemployment stability on the other hand." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bartelheimer, Peter, Joan Miquel Verd, René Lehweß-Litzmann, Martí López-Andreu & Tanja Schmidt (2012): Unemployment, intervention and capabilities. A comparative study of Germany and Spain. In: Transfer, Jg. 18, H. 1, S. 31-44. DOI:10.1177/1024258911431199

Abstract

"In den vergangenen zwanzig Jahren haben sich die sozialen Sicherungen für Arbeitslose in Europa ausdifferenziert. Um Geldleistungen zu ergänzen oder zu beschneiden, haben viele Staaten Dienstleistungen und Aktivierungsmaßnahmen in den Mittelpunkt der sozialen Sicherung bei Arbeitslosigkeit gestellt. Dieser Artikel vergleicht zwei Länder, deren politische Strategien sich unterscheiden: Spanien erbringt vor allem ''traditionelle'' Lohnersatzleistungen und verfolgt kaum aktivierende Ansätze, wogegen Deutschland in den letzten Jahren rasch auf einen Aktivierungskurs einschwenkte. Dieser Artikel nutzt das Modell der Verwirklichungschancen (''capabilities''), um diese politischen Strategien und ihre Wirkungen für die Arbeitslosen zu evaluieren. Er untersucht vergleichend, wie die institutionellen Interventionen sich auf die Bündel wirklicher Optionen auswirken, über die Arbeitslose verfügen, um eine angemessene Stelle zu finden, sich beruflich weiterzubilden oder anderen Aktivitäten nachzugehen. Der Autorin und den Autoren zufolge können Lohnersatzleistungen als ''hilfsweise'' chancenfreundlich gelten. Eine stärker auf Intervention orientierte Arbeitsverwaltung müsste jedoch Arbeitsuchende aktiver daran beteiligen, Unterstützungsleistungen ''passgenau'' an ihren Bedarfen auszurichten." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Bouis, Romain, Orsetta Causa, Lilas Demmou & Romain Duval (2012): How quickly does structural reform pay off? An empirical analysis of the short-term effects of unemployment benefit reform. In: IZA journal of labor policy, Jg. 1, S. 1-12. DOI:10.1186/2193-9004-1-12

Abstract

"While there is a fairly broad consensus regarding the potential adverse effects of generous unemployment benefit insurance on steady-state employment, the short-term effects of benefit reforms are not well-established. This paper contributes to fill this gap by estimating impulse responses to benefit reform 'shocks' identified for a panel of OECD countries. Findings indicate that although it takes time for unemployment benefit reforms to pay off, such reforms do not appear to entail any negative short-run effects. There is however some suggestive evidence that reducing unemployment benefits could have negative short-run effects in 'bad times'." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Brown, Alessio J. G. & Johannes Koettl (2012): Active labor market programs. Employment gain or fiscal drain? (Kieler Arbeitspapier 1785), Kiel, 46 S.

Abstract

"This paper provides a new perspective in classifying ALMPs depending on their main objective, also in light of their relevance and cost-effectiveness during normal times, during a crisis, and during recovery. We distinguish ALMPs that provide incentives for retaining employment, incentives for creating employment, incentives for seeking and keeping a job, incentives for human capital enhancement, and improved labor market matching. We will discuss their direct and indirect effects determining their cost- effectiveness as well as to provide examples which may provide lessons to learn for transition and developing countries. This paper provides a systematic overview of how, why, when and to what extent specific policies are effective." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Brown, Alessio J. G. & Johannes Koettl (2012): Active labor market programs. Employment gain or fiscal drain? (IZA discussion paper 6880), Bonn, 45 S.

Abstract

"This paper provides a new perspective in classifying ALMPs depending on their main objective, also in light of their relevance and cost-effectiveness during normal times, during a crisis, and during recovery. We distinguish ALMPs that provide incentives for retaining employment, incentives for creating employment, incentives for seeking and keeping a job, incentives for human capital enhancement, and improved labor market matching. We will discuss their direct and indirect effects determining their cost- effectiveness as well as to provide examples which may provide lessons to learn for transition and developing countries. This paper provides a systematic overview of how, why, when and to what extent specific policies are effective." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gautier, Pieter, Paul Muller, Bas van der Klaauw, Michael Rosholm & Michael Svarer (2012): Estimating equilibrium effects of job search assistance. (IZA discussion paper 6748), Bonn, 44 S.

Abstract

"Randomized experiments provide policy relevant treatment effects if there are no spillovers between participants and nonparticipants. We show that this assumption is violated for a Danish activation program for unemployed workers. Using a difference-in-difference model we show that the nonparticipants in the experiment regions find jobs slower after the introduction of the activation program (relative to workers in other regions). We then estimate an equilibrium search model. This model shows that a large scale role out of the activation program decreases welfare, while a standard partial microeconometric cost-benefit analysis would conclude the opposite." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Immervoll, Herwig & Stefano Scarpetta (2012): Activation and employment support policies in OECD countries. An overview of current approaches. In: IZA journal of labor policy, Jg. 1, S. 1-21. DOI:10.1186/2193-9004-1-9

Abstract

"This note examine the balance of activation strategies in OECD countries, where this type of policy approach has a long tradition. Countries share the objective of strengthening employment and reducing benefit dependency and vulnerability among the working-age population, but the balance of policy measures differs widely. While debates on the effectiveness of active labour market policies have tended to focus on individual policy measures, this paper emphasizes the links between policy areas. We argue that an effective policy strategy rests on a finely tuned balance between income support, work incentives, as well as mutual obligations and active labour market programmes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))