Zitatform

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)

Zitatform

Turrini, Alessandro, Gabor Koltay, Fabiana Pierini, Clarisse Goffard & Aron 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))

Zitatform

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)

Zitatform

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))

Zitatform

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))

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Jochem, Sven (2012): Der "vorsorgende Sozialstaat" in der Praxis. Beispiele aus der Arbeits- und Sozialpolitik der skandinavischen Länder. Berlin, 60 S.

Abstract

"Die deutsche Diskussion über den vorsorgenden Sozialstaat wird oft mit vagen Verweisen auf die skandinavische Sozialpolitik geführt. In diesem Beitrag wird systematisch gezeigt, wie die vorsorgende Sozialpolitik in Nordeuropa beschaffen ist, welche politischen, gesellschaftlichen und wirtschaftlichen Grundlagen sie besitzt - und wie leistungsfähig sie ist. Eine vorsorgende Sozialpolitik in Deutschland ist mit vielen Hindernissen konfrontiert, aber nicht undenkbar. Wichtige Reformen wären die fiskalpolitische Absicherung der dezentralen Aufgabenträger, die Stärkung des Bildungssystems sowie eine Qualitätsoffensive bei humanen Dienstleistungen verbunden mit dem Abbau atypischer Beschäftigungsformen und der Einführung eines flächendeckenden Mindestlohns." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Knotz, Carlo Michael (2012): Measuring the 'New Balance of Rights and Responsibilities' in labor market policy. A quantitative overview of activation strategies in 20 OECD countries. (ZeS-Arbeitspapier 2012/06), Bremen, 48 S.

Abstract

"Im Zuge des 'activation turn' wurden während der 1990er Jahre zahlreiche Arbeitsmarktreformen durchgeführt. Dies umfasste strengere Verhaltensregeln für Arbeitslose und Leistungsbezieher, aber auch Verbesserungen von Sachleistungen (bspw. verbesserte Arbeitsvermittlung). Kurz gesagt, die Rechte und Pflichten von Arbeitslosen sowie Personen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt wurden neu austariert. Derzeit gibt es nur wenig Möglichkeiten, dies quantitativ zu erfassen. Dieses Papier stellt einen Versuch dar, diese Lücke zu füllen. Unter Verwendung einer Reihe von quantitativen Indikatoren für 20 Kern-OECD Länder wird gezeigt, welche Instrumente von diesen Ländern in welchem Umfang verwendet werden, und in welchem Verhältnis 'fördernde' und 'fordernde' Instrumente stehen. Es wird gezeigt, dass sich die Länder bezüglich des Ausmaßes des 'Forderns' (Pflichte) generell recht ähnlich sind, jedoch deutliche Unterschiede beim Umfang des 'Förderns' erkennbar sind. Trotz Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede über die Grenzen der Wohlfahrtsstaats-Regime hinweg können drei Welten der Aktivierung Arbeitsloser unterschieden werden." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Räisänen, Heikki, Johanna Alatalo, Kristian Krüger Henriksen, Torbjörn Israelsson & Sabine Klinger (2012): Labour market reforms and performance in Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Finland. (Publications of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. Employment and entrepreneurship 19/2012), Helsinki, 105 S.

Abstract

"The Danish, German, Swedish and Finnish labour market reforms and performances are analysed in this publication between 2000 and 2010. A descriptive report is presented from each country concentrating in the main reforms, their context and the outcome based on research evidence. All the four countries have implemented remarkable labour market reforms. The reforms have addressed tighter unemployment benefit regime, the tasks and organisation of the public employment service as well as the volume and content of active labour market policy measures. In addition, certain specific groups of people have been addressed in the reforms. All these are components of successful labour market reforms. In Denmark, especially innovative is the combination of broad activation policy, relatively generous unemployment benefits and loose employment protection regulation, known as the Danish flexicurity model. Germany has experienced a continuum of systematic reforming. Fostering the long-term labour supply and effective integration of the difficult groups of people to the labour market has been emphasised in Sweden. The Finnish transition security and education an one's own initiative with unemployment benefits can be considered as innovative reforms. Denmark has been especially succesful in integration of young people, the general employment rate is high and the labour market dynamic. Germany has, due to the broad reforms, improved the overall labour market performance. In Sweden the general and elderly employment rates are high and the labour market dynamic. Finland has succeeded in improving the employment of the elderly and also the female employment rate is high. This report tries to build a systematic outlook on the labour market reforms an one hand, and the labour market performance on the other as well as to specify the more and less successful components of the reforms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Schmid, Günther (2012): Annäherungen an eine Politik der Vollbeschäftigung in Europa. In: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte H. 14/15, S. 53-61.

Abstract

"Angesichts der Arbeitsmarktsituation in vielen Ländern Europas scheint es utopisch, von Vollbeschäftigung zu reden. In Annäherung an dieses Ziel zeigt sich, dass es vor allem der Schaffung neuer institutioneller Kapazitäten bedarf." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Abstract

"This report on the recent Australian experience with activation policies contains valuable lessons for other countries that need to improve the effectiveness of employment services and control benefit expenditure. It provides overview and assessment of labour market policies in Australia including the main institutions, benefit system, training programmes, employment incentives, and disability employment assistance. Australia is unique among OECD countries in that its mainstream employment services are all delivered by over 100 for-profit and non-profit providers competing in a 'quasi-market', with their operations financed by service fees, employment outcome payments, and a special fund for measures that tackle jobseekers' barriers to employment. In most other OECD countries, these services are delivered by the Public Employment Service. In the mid 2000s, several benefits previously paid without a job-search requirement were closed or reformed, bringing more people into the effective labour force. Australia now has one of the highest employment rates in the OECD and this report concludes that its activation system deserves some of the credit for this relatively good performance. The Job Services Australia model, introduced in 2009, reinforced the focus on employment outcomes for highly-disadvantaged groups. This report assesses the latest model for activation and puts forward some recommendations to improve its effectiveness." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Wydra-Somaggio, Gabriele & Werner Sesselmeier (2012): Arbeitsmarktpolitik im wohlfahrtsstaatlichen Vergleich. In: S. Bothfeld, W. Sesselmeier & C. Bogedan (Hrsg.) (2012): Arbeitsmarktpolitik in der sozialen Marktwirtschaft : vom Arbeitsförderungsgesetz zum Sozialgesetzbuch II und III, S. 27-42. DOI:10.1007/978-3-658-00145-2_2

Abstract

"Die Rahmenbedingungen für die Arbeitsmarktpolitik, erst auf Grundlage des Arbeitsförderungsgesetzes von 1969 und ab 1998 auf Grundlage des Sozialgesetzbuches II und III, veränderten sich stetig. Dies war mit einem Wandel im Verständnis und in der Stellung der Arbeitsmarktpolitik verbunden, der einerseits in den Veränderungen des theoretischen Mainstreams, der die Verlagerung von der nachfrageorientierten Wirtschafts- (makroökonomische Sicht) hin zur Angebotspolitik auf dem Arbeitsmarkt (mikroökonomische Sicht) beschreibt, begründet lag." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Abstract

"This report investigates the role played by the social partners in the development, implementation and monitoring of unemployment benefit regimes in the EU27 Member States and Norway over the last decade, with particular emphasis on the years following the financial and economic crisis of 2008. It gives a detailed picture of the characteristics of their involvement and participation in the system, while aiming to develop a wider understanding of the limits and potential of the different forms of interaction. In general, the role ultimately played by the social partner organisations in the face of economic crisis varies considerably according to the institutional factors defining their involvement and their ability to look for and grasp new opportunities for action." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Betzelt, Sigrid & Silke Bothfeld (Hrsg.) (2011): Activation and labour market reforms in Europe. Challenges to social citizenship. (Work and welfare in Europe), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 290 S.

Abstract

"This book examines the consequences of activation policies from the individual citizen's perspective. It offers an original analytical perspective of how the multidimensional concept of social citizenship can be used in comparative research in order to capture underlying policy change which is often underestimated by policy analysts who delimit their perspective to material aspects of social policy reforms. Eight case studies, covering the North, West, and South of Europe, provide a comprehensive analysis of labour market reforms, including aspects of labour promotion, income maintenance policies, and labour market regulation. Tackling both the contents and governance, the chapters draw a highly instructive picture of how activation policies affect the whole population, the middle class as well as more vulnerable social groups. The findings indicate a deep normative change of the given patterns of state-citizen relationships to the detriment of the citizens' autonomy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dingeldey, Irene (2011): Der aktivierende Wohlfahrtsstaat. Governance der Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Dänemark, Großbritannien und Deutschland. (Schriften des Zentrums für Sozialpolitik Bremen 24), Frankfurt am Main: Campus-Verl., 541 S.

Abstract

"Das neue wohlfahrtsstaatliche Leitbild aktivierender Arbeitsmarktpolitik zielt auf Beschäftigungsfähigkeit und knüpft finanzielle Leistungen an die Pflicht zur Arbeitsuche. Irene Dingeldey untersucht entsprechende Reformen in Deutschland, Großbritannien und Dänemark seit den 1990er-Jahren. Ihre Ergebnisse untermauern das Entstehen verschiedener Aktivierungsvarianten, die jeweils durch die Flexibilisierung der Arbeitsformen, den Ausbau finanzieller Anreize oder soziale Dienstleistungen geprägt sind. Welche Variante umgesetzt wird, hängt von den institutionellen Ausgangsbedingungen ab sowie von der Form der Einbindung verschiedener staatlicher und gesellschaftlicher Akteure." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Dolton, Peter & Jeffrey Smith (2011): The impact of the UK new deal for lone parents on benefit receipt. (IZA discussion paper 5491), Bonn, 54 S.

Abstract

"This paper evaluates the UK New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) program, which aims to return lone parents to work. Using rich administrative data on benefit receipt histories and a 'selection on observed variables' identification strategy, we find that the program modestly reduces benefit receipt among participants. Methodologically, we highlight the importance of flexibly conditioning on benefit histories, as well as taking account of complex sample designs when applying matching methods. We find that survey measures of attitudes add information beyond that contained in the benefit histories and that incorporating the insights of the recent literature on dynamic treatment effects matters even when not formally applying the related methods. Finally, we explain why our results differ substantially from those of the official evaluation of NDLP, which found very large impacts on benefit exits." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fletcher, Del Roy (2011): Welfare reform, Jobcentre Plus and the street-level bureaucracy. Towards inconsistent and discriminatory welfare for severely disadvantaged groups? In: Social policy and society, Jg. 10, H. 4, S. 445-458. DOI:10.1017/S1474746411000200

Abstract

"A defining feature of UK welfare reform has been concerted moves towards greater conditionality and sanctioning which has stimulated much academic debate. However, few policy articles have sought to examine how welfare reforms are actually implemented. Lipsky (1980) has shown that the intentions of policy makers may be frustrated by the behaviour of public service workers operating in a 'corrupted world of service'. This article draws upon the findings of the evaluation of the Jobseekers Mandatory Activity to discuss how key welfare reforms are likely to be implemented. It argues that that discretion remains a significant feature of front-line practice with potentially profound implications for severely disadvantaged groups." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Graversen, Brian Krogh & Jan C. van Ours (2011): An activation program as a stick to job finding. In: Labour, Jg. 25, H. 2, S. 167-181. DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9914.2011.00521.x

Abstract

"In an experimental setting some Danish unemployed workers were assigned to an activation program whereas others were not. The unemployed who were assigned to the activation program found a job more quickly. We show that the activation effect increases with the distance between the place of residence of the unemployed worker and the place where the activation took place. We also find that the quality of the post-unemployment jobs was not affected by the activation program. Both findings confirm that the activation program mainly worked because it was compulsory and the unemployed did not like it. The activation program worked as a stick to job finding." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Schünemann, Wolf J. & Nigel Boyle (2011): Die vielen Gesichter aktivierender Arbeitsmarktpolitik. Deutschlands Hartz-Reformen im Vergleich zu aktivierenden Arbeitsmarktreformen in den Niederlanden, Großbritannien und Irland. In: Sozialer Fortschritt, Jg. 60, H. 9, S. 189-196. DOI:10.3790/sfo.60.9.189

Abstract

"Der Artikel leistet einen politikwissenschaftlichen Vergleich der so genannten Hartz-Reformen, die von der SPD-geführten deutschen Bundesregierung in den Jahren 2002-2005 umgesetzt wurden, mit drei bedeutenden Arbeitsmarktreformen in europäischen Partnerstaaten, die ebenfalls unter Mitte-Links-Regierungen zu Stande gekommen sind: nämlich in den Niederlanden (Poldermodel, 1990-1996), Irland (Community Employment, 1992-1994) und Großbritannien (New Deal, 1997-2000). Während die Reformen in Deutschland und Großbritannien eine sanktionierende Aktivierungspolitik verfolgten, wobei Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit eher als soziales Vergehen denn als Marktversagen angesehen wird, hielten die Niederländer und Iren an einem assistierenden Aktivierungsparadigma fest. Die beobachteten Differenzen werden in erster Linie auf den geschlossenen Charakter des Elitendiskurses im deutschen und britischen Reformprozess zurückgeführt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Stelzer-Orthofer, Christine & Josef Weidenholzer (Hrsg.) (2011): Aktivierung und Mindestsicherung. Nationale und europäische Strategien gegen Armut und Arbeitslosigkeit. Wien: Mandelbaum, 315 S.

Abstract

"Maßnahmen zur Armutsbekämpfung sowie zur Arbeitsmarktintegration sind im Spannungsfeld zwischen Mindestsicherung und Aktivierung angesiedelt und zielen auf eine möglichst rasche Wiedereingliederung in den Arbeitsmarkt ab. Aktivierung ist Symbol und Leitbild für einen Paradigmenwechsel zur Gestaltung sozialer Sicherheit. Die Autoren setzen sich mit den zum Teil konträren Konzepten zur Bekämpfung von zunehmender Armut, sozialer Ausgrenzung, Arbeitslosigkeit und Wohlfahrtsabhängigkeit auseinander und diskutieren Wege für eine gerechte Teilhabe aller in der Gesellschaft." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Berkel, Rik van, Paul van der Aa & Nicolette van Gestel (2010): Professionals without a profession? Redesigning case management in Dutch local welfare agencies. In: European Journal of Social Work, Jg. 13, H. 4, S. 447-463. DOI:10.1080/13691451003603455

Abstract

"This article explores the new roles of frontline workers in Dutch local welfare agencies against the background of recent active welfare state reforms, with a specific focus on frontline workers involved in activating social assistance recipients. The results presented in the article come from case studies in four local welfare agencies. The article investigates how active welfare state reforms have influenced the room for discretion of frontline workers, how discretion is managed in local welfare agencies, and how frontline workers cope with discretion. The article argues that the discretion of activation by frontline workers has increased significantly. The research results show a clear though not unambiguous shift from a bureaucratic towards a more professional treatment of frontline workers, combined with attempts to introduce a more performance oriented style of management. However, given the low level of institutionalisation of the profession of activation work, activation frontline workers still seem to be professionals without a profession. This not only makes activation work a rather individual project, it also entails risks for clients for whom activation services may become unpredictable and lacking in transparency." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Breidahl, Karen Nielsen & Sanne Lund Clement (2010): Does active labour market policy have an impact on social marginalization? In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 44, H. 7, S. 845-864. DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9515.2010.00747.x

Abstract

"Countless evaluations of active labour market policy (ALMP) have been conducted in the last decade. The common denominator for most of these evaluations is a focus on employment (self-sufficiency) as the dependent variable, where the success of ALMP is measured in terms of the number of unemployed finding ordinary employment after (or immediately before) participating in an activation programme. The main argument in this article is that this focus is inadequate. For many long-term unemployed people, it would be an understatement to describe the road to employment as merely 'bumpy'. Research must take this into consideration. This article therefore deals with the Danish activation policy from a new perspective by analyzing the impact on different aspects of social marginalization, focusing on long-term social assistance recipients. Using data from a comprehensive, representative quantitative survey of Danish unemployed conducted in 2007, the first analysis convincingly reveals that we fail to find any systematic correlation between participation in ALMP and any of the social marginalization indicators. The second analysis presents a more mixed picture of the participant's own assessment of the impact of ALMP on their self-esteem; some are quite positive, while others are more neutral or even rather negative. Taking the existing research into account, these results leave us with conceptual and methodological questions for further research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Budimir, Kristina, Rainer Eppel, Ulrike Famira-Mühlberger, Ulrike Huemer & Christine Mayrhuber (2010): Erwerbsinaktivität und soziale Sicherungssysteme. Ein europäischer Vergleich. In: Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung. Monatsberichte, Jg. 83, H. 12, S. 955-967.

Abstract

"In einem Vergleich mit anderen europäischen Ländern weist Österreich eine leicht überdurchschnittliche Erwerbstätigenquote und einen relativ geringen Anteil der Arbeitslosen auf. Allerdings bezeichnen sich relativ viele Erwerbsinaktiven in Österreich grundsätzlich als arbeitsbereit, was auf ein großes ungenütztes Erwerbspotential hindeutet. Für die Sozialpolitik besteht Spielraum zur Steigerung des Arbeitskräfteangebotes vor allem in Bezug auf Frauen mit Betreuungspflichten sowie auf ältere Personen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Duell, Nicola, David Grubb, Shruti Singh & Peter Tergeist (2010): Activation policies in Japan. (OECD social, employment and migration working papers 113), Paris, 166 S. DOI:10.1787/5km35m63qqvc-en

Abstract

"The Japanese labour market is characterised by high employment rates for men and older workers, and a low unemployment rate. Over the past two decades, female participation has risen, while disparities in the labour market conditions of workers have grown. Further efforts are needed to promote increases in female and older-worker employment rates so as to combat the trend decline in the working-age population, and to reduce dualism in the labour market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Duell, Nicola, Peter Tergeist, Ursula Bazant & Sylvie Cimper (2010): Activation policies in Switzerland. (OECD social, employment and migration working papers 112), Paris, 139 S. DOI:10.1787/5km4hd7r28f6-en

Abstract

"This report examines the performance of public employment services and the effectiveness of activation strategies in Switzerland. It covers the role of the key actors in labour market policy, the placement function of the Public Employment Service (PES), the structure of out-of-work benefits and the related incentives and disincentives for taking up work, and discusses the main features of active labour market programmes (ALMPs).
Switzerland is characterised by relatively strong labour market performance, with high employment rates, low unemployment and high wage rates. The global financial and economic crisis has nevertheless led to some deterioration in labour market conditions, including a 30% hike in unemployment during the crisis. Going forward, among the important challenges for labour market and social policy are the expected impact of population ageing on the Swiss economy, integration deficits of immigrants and their descendants, the comparatively high share of long-term unemployment, and the insufficient activation of people with disabilities.
A number of actors are involved in the design and delivery of labour market policy and employment services, reflecting the strong decentralisation of the political system. Although labour market policy is governed to some extent by federal laws, the cantons constitute the main level of government responsible for public employment services and the administration of ALMPs. The main element of federal control is the publication of benchmarking results for local PES performance, which is expected to exert peer-group pressure on local offices for continuous improvement of performance. Contrary to many other OECD countries, the benefit and placement functions are separated between the unemployment funds and local placement services.
The Swiss PES is well equipped to intervene in the unemployment spell by means of counselling interviews, direct referrals and strong job-search controls. However, international comparison shows that the PES has quite limited market shares in vacancies and placements. This is due to the historically important role of private placement agencies. The PES could be more active in collaborating with these agencies in placing its jobseekers.
The Swiss road to activation is characterised by a relatively generous benefit system as compared with other OECD countries, combined with strict job-search enforcement requirements, comparatively high expenditures on active labour market programmes and strong incentives to move into jobs, including in-work benefits. The 2010 unemployment-insurance reform has led to cuts in the maximum benefit duration for certain categories of jobseekers, in order to restore the financial equilibrium of the unemployment-insurance fund. Also, Switzerland is (together with Denmark) the only OECD country where ALMP spending increases quasi-automatically with unemployment levels, a feature that has been important in the current financial and economic crisis.
The ratio of active to passive labour market expenditure is well above European and OECD averages, underlining the importance of active instruments in Switzerland, particularly in view of the relatively low number of jobseekers. The largest ALMP expenditure categories are Supported employment and rehabilitation, Training, Temporary employment in the public sector, and Intermittent pay. In a given year, over a quarter of all registered jobseekers participate in at least one active programme. The implementation of activation measures for the long-term unemployed, benefit exhaustees and social assistance recipients remains a problem, however, due to different benefit structures and uneven follow-up strategies across cantons." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Famira-Mühlberger, Ulrike, Kristina Budimir, Rainer Eppel, Ulrike Huemer, Thomas Leoni & Christine Mayrhuber (2010): Soziale Sicherungssysteme und Arbeitsmarktperformanz in der EU. Teil I: Hauptergebnisse. Wien, 127 S.

Abstract

"Die offiziell ausgewiesene Arbeitslosenquote gibt nur bedingt Aufschluss über den gesamten Umfang der Nicht-Erwerbstätigkeit bzw. des nicht ausgeschöpften Erwerbspotentials. Eine ganzheitliche Analyse der Arbeitsmarktperformanz beruht hingegen auf drei Indikatoren: der Erwerbstätigenquote, der Arbeitslosenquote und der Erwerbsinaktivitätsquote. Im Zentrum der Studie stehen die Bedeutung unterschiedlicher Gründe für die Erwerbsinaktivität in neun europäischen Ländern (Belgien, Dänemark, Deutschland, Finnland, Großbritannien, Niederlande, Österreich, Schweden und Slowenien) sowie der Einfluss sozialer Sicherungssysteme auf die Größe und Zusammensetzung der Nichterwerbstätigkeit. Dabei zeigt sich eine große Spannweite zum einen in den Erwerbsinaktivitätsquoten der Länder und zum anderen im nationalen Stellenwert der Gründe für Erwerbsinaktivität. Sie spiegelt die Unterschiedlichkeit der zugrundeliegenden Sozialsysteme wider." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Hörisch, Felix & J. Timo Weishaupt (2010): Explaining variations in the fight against unemployment in times of the global financial crisis. A mixed-methods approach. (Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung. Arbeitspapiere 135), Mannheim, 27 S.

Abstract

"The global economic and financial crisis that commenced in 2008 has triggered massive increases in unemployed in almost all Western industrialized nations. Among the OECD nations, about half have reacted - inter alia - by introducing or expanding temporary, public sector jobs in the so-called 'second labour market'. This had also been a preferred option in the 1980s, following the oil shocks. Since then, however, these programs have increasingly been seen as ineffective and their use remains highly controversial. What then explains that numerous OECD countries have opted for this type of intervention, while others have not? By applying a mixed-methods approach, we first identify through the application of a discriminant analysis that the financial room for manoeuvre coupled with a rapid rise in youth unemployment are the best predictors for the introduction of direct job-creation measures. Subsequently we carefully trace the political events in three most different systems, including Germany, Sweden and the UK, thus elaborating on the how and why these two factors are crucial explanatory variables." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Kim, Jeounghee (2010): Welfare-to-Work programs and the dynamics of TANF use. In: Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Jg. 31, H. 2, S. 198-211. DOI:10.1007/s10834-010-9180-9

Abstract

"This study examines the effects of participation in Welfare-to-Work programs on the dynamics of TANF recipients' welfare use. Using the Survey of Program Dynamics and the Welfare Rules Database, the study analyzes how participation in Human Capital Development and Labor Force Attachment programs affects the probabilities of TANF exit and re-entry, while holding the effects of the state economy and various TANF rules constant. The analyses reveal that LFA programs are not associated with a higher probability of TANF exit than HCD programs. Instead, TANF recipients' employment status and the local labor market conditions are more important predictors of TANF exit. It also reveals that, for TANF leavers, severe poverty and economic insecurity are significantly related to their welfare recidivism." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Die Veröffentlichung beinhaltet zwei Schwerpunkte:
Sie enthält ein Diskussionspapier zu Handlungsfeldern und Aufgaben arbeitspolitischer Forschung und Praxis aus Sicht der IG Metall. Dieses Papier wurde im Arbeitskreis Arbeitspolitik und Arbeitsforschung diskutiert und soll die arbeitspolitische Schwerpunktsetzung innerhalb der IG Metall befördern. In diesem Papier werden ferner mit Blick auf den gewerkschaftlichen Handlungsbedarf Anforderungen an die Arbeitsforschung formuliert.
Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt der Veröffentlichung ist eine Übersicht über Forschungsstände und Forschungslücken in wichtigen Themenfeldern der Arbeitspolitik aus Sicht der Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler. Die Autorinnen und Autoren wollen mit diesen Papieren Impulse für die weitere Arbeitsforschung vermitteln." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Quinto Romani, Annette & Christian Albrekt Larsen (2010): Activation as a tool to bypass the ordinary recruitment process. Active labour market policy, network and discrimination. (CCWS working paper 67), Aalborg, 37 S.

Abstract

"Our theoretical argument is that activation might work as a tool to bypass the normal recruitment processes, which include use of network and discrimination. Thus, the report suggests that some activation schemes might be effective because they help otherwise (statistically) discriminated groups and groups with a modest network. That might e.g. explain the finding that private job training, controlled for anything else, seems to be more effective among immigrants than among the majority population. The argument being 1) that private job training generates a link to the labour market, which can give information on job openings, and 2) that groups normally exposed to (statistical) discrimination will be given a chance to show their real productivity and ability to work with colleagues and customers. In the following, we will substantiate this line of theoretical reasoning.
The paper is divided into six sections. In the first section we advance the theoretical argument by focusing on lack of information in the labour market, which potentially explains both the existence of network and (statistical) discrimination. In the second section we present the previous theoretical discussion about different kinds of discrimination. In the third section we present some of the main empirical findings of discrimination. Then we turn to the previous research on the importance of networks. In the fourth section we elaborate on the theoretical arguments and in the fifth section we report some of the main empirical findings within this field of literature. In the last section we discuss how the previous findings on discrimination and networks can be linked to the current discussion about activation labour market policy and flexicurity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dingeldey, Irene (2009): Activating labour market policies and the restructuring of 'welfare' and 'state'. A comparative view on changing forms of governance. (ZeS-Arbeitspapier 2009/01), Bremen, 34 S.

Abstract

"Analysis of the change of governance in activating labour market policy in Denmark, the UK and Germany supports the restructuring thesis advanced in the course of the debate on how to classify the change in the welfare state. New objectives, such as 'the promotion of employability', have been accompanied by a general trend towards a decline in state responsibility for service delivery and a reduction of rights to transfer payments. At the same time, however, the state's responsibility as guarantor in respect of rights to social services has increased and the obligation to work has been introduced, in conjunction with an increase in reflexive forms of governance. Thus the observed restructuring has brought about a change in the nature of both 'welfare' and 'state'. Although the outlined trend of changing forms of governance and statehood is to be found in all three countries, level and scope of certain instruments and governance forms vary strongly, and characterise the emergence of quite different activating policies, respectively a convergent divergence of welfare state development." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Duell, Nicola, Shruti Singh & Peter Tergeist (2009): Activation policies in Norway. (OECD social, employment and migration working papers 78), Paris, 111 S. DOI:10.1787/226388712174

Abstract

"This report examines the performance of the Public Employment Service (PES) and the effectiveness of activation strategies in Norway. It covers the role of the key actors in labour market policies, the placement function of the PES, the structure of benefits for the working-age population out of work and the related incentives and disincentives for taking up work, and provides an overview of the different active labour market programmes. Over the past few years, labour market conditions in Norway have been better than in most OECD countries, reflecting strong economic and productivity growth. The global financial and economic crisis and the significant decline in oil and gas prices observed since the second half of 2008 are affecting the short-term economic prospect, with some deterioration in labour market conditions. Despite its relatively strong labour market performance, the main challenge for Norway is to mobilise underutilised labour, as nearly a fifth of the working-age population is out of work and receiving health-related benefits. In contrast, the take-up of unemployment benefits has been limited despite their generosity - both in terms of duration and net replacement rates - by strict eligibility criteria and the implementation of mobility and other mutual obligation requirements in Norway. The Norwegian Government has put forward several major policy reforms to contain benefit dependency and to prevent people from leaving the labour market too early or on a long-term or permanent basis. In 2006, a new institution - NAV - was launched, merging the State PES and the National Insurance Administration, and bringing them together in front-line offices with municipal services providing coordinated services for all clients. Several other changes to activation strategies are also underway. The new NAV employment services are systematising their early intervention and follow-up strategies for all jobseekers. Greater incentives have also been built into labour market programmes in particularly for social assistance clients. In spite of these important reforms, there remain a number of challenges to counteract sickness absence. It is now widely recognised that long-term sick leave is the initial step to disability benefit in many OECD countries. Early intervention in the form of case-by-case monitoring of sickness absence in Norway - which requires collaboration between employees, employers and NAV - has so far not been successful in delivering the desired outcomes. Finally, vocationally disabled people represent the largest group of participants in labour market programmes. Half of them engage in lengthy retraining in mainstream education and training courses. But further efforts have to be made to tailor active programmes to the needs of this group as well as other jobseekers such as older workers and immigrants." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Duell, Nicola, David Grubb & Shruti Singh (2009): Activation policies in Finland. (OECD social, employment and migration working papers 98), Paris, 160 S. DOI:10.1787/220568650308

Abstract

"This report examines the performance of the Public Employment Service (PES) and the effectiveness of activation strategies in Finland. It covers the role of the key actors, the placement function of the PES, the structure of out-of-work benefits and the related incentives and disincentives for taking up work, and provides an overview of the different active labour market programmes (ALMPs). After reaching extremely high levels in the early 1990s, unemployment in Finland declined steadily until the onset of the current economic downturn which has seen a rapid increase in the number of jobseekers. In the short term, the main challenge is to combat high and potentially persistent unemployment. In the longer term, given the ageing population and the likelihood of skills shortages, the focus should be on promoting participation of under-represented groups in the labour market while also investing further in skills. The broadly-defined PES includes a variety of actors at the national, regional and local levels. Local Employment Offices enjoy a high degree of autonomy in providing employment services but their work is not sufficiently coordinated at the central level. The payment of unemployment benefits and ALMPs are managed by separate bodies, and local Labour Committees implement labour market conditions for benefit eligibility. Municipalities, which administer social assistance benefits, also provide some employment services for their unemployed clients. In 2004, separate labour force service centres (LAFOS) were introduced with staff detached from the local Employment Offices, municipal services, and in some cases from the national social security institution, to provide specialised assistance for hard-to-place jobseekers. Since 2006, municipalities finance half the cost of the previously nationally-funded unemployment assistance for long-term unemployed, while the State finances half the cost of the basic assistance elements of social assistance payments. Activation measures have been improved for more than a decade. Since 1998, assistance benefit recipients have been increasingly referred to active programmes, and an activation plan procedure was introduced in 2001 and strengthened in 2006. However, the unemployed are required to participate in the drawing-up of an 'individual job-search plan' only after some months of unemployment, and the 'activation plan' is set up only after 136 weeks for earnings-related unemployment recipients. Finland still has an earnings-related benefit of nearly two years in duration, without intensive activation requirements comparable to those in Denmark or Sweden. Finland's expenditure on ALMPs in recent years has been close to the EU15 average, while its expenditure on passive programmes has been well above the EU15 average. A relatively high proportion of the active expenditure is on Labour Market Training, which is of high quality but tends to be selective so that less-educated youths, older workers and the long-term unemployed are under-represented. Two measures introduced in the 2000s, rehabilitative work experience and workshops, succeed in reaching these groups. Besides training and wage subsidies, innovative programmes in Finland include Job Alternation Leave in which unemployed people temporarily replace incumbent workers, and Social Enterprises, which operate in the open market while employing people with relatively low productivity who qualify for a wage subsidy. Participation by people on earnings-related benefit as well as older workers in the traditional and innovative ALMPs needs to be increased." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Graversen, Brian Krogh & Jan C. van Ours (2009): How a mandatory activation program reduces unemployment durations. The effects of distance. (IZA discussion paper 4079), Bonn, 36 S.

Abstract

"In an experimental setting some Danish unemployed workers were assigned to an activation program while others were not. Unemployed who were assigned to the activation program found a job more quickly. We show that the activation effect increases with the distance between the place of residence of the unemployed worker and the place where the activation took place. We also find that the quality of the post-unemployment jobs was not affected by the activation program. Both findings confirm that activation programs mainly work because they are compulsory and unemployed don't like them." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Greenberg, David, Johanna Walter & Genevieve Knight (2009): The cost of services and incentives in the UK Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) demonstration. Preliminary analysis. (Department for Work and Pensions. Working paper 64), London, 124 S.

Abstract

"This report presents a preliminary analysis of the cost of operating Britain's Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) demonstration, which is being evaluated though a large-scale randomised control trial. This assessment of costs will become an important element of the full cost-benefit analysis to be presented in future ERA reports. Aimed at helping low-income individuals sustain employment and progress in work, ERA is distinguished by a combination of job coaching and financial incentives that it offers to participants once they are working. The ERA demonstration project began operations in late 2003 as a pilot programme administered by Jobcentre Plus in six regions of the country." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Grienberger-Zingerle, Maria (2009): Kooperative Instrumente der Arbeitsverwaltungen in England und Deutschland. Eine rechtsvergleichende Untersuchung des Jobseeker's Agreement und der Eingliederungsvereinbarung im Zweiten und Dritten Buch Sozialgesetzbuch. (Studien aus dem Max-Planck-Institut für Sozialrecht und Sozialpolitik 47), Baden-Baden: Nomos, 300 S. DOI:10.5771/9783845220468

Abstract

"Die Arbeit untersucht die Eingliederungsvereinbarung und das jobseeker's agreement als Instrumente der Kooperation zwischen Sozialverwaltung und Leistungsempfänger. Hierbei liefert der aktivierende Sozialstaat, der den Einzelnen in den Mittelpunkt staatlichen Handelns stellt, und die Diskussion um eine kooperative Verwaltung den verwaltungswissenschaftlichen Überbau. Die Arbeit zeigt auf, ob und wie beim Eintritt des sozialen Risikos Arbeitslosigkeit Leistung und Gegenleistung durch Vereinbarung zwischen Staat und Bürger mit dem Ziel verbunden werden können, den Einzelnen in die staatliche Aufgabenerfüllung einzubeziehen.
Methodisch wird ein Reformprozess in den zwei untersuchten Rechtsordnungen vor dem Hintergrund einer legal transplantation in Abgrenzung zur Rechtsrezeption nachgezeichnet. Es wird die Reichweite der Vorbildfunktion des englischen Rechts bei der Umgestaltung des Rechts der Arbeitsförderung und der Entstehung der Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende überprüft." (Verlagsangaben, IAB-Doku)

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Grubb, David, Shruti Singh & Peter Tergeist (2009): Activation policies in Ireland. (OECD social, employment and migration working papers 75), Paris, 150 S. DOI:10.1787/227626803333

Abstract

"The Irish economy doubled in size during the 1990s, and still achieved the fastest growth in the OECD area during the first half of the 2000s. Economic growth was accompanied by a major improvement in labour market conditions. Survey unemployment declined from over 16% of the labour force in the 1980s to 4.5%, below the OECD average, in 2007. The share of long-term unemployment in total unemployment declined from two-thirds in 1990 to 30% in 2007.
The paper gives an overview of
- the background to active labour market policies in Ireland;
- institutional organisation;
- employment and placement services;
- unemployment and related benefits and
- the active labour market programmes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Koning, Pierre (2009): Contracting welfare-to-work services. Use and usefulness. (CPB discussion paper / CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis 135), The Hague, 38 S.

Abstract

"This paper contributes to the broad literature on public services contracting in two ways. First, we provide an empirical analysis of contracting decisions in the provision of welfare-to-work (WTW) services. We estimate both the WTW-contracting decisions of Dutch municipalities and their impact on the performance, measured as the fraction of Social Assistance recipients. Second, we explicitly model two forms of external provision of WTW services by municipalities: contracting with other municipalities and/or contracting out services to private providers. Our findings suggest that contracting decisions are predominantly driven by cost considerations, both for the decision to contract with other municipalities and the share of contracting out to private providers. Municipalities with low WTW budgets or facing budget constraints are more likely to contract with external parties - presumably this reduces their costs and as well as the risk of future cost deficits. We do not find contracting decisions to affect the performance of municipalities, measured as the use, inflow or outflow out of the SA scheme. From this alone, however, we cannot conclude that both the three provision modes are equally cost-effective too, as external provision may be less costly." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Watkins-Hayes, Celeste (2009): The New Welfare Bureaucrats. Entanglements of Race, Class, and Policy Reform. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 315 S.

Abstract

"As the recession worsens, more and more Americans must turn to welfare to make ends meet. Once inside the agency, the newly jobless will face a bureaucracy that has undergone massive change since the advent of welfare reform in 1996. A behind-the-scenes look at bureaucracy’s human face, The New Welfare Bureaucrats is a compelling study of welfare officers and how they navigate the increasingly tangled political and emotional terrain of their jobs. Celeste Watkins-Hayes here reveals how welfare reform engendered a shift in focus for caseworkers from simply providing monetary aid to the much more complex process of helping recipients find work. Now both more intimately involved in their clients’ lives and wielding greater power over their well-being, welfare officers’ racial, class, and professional identities have become increasingly important factors in their work. Based on the author’s extensive fieldwork in two very different communities in the northeast, The New Welfare Bureaucrats is a boon to anyone looking to understand the impact of the institutional and policy changes wrought by welfare reform as well as the subtle social dynamics that shape the way welfare is meted out at the individual Level." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © University of Chicago Press) ((en))