Abstract

In the Social Code II there is a tension between policy beliefs. Policy beliefs vary in respect of both the governance of employment policy and the private and societal roles attributed to women and men. While the benefit of the Social Code II is aimed at the governance mode of the market and the gender role of the individual adult worker, the entitlement to this benefit is based on the governance mode of the family and the gender role of the (male) breadwinner. The benefit entitlement is defined by the legal construct of need based communities contained in § 7 III of the Social Code II. Recent studies on the basic provision for jobseekers argue that the legal construct of need based communities foster the family and the male breadwinner. Earlier studies of implementation research show that policy beliefs and the discretionary power of administrative actors influence the implementation of political programmes. The research project proposed here combines both perspectives in order to analyse the process of counselling and job placement. Besides policy beliefs the research project focuses on structural conditions and personal relations. Structural conditions shape the process of counselling and job placement, and personal relations describe the way people live together in a need based community.