Introduction: The many worlds of activation
About: This article is published in European Societies.The article was published on 2004-10-01. It has received 152 citations till now.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a typology of four types of active labor market policies (ALMPs): incentive reinforcement, employment assistance, occupation, and human capital investment is developed and examined through ALMP expenditure profiles in selected countries.
Abstract: Active labor-market policies (ALMPs) have developed significantly over the past two decades across Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, with substantial cross-national differences in terms of both extent and overall orientation. The objective of this article is to account for cross-national variation in this policy field. It starts by reviewing existing scholarship concerning political, institutional, and ideational determinants of ALMPs. It then argues that ALMP is too broad a category to be used without further specification, and it develops a typology of four different types of ALMPs: incentive reinforcement, employment assistance, occupation, and human capital investment. These are discussed and examined through ALMP expenditure profiles in selected countries. The article uses this typology to analyze ALMP trajectories in six Western European countries and shows that the role of this instrument changes dramatically over time. It concludes that there is little regular...
387 citations
Cites background from "Introduction: The many worlds of ac..."
...However, Barbier recognizes that a third type of activation might exist in continental Europe, one that puts more emphasis on social inclusion and less on actual labor-market participation.(28) Dichotomies between human investment and incentive-based approaches to activation are a useful starting point in making sense of an ambiguous concept....
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01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the politics of the new social risk and the double backlash against Social Democracy and Christian Democracy in post-Industrial social policies in the European welfare states.
Abstract: Part 1: Politics of the New Social Risk 1. New Social Risks and the Politics of Post-Industrial Social Policies 2. Political Parties and New Social Risks: The Double Backlash against Social Democracy and Christian Democracy 3. New Social Risk and Political Preferences 4. Public Attitudes and New Social Risk Reform 5. Reconciling Competing Claims of the Welfare State Clientele 6. The Politics of Old and New Social Risk Coverage in Comparative Perspective 7. Trade Union Movements in Post-Industrial Welfare States. Opening up to New Social Interests? 8. Combatting Old and New Social Risks Part 2: Patterns of Policy Adaption 9. New Social Risks and Pension Reform in Germany and Sweden: The Politics of Pension Rights for Child Care 10. New Labour Market Risks and the Revision of Unemployment Protection Systems in Europe 11. Child Care Policies in Diverse European Welfare States: Switzerland, Sweden, France and Britain 12. Providing Coverage against New Social Risks in Bismarckian Welfare States: The Case of Long Term Care 13. The EU and New Social Risks: The Need for a Differentiated Evaluation
297 citations
TL;DR: In this article, different perceptions of the workfare and the enabling state perspectives on the positive and negative aspects of activating policies are reconstructed as "pure forms" in order to obtain theoretical standards against which the empirical cases of activating labour market policies in Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany are characterised and compared.
Abstract: . The concepts that address different paths to transformation of the welfare state as a ‘workfare’, an ‘enabling’ or an ‘activating’ state share the idea that traditional welfare policies, mostly aiming at decommodification, are more and more replaced by social policies emphasising (re-)commodification. Activating labour market policy therefore is supposed to play a central role within the paradigm shift of welfare state policies. It is understood to involve a mix of the enforcement of labour market participation, the conditioning of rights and growing obligations of the individual at one side, and an increase of services in order to promote employability and restore social equity at the other. In this article, the different perceptions of the workfare and the enabling state perspectives on the positive and negative aspects of activating policies are reconstructed as ‘pure forms’ in order to obtain theoretical standards against which the empirical cases of activating labour market policies in Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany are characterised and compared. The actual reform path is described by a combination of two indicators: the strength of the workfare and the strength of the enabling elements of the activating labour market policies. The evidence on activating labour market reforms confirms that in both dimensions a move in the same direction is taking place, but without producing growing convergence. Different welfare state types keep on producing different mixes of workfare and enabling policies, leading to very different levels of decommodification and (re-)commodification. Thus, an ongoing divergence of policies also exists within the new paradigm of an activating labour market policy, although single countries seem to change their alignment to a particular welfare state type.
176 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify a cleavage between countries where activation policies are part of an unambiguous adaptation of labour market policies to the emergent post-industrial economy, and countries in which similar trends of policy adaptation have been more constrained, hesitant and uneven.
Abstract: Though activation has been a key theme in recent comparative scholarship on social policy, existing research has arguably failed to capture some important cross-national differences in the extent of welfare state adaptation it entails. Conceptualising activation as but one unemployment policy reform indicator alongside 'unemployment support homogenisation' and 'unemployment policy co-ordination', and empirically sketching reform trends in four European states, this article argues it is possible to identify a cleavage between countries where activation policies are part of an unambiguous adaptation of labour market policies to the emergent post- industrial economy, and countries in which similar trends of policy adaptation have been more constrained, hesitant and uneven. To account for this fracture it is necessary to understand the differing ways that conventional unemployment policies were institutionally articulated within national political economies, as this bears on the feasibility of a new paradigm of labour market regulation emerging.
142 citations
Book•
10 Jan 2006TL;DR: In this article, Abrahamson et al. presented a survey on Danish education, which included Peter Abrahamson (University of Copenhagen), Peter A. Hall (Harvard), Ulf Hedetoft (Unversity of Aalborg), Lars Bo Kaspersen (Copenhagen Business School), Peter J. Katzenstein (Cornell University), Morten Kelstrup (Universities of Denmark), Ove Korsgaard (Danish University of Education), Peer Hull Kristensen (Cape Town), Per Kongshj Madsen (Universityof A
Abstract: Contributors include Peter Abrahamson (University of Copenhagen), Peter A. Hall (Harvard), Ulf Hedetoft (University of Aalborg), Lars Bo Kaspersen (Copenhagen Business School), Peter J. Katzenstein (Cornell University), Morten Kelstrup (University of Copenhagen), Ove Korsgaard (Danish University of Education), Peer Hull Kristensen (Copenhagen Business School), Per Kongshj Madsen (University of Aalborg), Cathie Jo Martin (Boston University), Kevin H. O'Rourke (Trinity College Dublin), Uffe stergrd (University of Aarhus), and Hjalte Rasmussen (University of Copenhagen).
137 citations
References
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Book•
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In this article, a new social contract for the elderly is proposed, which is based on a child centred social investment strategy, and a new gender contract is proposed for the Elderly.
Abstract: Foreword 1. Towards the Good Society, Once Again? 2. A Child Centred Social Investment Strategy 3. A New Gender Contract 4. The Quality of Working Life in Welfare Strategy 5. A New Social Contract for the Elderly 6. The Self-Transformation of the European Social Models
1,703 citations
TL;DR: In this article, Pierson et al. discuss reformpolitiken mussen einerseits the Widerstandsfahigkeit der Sozialeinrichtungen, and anotherseits die permanente Ausgabendisziplin des Umfeldes berucksichtigen and richten daher allgemein ihre Bemuhungen auf die Erstellung von weitgreifenden Koalitionen aus, with dem Zweck, den ausgereiften Wohlf
Abstract: Paul Pierson : Die Umstrukturierung der Sozialversicherung der fortschrittlichen Gesellschaften in Zeiten der Budgetdisziplin. ; ; Die fortschrittlichen Industriegesellschaften sind immer grosserem Druck zur Reform ihrer Sozialversicherungssysteme ausgesetzt, obwohl die Sozialprogramme allgemein eine grosse politische Unterstutzung finden. Reformpolitiken mussen einerseits die Widerstandsfahigkeit der Sozialeinrichtungen, andererseits die permanente Ausgabendisziplin des Umfeldes berucksichtigen und richten daher allgemein ihre Bemuhungen auf die Erstellung von weitgreifenden Koalitionen aus, mit dem Zweck, den ausgereiften Wohlfahrtsstaat zwar nicht auseinanderzunehmen, sondern ihn eher umzubtrukturieren. Zum Verstandnis der Reformdynamik mussen zunachst die Dimensionen genau unterschieden werden, die der Reform zugrundeliegen und daruber hinaus die spezifibchen institutionellen und politischen Vereinbarungen berucksichtigt werden, die in jedem der Sozialschutzregime vorhanden sind, ob sie liberal, konservativ, korporativ oder sozialdemokratisch sind sondern ihn eher umzubtrukturieren. Zum Verstandnis der Reformdynamik mussen zunachst die Dimensionen genau unterschieden werden, die der Reform zugrundeliegen und daruber hinaus die spezifibchen institutionellen und politischen Vereinbarungen berucksichtigt werden, die in jedem der Sozialschutzregime vorhanden sind, ob sie liberal, konservativ, korporativ oder sozialdemokratisch sind
703 citations
Posted Content•
29 Nov 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, a Papier stellt einen relativ einfach gefasten theoretischen Ansatz vor, um the Wirkung der europarisierung auf der mitgliedstaatlichen Ebene zu untersuchen.
Abstract: Dieses Papier stellt einen relativ einfach gefasten theoretischen Ansatz vor, um die Wirkung der
Europaisierung auf der mitgliedstaatlichen Ebene zu untersuchen. Dabei bildet "Misfit" die
notwendige Bedingung fur jegliche Art von Wandel, unabhangig davon, ob politische Programme,
politische Prozesse oder politische Institutionen Gegenstand der Untersuchung sind. Ob der daraus
resultierende Anpassungsdruck jedoch tatsachlich innerstaatlichen Wandel auslost, hangt von
bestimmten Faktoren ab, die Anpassung befordern oder behindern. Es werden zwei Pfade
vorgestellt, durch die innerstaatlicher Wandel hervorgebracht werden kann und die sich auf die
zwei grosen Schulen des Institutionalismus zuruckfuhren lassen. Die rationalistische Spielart des
Institutionalismus folgt einer Logik der Ressourcenumverteilung und hebt das Fehlen multipler
Vetopositionen sowie das Vorhandensein von unterstutzenden Institutionen als den innerstaatlichen
Wandel begunstigende Faktoren hervor. Der soziologische Institutionalismus hingegen stellt auf
Sozialisierungs- und Lernprozesse ab und konzentriert sich dabei auf die Rolle von "norm
entrepreneurs" als Agenten des Wandels sowie auf das Vorhandensein einer kooperativen
politischen Kultur als die beiden Faktoren, die innerstaatliche Veranderungen befordern. Beide
Pfade lassen nur bedingt Konvergenz erwarten, insbesondere hinsichtlich politischer Prozesse und
politischer Institutionen
426 citations
27 Sep 2002
TL;DR: The concept of social exclusion and work was introduced by Iver Hornemann Moller and Iver van Berkel as mentioned in this paper, and the concept of activating policies was proposed by Henning Hansen and Pedro Hespanha.
Abstract: The concepts of social exclusion and work, Iver Hornemann Moller, Rik van Berkel, Colin Williams The rise of activating policies, Rik van Berkel, Iver Hornemann Moller Activating policies in Europe, Henning Hansen and Pedro Hespanha Research into the inclusionary potentials of types of work, Marisol Garcia, Jan de Schampheleire Inclusion through participation? Strengths and weaknesses of activation schemes, Carlos Machado and Cyril Tholen Domains of participation and the feasibility of "compensation strategies", Pedro Hespanha, Iver Hornemann Moller The capitalisation of the unemployment benefits scheme in Spain, Aitor Gomez Researching activating social policies - theoretical, conceptual and methodologicial issues, Jens Lind, Ben Valkenburg Social policies in Europe - active, passive, enabling?, Rik van Berkel, Maurice Roche Redistribution of work and income, Iver Hornemann Moller, Jacques Vilrokx.
167 citations