Active labour market policy and its outcomes

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 18-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Tisch ◽  
Joachim Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Job Search ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Active Labour Market Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
Programme Participation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of workfare programme participation on self-efficacy, because many studies suggest that sufficient self-efficacy is essential for successful job search in modern labour markets. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses an exemplary German workfare programme’ the so-called “One-Euro-Jobs” programme and examines whether participation in this programme improved the self-efficacy of participants. The analyses are based on survey data (Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security) that were combined with administrative records of the Statistics Department of the German Federal Employment Agency to obtain more reliable information on programme participation. To detect causal effects of participation, the authors apply propensity score matching. Findings – The findings show that participants’ self-efficacy, on average, was not improved by programme participation. Also, no well-determined positive effects of programme participation were found when controlling for the individual baseline level of self-efficacy. Practical implications – The findings suggest that workfare programme participation did not fulfil several of the psychological functions of work necessary to enhance participants’ self-efficacy. The authors suggest a two-step approach to enhancing individuals’ self-efficacy and their job-search abilities: in the first step, workfare participation aims to improve employability; in the second step, participants can learn the extent to which they have become ready to work in a regular subsidised job. Originality/value – Various studies examine the effect of workfare programme participation on employment prospects, well-being, health or social participation. Within the discourse on active labour market policy, this paper is the first to study the effect of workfare programme participation on self-efficacy.

Delivering active labour market policy through vouchers: experiences with training vouchers in Germany

2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Bruttel
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Active Labour Market Policy ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
New Public ◽  
Active Labour

In recent years, new public management has reached public employment services. This article analyses the use of training vouchers for jobseekers in Germany as a means of delivering active labour market policy. While vouchers are familiar in other fields of public services, the approach is completely novel in active labour market policy. The article contrasts the proclaimed advantages of vouchers in general (i.e. jobseeker choice and provider competition) with the problems of training vouchers in particular. Initial evidence suggests that information asymmetries, a lack of providers in certain areas and restricted opportunities for policy coordination are obstacles to full achievement of the positive effects hoped for by proponents of the training voucher. The article concludes that improving the existing contracting-out system may have been a better path to higher efficiency.

scholarly journals Tying Up the Loose Ends: The Determinants of Active Labour Market Policy in the Western Countries 1985-2013

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Ari-Matti Naatanen
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Economic Crises ◽  
Active Labour Market Policy ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Western Countries ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
The Impact

Knowledge on the determinants of Active Labour Market Policy (ALMP) spending accumulated during the 2000s. Despite these advances, the current research lacks a systematic approach to the relevant determinants. This article fills the research gaps by analysing simultaneously the 14 most frequently used determinants for the first time. In addition to these variables, this study introduces a new factor, namely the impact of economic crises. Through the analysis of the longest data period yet investigated of 20 Western countries and a comparison of methodological alternatives, this study both challenges and reinforces previous findings, as well as produces new ones. For example, it is the first investigation to reveal the positive effect of government indebtedness and economic crises on ALMP expenditure. However, the rivalry between the “usual suspects” continues, as the negative effects of budget deficits, foreign trade, and population ageing, and the positive effects of trade union density and GDP growth, were rediscovered in this analysis.

An evaluation of German active labour market policies: a review of the empirical evidence

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moritz Zoellner ◽  
Michael Fritsch ◽  
Michael Wyrwich
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Cost Efficiency ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Active Labour Market Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Active Labour Market Policies ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
Future Challenges

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the results of studies that investigate the most important active labour market policy (ALMP) measures in Germany. A focus is also on programmes devoted to foster entrepreneurship which can make important contributions to a country’s growth and social welfare.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on quantitative and qualitative assessments and a comparison of results of previous studies on ALMPs.FindingsThe available evidence suggests that most ALMP measures increase labour market prospects of the participants. In particular, evaluations of the entrepreneurship promotion activities show high success rates as well as high cost efficiency. The bulk share of participants of entrepreneurship measures is still self-employed after several years and nearly one-third of these businesses had at least one employee. The authors mention problems regarding the evaluation of previous programmes and highlight future challenges of German ALMP.Originality/valueThis is the first study on ALMP that has an extensive and explicit focus on entrepreneurship-promoting programs.

Dualising the Swedish model: insiders and outsiders and labour market policy reform in Sweden: an overview

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Bo Davidsson
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Active Labour Market Policy ◽  
Social Insurance System ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Swedish Model ◽  
Welfare Institutions ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
Fiscal Austerity

For many decades it seemed that the Swedish model was immune to change. Welfare scholars saw in Sweden a paragon of an equal society based on a generous welfare state that had withstood the pressures of globalisation. While it is true that some welfare institutions are still intact, that is no longer the case in labour market policy. This cannot be explained by fiscal austerity imposed by the EU; rather it was the economic crisis in the early 1990s that first set reforms in motion. This chapter traces labour market reforms in Sweden over the past two decades. The pattern suggested here is one in which labour market outsiders have borne the brunt of reforms. This can be seen in the manner in which labour market flexibility was introduced, the fact that many of the unemployed now stand outside the social insurance system, in the declining value of social assistance benefits and perhaps most strikingly in the radical cuts to spending on active labour market policy.

scholarly journals Policy evaluation via a statistical control: A non-parametric evaluation of the ‘Want2Work’ active labour market policy

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 635-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Lindley ◽  
Steven Mcintosh ◽  
Jennifer Roberts ◽  
Carolyn Czoski Murray ◽  
Richard Edlin
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Policy Evaluation ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Statistical Control ◽  
Active Labour Market Policy ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
Non Parametric
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