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.

scholarly journals Activation is not a panacea: active labour market policy, long-term unemployment and institutional complementarity

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUC BENDA ◽  
FERRY KOSTER ◽  
ROMKE VAN DER VEEN
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Unemployment Benefit ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Active Labour Market Policy ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Labour Market Policies ◽  
Active Labour Market Policies ◽  
Active Labour

AbstractEvaluation studies of active labour market policy show different activation measures generate contradictory results. In the present study, we argue that these contradictory results are due to the fact that the outcomes of activation measures depend on other institutions. The outcome measure in this study is the long-term unemployment rate. Two labour market institutions are of special interest in this context: namely, employment protection and unemployment benefits. Both institutions, depending on their design, may either increase or decrease the effectiveness of active labour market policies in lowering long-term unemployment. Based on an analysis of macro-level data on 20 countries over a period of 16 years, our results show that employment protection strictness and unemployment benefit generosity interact with the way in which active labour market policies relate to long-term unemployment. Our results also indicate that, depending on the measure used, active labour market policies fit either in a flexible or in a coordinated labour market. This suggests that active labour market policies can adhere to both institutional logics, which are encapsulated in different types of measures.

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.

scholarly journals The Effects of Expenditures for Labour Market Policy on Unemployment Rate

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-64
Author(s):  
Laura Južnik Rotar
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Unemployment Rate ◽  
Panel Regression ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Active Labour Market Policy ◽  
Unemployed People ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Labour Market Policies ◽  
Active Labour Market Policies ◽  
Active Labour

Abstract Background: Labour market policy aims to fight against unemployment and to raise employment. With this study we attempt to contribute to the evidence of the effectiveness of active labour market policy. Objectives: In the empirical part of the paper we aim to research the relations between the labour market policies and macroeconomic variables. Methods/Approach: In order to distinguish the effects of expenditures for labour market policies on unemployment rate, we separately analysed the effects of expenditures for active labour market policies and the effects of expenditures for passive labour market policies on unemployment rate using panel regression analysis. Results: The expenditures for active labour market policies have negative and statistically significant effect on unemployment rate, whereas the expenditures for passive labour market policies have positive and statistically significant effect on unemployment rate. Conclusions: Not only the activation strategies with benefit conditioning, but also encouraging and enabling unemployed person to actively approach in searching for a job should be implemented. The implementation of activation strategies which create favourable conditions for unemployed people to develop their skills, fulfil their potential, continuously maintain contacts with the employers and actively participate in the society should be supported.

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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