The Danish model of ‘flexicurity’: experiences and lessons

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Kongshøj Madsen
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The United States ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Employment System ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
Active Labour Market Programmes

The success of the Danish economy in recent years has led to claims that the Danish employment system constitutes a unique model. Danish legislation provides for a low level of employment protection, allowing employers to dismiss workers with short notice. As a result, the Danish employment system has a level of numerical flexibility that is comparable to that of liberal labour markets like those of Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. At the same time, through its social security system and active labour market programmes, Denmark resembles other Nordic welfare states in providing a tightly knit safety net for its citizens. The Danish model thus illustrates a possible trade-off between a very flexible employment relation and a social protection system, which, combined with active labour market programmes, defends individuals from the potential costs of a low level of employment security. The model thus represents a genuine alternative to the widespread view that it is desirable to develop a high level of individual employment protection at the company level.

scholarly journals HOW DO NEW EU MEMBER STATES COMPLY WITH THE FLEXICURITY CONCEPT?

Ekonomika ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzana Laporšek ◽  
Primož Dolenc
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The paper analyses the state of implementation of flexicurity policy components in the NMS and, by using panel regression analysis, estimates the impact of employment protection legislation, expenditures for active employment policies, participation in lifelong learning and net replacement rate on labour productivity and on long-term unemployment. The empirical analysis has shown that the labour markets in the NMS, on the overall, are not more rigid as compared to the EU-15; however, problematic remains low expenditure on active labour market policies, education and social protection, and the low participation in lifelong learning. NMS must, according to the results of the panel linear regression, improve their performance in the mentioned areas in order to improve their labour productivity and decrease long-term unemployment.Key words: flexicurity, labour market, labour productivity, long-term unemployment, European Union

scholarly journals Retrenchment, conditionality and flexibility – UK labour market policies in the era of austerity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elke Heins ◽  
Hayley Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Employment Protection Legislation ◽  
Labour Market Policies ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
Deficit Reduction ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
Training Programmes

This chapter examines the changes and continuities in the areas of unemployment benefits, employment protection legislation, active labour market policies, training and human capital formation, and needs-based social protection for the unemployed in the United Kingdom. A number of significant welfare reforms driven by the aim of deficit reduction since 2010 led to increasing labour market flexibility and less income protection despite growing problems of precariousness. Many training programmes have been redefined either as a work test or turned into an opportunity for employers to undercut existing employment protection legislation and the minimum wage. Rather than being a turning point, the crisis led to a continuation of policies that further retrenched social investment-type policies that were already weak to begin with.

The South European Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 843-862
Author(s):  
Maurizio Ferrera
Keyword(s):  
Social Insurance ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
State Building ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Employment Opportunities

In Southern Europe, welfare state building followed a distinct path, characterized by ‘weak Fordism’ in labour markets, a dualistic social insurance, and a faulty and fragmented safety net. The (extended) family thus played a key role as welfare and income provider for its members, penalizing women’s autonomy and employment opportunities. The 1990s and 2000s witnessed substantial efforts to modernize both labour markets and social protection schemes, by recalibrating their coverage both across risks and social groups. However, the economic crisis of the 2010s halted such recalibration and the gap with Europe’s more developed welfare states has again started to widen, especially in Italy and Greece.

scholarly journals Can Active Labour Market Programmes Emulate the Mental Health Benefits of Regular Paid Employment? Longitudinal Evidence from the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
pp. 095001702094666
Author(s):  
Senhu Wang ◽  
Adam Coutts ◽  
Brendan Burchell ◽  
Daiga Kamerāde ◽  
Ursula Balderson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
Mental Health Benefits ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Active Labour Market Programmes

Active Labour Market Programmes (ALMPs), which form important components of employment support policies around the world, have been found to improve mental health and wellbeing of participants. However, it remains unclear how these health effects compare with the effects of different types of employment for men and women. Using 1991–2019 panel data in the UK, we find that unemployed women derive similar mental health benefits from ALMPs compared with employment. Unemployed men also benefit from ALMPs but obtain significantly more health benefits from formal employment. Such benefits are particularly pronounced in full-time, permanent and upper/middle-status jobs. Further analyses reveal that programmes that deliver human capital training have larger mental health benefits than employment assistance ALMPs. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of the mental health impacts of ALMPs compared with different types of employment, and highlight the need for a more gender-sensitive design in labour market interventions.

scholarly journals OLD AND FORGOTTEN? CARE FOR ELDERS IN MEXICO AND THE U.S.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S64-S65
Author(s):  
Emma Aguila ◽  
Jaqueline L Angel ◽  
Kyriakos Markides
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Financing ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The United States ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The Government ◽  
The U.S

Abstract The United States and Mexico differ greatly in the organization and financing of their old-age welfare states. They also differ politically and organizationally in government response at all levels to the needs of low-income and frail citizens. While both countries are aging rapidly, Mexico faces more serious challenges in old-age support that arise from a less developed old-age welfare state and economy. For Mexico, financial support and medical care for older low-income citizens are universal rights, however, limited fiscal resources for a large low-income population create inevitable competition among the old and the young alike. Although the United States has a more developed economy and well-developed Social Security and health care financing systems for the elderly, older Mexican-origin individuals in the U.S. do not necessarily benefit fully from these programs. These institutional and financial problems to aging are compounded in both countries by longer life spans, smaller families, as well as changing gender roles and cultural norms. In this interdisciplinary panel, the authors of five papers deal with the following topics: (1) an analysis of old age health and dependency conditions, the supply of aging and disability services, and related norms and policies, including the role of the government and the private sector; (2) a binational comparison of federal safety net programs for low-income elderly in U.S. and Mexico; (3) when strangers become family: the role of civil society in addressing the needs of aging populations; and (4) unmet needs for dementia care for Latinos in the Hispanic-EPESE.

The Changing Shapes of Latin American Welfare States

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyne Huber ◽  
Zoila Ponce de León
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Cash Assistance ◽  
The Welfare State

Latin American welfare states have undergone major changes over the past half century. As of 1980, there were only a handful of countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Uruguay) with social policy regimes that covered more than half of their population with some kind of safety net to insure adequate care during their old age and that provided adequate healthcare services. With few exceptions, access to social protection and to healthcare in these countries and others was based on formal employment and contributions from employees and employers. There were very few programs, and those few were poorly funded, for those without formal sector jobs and their dependents. The debt crisis and the ensuing neoliberal reforms then damaged the welfare state in all countries, including these leading nations. Deindustrialization, shrinking of the public sector, and cuts in public expenditures reduced both coverage and quality of transfers and services. Poverty and inequality rose, and the welfare state did little to ameliorate these trends. With the turn of the century, the economic and political situation changed significantly. The commodity boom eased fiscal pressures and made resources available for an increase in public social expenditure. Democracy was more consolidated in the region and civil society had recovered from repression. Left-wing parties began to win elections and take advantage of the fiscal room which allowed for the building of redistributive social programs. The most significant innovation has been expansion of coverage to people in the informal sector and to people with insufficient histories of contributions to social insurance schemes. The overwhelming majority of Latin Americans now have the right to some kind of cash assistance at some point in their lives and to healthcare provided by their governments. In many cases, there have also been real improvements in the generosity of cash assistance, particularly in the case of non-contributory pensions, and in the quality of healthcare services. However, the least progress has been made toward equity. With very few exceptions, new non-contributory programs were added to the traditional contributory ones; severe inequalities continue to exist in the quality of services provided through the new and the traditional programs.

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