High-skilled outsiders? Labor market vulnerability, education and welfare state preferences

Recent research has established that employment risk shapes social policy preferences. However, risk is often conceptualized as an alternative measure of the socio-economic status. We show that employment risk and socio-economic status are distinct, crosscutting determinants of social policy preferences. More specifically, we analyze the policy preferences of high-skilled labor market outsiders as a cross-pressured group. We first establish that labor market vulnerability has spread well into the more highly educated segments of the population. We then show that the effect of labor market vulnerability on social policy preferences even increases with higher educational attainment. We conclude that that labor market risk and educational status are not interchangeable and that the high skilled are particularly sensitive to the experience of labor market risk. Thereby, our findings point to a potential cross-class alliance between more highly and lower skilled vulnerable individuals in support of a redistributive and activating welfare state. Thus, they have far-reaching implications for our understanding of both the politicization of insider/outsider divides and the politics of welfare suppor

Unemployment, Labour Marginalisation, and Deprivation (in English)

The increase in long-term unemployment and the prolongation of periods of unemployment signals the establishment of a marginalized labor force in the Czech Republic. This paper considers the emerging marginalized groups in the Czech labor market, and their social, mental, and material deprivation. A major determinant of the incidence of unemployment in a person's work career is human capital, indicated by completed education. Material deprivation is most severe in unemployed-affected households with dependents in which the breadwinner's income has been lost. It is also severe in single-parent households. Overall, it is particularly those in the non-qualified labor force who find themselves in a state of permanent material deprivation with respect to a high risk of unemployment. The effects of labor market marginalization on labor market performance are mostly negative due to a diminished employability, and, as a result, declining effective labor supply. A policy response should involve employment tax and benefit reform and the extension of activating measures, mainly of those supporting employability and human capital.wage curve, wage flexibility, unemployment, panel data

Income support systems, labor market policies and labor supply: the German experience

In view of the demographic trends, most EU countries face the problem of a declining work force in the future. Understanding the interaction between income support systems (such as unemployment benefits, social assistance, early retirement and pension systems) and total labor supply is of crucial importance to combat problems and ensure economic growth in the future. The German labor market has been plagued by high and persistent unem­ployment in the last two decades in combination with a relatively low labor force participation of women. This created a situation where labor market reforms were unavoidable. The speed and depth of the reforms are remark­able, mainly aimed at activating people by increasing their incentives to take up work. The aim of this paper is to give a brief overview of the German income support systems and labor market polices, their recent reforms and—where already possible—effects of these reforms. Overall, Germany seems to be on the right track. The recent reforms helped to tackle some labor market problems but also created high political unrest. It remains to be seen how future governments react to worsened economic conditions in light of these experiences.Unemployment; Labor force participation; labor supply; benefit systems; public policy

Income Support Systems, Labor Market Policies and Labor Supply: The German Experience

In view of the demographic trends, most EU countries face the problem of a declining work force in the future. Understanding the interaction between income support systems (such as unemployment benefits, social assistance, early retirement and pension systems) and total labor supply is of crucial importance to combat problems and ensure economic growth in the future. The German labor market has been plagued by high and persistent unemployment in the last two decades in combination with a relatively low labor force participation of women. This created a situation where labor market reforms were unavoidable. The speed and depth of the reforms are remarkable, mainly aimed at activating people by increasing their incentives to take up work. The aim of this paper is to give a brief overview of the German income support systems and labor market polices, their recent reforms and – where already possible – effects of these reforms. Overall, Germany seems to be on the right track. The recent reforms helped to tackle some labor market problems but also created high political unrest. It remains to be seen how future governments react to worsened economic conditions in light of these experiences.unemployment, labor force participation, labor supply, benefit systems, public policy

Eigenverantwortung ohne Selbstbestimmung? Zum Verhältnis von „Autonomie“ und Heteronomie in der aktivierenden Arbeitsmarktpolitik

Self-responsibility without self-determination? Autonomy and heteronomy in the activating labor market policy. The concept of activation in German labor market policy is characterized by a contradiction: On the one hand people are considered as selfresponsible. On the other hand they are to be activated towards a predetermined goal in the intention to create exploitable individuals. However, people develop stubborn strategies for coping with these heteronomous demands

Segmented Labor Markets and the Distributive Cycle: A Roadmap towards Inclusive Growth

The paper builds on the Goodwin (1967) model which describes the distributive cycle of capitalist economies whereby mass unemployment is generated periodically through the conflict about income distribution between capital and labor. We add to this model a segmented labor market structure with fluid, latent, and stagnant components. The model exhibits a unique balanced growth path which depends on the speeds with which workers are pushed into or out of the labor market segments. We investigate the stability properties of this growth path with segmented labor markets and find that, though there is a stabilizing inflation barrier term in the wage Phillips curve, the interaction with the latent and stagnant portions of the labor market generates potentially (slowly) destabilizing forces if policy measures are absent that regulate these labor markets. We then introduce an activating labor market policy, where government in addition acts as employer of last resort thereby eliminating the stagnant portion of the labor market, whilst erecting benefit systems that partially sustain the incomes of workers that have to leave the floating/latent labor market of the private sector of the economy. We show that such policies guarantee the macrostability of the economy’s balanced growth path

Segmented Labor Markets and the Distributive Cycle: A Roadmap towards Inclusive Growth

The paper builds on the Goodwin (1967) model which describes the distributive cycle of capitalist economies whereby mass unemployment is generated periodically through the conflict about income distribution between capital and labor. We add to this model a segmented labor market structure with fluid, latent, and stagnant components. The model exhibits a unique balanced growth path which depends on the speeds with which workers are pushed into or out of the labor market segments. We investigate the stability properties of this growth path with segmented labor markets and find that, though there is a stabilizing inflation barrier term in the wage Phillips curve, the interaction with the latent and stagnant portions of the labor market generates potentially (slowly) destabilizing forces if policy measures are absent that regulate these labor markets. We then introduce an activating labor market policy, where government in addition acts as employer of last resort thereby eliminating the stagnant portion of the labor market, whilst erecting benefit systems that partially sustain the incomes of workers that have to leave the floating/latent labor market of the private sector of the economy. We show that such policies guarantee the macrostability of the economy’s balanced growth path

РИНОК ПРАЦІ УКРАЇНИ: РЕАЛІЇ, ПРОБЛЕМИ І ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ РОЗВИТКУ

The article represents the research of the current state of the labor market in Ukraine. In particular, the article deals with such important aspects as the employment level, remuneration level, migration processes. The main obstacles to the successful labor market development are identified. The causes of unemployment in Ukraine are highlighted. The research also focuses on the growing problem of labor migration from Ukraine to the European Union. The study identifies the problem of youth employment, namely, after achieving higher education. The study sees into the analysts' forecasts concerning the tendencies of the increasing demand for certain specialties. The authors explore the main trends and forecasts for the human capital market development in 2018. The article offers some ways of activating labor relations in the economic life of the country, both from the point of view of the state policy and employers.The article represents the research of the current state of the labor market in Ukraine. In particular, the article deals with such important aspects as the employment level, remuneration level, migration processes. The main obstacles to the successful labor market development are identified. The causes of unemployment in Ukraine are highlighted. The research also focuses on the growing problem of labor migration from Ukraine to the European Union. The study identifies the problem of youth employment, namely, after achieving higher education. The study sees into the analysts' forecasts concerning the tendencies of the increasing demand for certain specialties. The authors explore the main trends and forecasts for the human capital market development in 2018. The article offers some ways of activating labor relations in the economic life of the country, both from the point of view of the state policy and employers

The interaction of labor market regulation and labor market policies in welfare state reform

"Employment protection legislation, unemployment benefits and active labor market policy are Janus-faced institutions. On the one hand they are devices of insurance against labor market risk that provide income and employment security. On the other hand they influence the capacities of labor markets to adapt to changing economic conditions since institutional features of the welfare state also affect actors' economic adaptation strategies. Insufficient labor market adaptability results in higher and more persistent unemployment. Hence, in order to increase the adaptability of European labor markets, reforms had to address these closely interacting policy areas. The first aim of the paper is to describe recent reforms of employment protection, unemployment insurance and active labor market policies in different European welfare states (Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany). The paper shows whether and to what extent national policy patterns converge in the direction of a new balance of flexibility and security with employment protection being eased and labor market policies being 'activated' through a combination of 'carrots and sticks'. Secondly, in terms of the political economy of welfare state reforms, the paper will answer the question whether consistent reforms of the three institutions are more likely in political systems characterized by relative strong government and/or social partnership since such institutional prerequisites may favor 'package deals' across policy areas." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))aktivierende Arbeitsmarktpolitik, Sozialpolitik - Reform, Sozialstaat - internationaler Vergleich, Arbeitsschutzpolitik, Beschäftigungssicherung, Arbeitslosenunterstützung, Sozialstaat, Regulierung, institutionelle Faktoren, politisches System, politischer Wandel, Dänemark, Schweden, Großbritannien, Schweiz, Niederlande, Spanien, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

The Malleable Politics of Activation Reform: the ‘Hartz’ Reforms in Comparative Perspective

In this paper we compare the Hartz reforms in Germany with three other major labor market activation reforms carried out by center-left governments. Two of the cases, Britain and Germany, involved radically neoliberal “mandatory” activation policies, whereas in the Netherlands and Ireland radical activation change took a very different “enabling” form. Two of the cases, Ireland and Germany, were path deviant, Britain and the Netherlands were path dependent. We explain why Germany underwent “mandatory” and path deviant activation by focusing on two features of the policy discourse. First, the coordinative (or elite level) discourse was “ensilaged” sealing policy formation off from dissenting actors and, until belatedly unwrapped for enactment, from the wider communicative (legitimating) discourse. This is what the British and German cases had in common and the result was reform that viewed long term unemployment as personal failure rather than market failure. Second, although the German policy-making system lacked the “authoritative” features that facilitated reform in the British case, and the Irish policymaking system lacked the “reflexive” mechanisms that facilitated reform in the Dutch case, in both Germany and Ireland the communicative discourses were reshaped by novel institutional vehicles (the Hartz Commission in the German case, FÁS in the Irish case) that served to fundamentally alter systemconstitutive perceptions about policy. In the Irish and German cases “government by commission” created a realignment of advocacy coalitions with one coalition acquiring a new, ideologically-dominant and path deviating narrative. The findings suggest that major reform of labor market and welfare state policy may be much more malleable than previously thought