Activation of the unemployed in Poland: from policy design to policy implementation

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how recent changes in labour market policy in Poland, such as the activation shift, formal incentives for policies integration and inclusion of private and civil society actors in the policy‐making process, are actually put into practice on the local level. By applying Amartya Sen's capability approach, decisive factors in the process of implementation, the role of normative assumptions in the assessment of unemployed people and the impact of performance indicators on local civil officers’ actions are analyzed.Design/methodology/approachThe text is based on the results of research conducted with a variety of methods: in‐depth and semi‐structured interviews, analysis of official reports, surveys among enterprises and among the employed, unemployed and inactive.FindingsThe paper shows the limitations of the activation model in Poland. The normative assumptions underlying ALMP lead to reproduction of social inequalities and stigmatisation of unemployed people, whereas the disciplinary approach discourages employers from cooperating with employment services. The increase of resources for the active labour market policy is not translated into an improvement in the quality of services.Originality/valuePrevious researches on labour market policies in Poland are mainly based on quantitative data and analysis of legal regulations. Not enough attention is paid to the actual uses of law and the role of normative assumptions in the process of implementation. The paper attempts to reintroduce the perspective of policy practitioners and beneficiaries that is completely absent from research on labour market policy in Poland.