Abstract
Active labour market policy (ALMP) has emerged as a major topic of inquiry among comparative scholars in recent decades, alongside other social investments. However, few conclusive results have been produced regarding the political explanations of these policies, and not least the role of partisan politics. To help remedy this problem, this article proposes a new understanding of ALMP as a profoundly versatile set of ‘multi-purpose tools’ that policymakers across the political spectrum can use as a means to very different distributional ends. Specifically, it highlights how ALMP programmes vary in terms of 1) their target groups, 2) their intended labour market outcomes, and 3) their modes of production in politically salient ways. Informed by the new framework and by recent research, the article then develops a refined theory about how governments with different left–right placement, operating under economic and institutional constraints, affect ALMP development in different directions.
Highlights
As recent decades have seen a growing interest in reforming advanced welfare states to promote employment, active labour market policy (ALMP) – which commonly refers to labour market training, employment subsidies, job search assistance, direct job creation programmes, etc – has emerged as a major topic of inquiry among comparative sociologists and political economists, alongside other so-called ‘social investment’ policies (Morel et al, 2012)
While there is much scholarly disagreement about the economic and political determinants of ALMP, most analysts tend to agree that ALMPs to some extent can be viewed as a response to the pressures exerted on labour markets by the forces of deindustrialisation and globalisation (Katzenstein, 1985; Janoski, 1994; Martin and Swank, 2012; Bonoli, 2013)
One may observe more detailed patterns that can reconcile some conflicting findings based on overly general contradictory assumptions: for instance, about who benefits from ALMPs in the ‘power resources’ and ‘insider/outsider’ approaches, or about the distributional effects of employment subsidies in Nelson (2013) and Vlandas (2013)
Summary
Active labour market policy (ALMP) has emerged as a major topic of inquiry among comparative scholars in recent decades, alongside other social investments. Few conclusive results have been produced regarding the political explanations of these policies, and not least the role of partisan politics To help remedy this problem, this article proposes a new understanding of ALMP as a profoundly versatile set of ‘multi-purpose tools’ that policymakers across the political spectrum can use as a means to very different distributional ends. It highlights how ALMP programmes vary in terms of 1) their target groups, 2) their intended labour market outcomes, and 3) their modes of production in politically salient ways.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
