Between the territory and the legacies: The politicization of active labour market policy in southern Europe

Abstract

The literature concerning active labour market policy (ALMP) in advanced economies during the post-Fordist Age is very informative. Nevertheless, surprisingly, we know little about ALMP politicization. By focusing on two archetypes of the Mediterranean countries, Italy and Spain, this study argues that the geographical distribution of social stratification affects ALMP politicization at the national level. Analysing the party manifestos of the main nationwide parties in the most recent electoral turnouts (2013–2019), this article shows that while the issue is highly politicized in Spain, it is almost completely neglected in Italy. We demonstrate that when outsiderness is concentrated in a delimited geographical area, as in Italy, it hinders ALMP politicization on a national level, since it becomes a regional issue. On the contrary, when it is spread across the whole national territory, as in Spain, ALMP politicization is more likely, since the issue is nationally relevant. However, the concentration of outsiders is not sufficient to trigger a change in the electoral competition dynamic and the intervening effect of policy legacy may enhance or constrain ALMP politicization.

The gender dimension of outsiderness in Western Europe: a comparative cross-model analysis

“…Schwander and Häusermann (2013, p. 257) have highlighted that the cluster-specific and the country-specific operationalizations provide very similar results. However, we are aware that intra-cluster differences may occur and that within a specific country, regional differences may be relevant (Giuliani and Raspanti, 2022). From a methodological perspective, aggregating countries allows us to have a number of respondents sufficiently ample to measure the level of outsiderness for all the 16 social groups.…”

“…Those with secure positions are classified as insiders and those without are outsiders. The second approach proposed an alternative classification based on the outsiderness risk experienced by occupational classes (Schwander and H€ ausermann, 2013; see also Giuliani and Raspanti, 2022). This literature stresses that the labour market status is a quite unstable category: a person can quickly change types of contract as well as move rapidly from employment to unemployment and vice versa.…”

“…part-time and fixed-term jobs – together with unemployment can be interpreted as conditions of increased social and labour market vulnerability (Schwander and Häusermann, 2013; Palier and Thelen, 2010). In this regard, some studies have particularly focused on the outsiderness risk that post-Fordist occupational classes have to face during their working life (Schwander and Häusermann, 2013; Giuliani and Raspanti, 2022).…”

Italy and Spain at a crossroads: the politics of active social policies in southern Europe under a gender perspective

“…While there is a very informative comparative literature investigating ASPs reforms implemented in the two countries (e.g. León et al ., 2019; Pavolini and Sorrenti, 2022; Giuliani and Raspanti, 2022), an empirical analysis of the politics of ASPs from a gender perspective is lacking. How can we explain such bifurcation when considering the gendered politics variable?…”