Towards standby‐ability: <scp>S</scp>wedish and <scp>D</scp>anish activation policies in flux

Bengtsson, Mattias

doi:10.1111/ijsw.12075

Cited by 42 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Despite originating in Northern Europe, ALMPs have been adopted by a growing number of countries across Europe. The diffusion of ALMPs can be explained by their two‐dimensional character: they foster investments in knowledge, skills and training, while at the same time also focus on strengthening work incentives (Bengtsson : S56). In other words, there is a demanding side and an enabling side to ALMPs (Eichhorst and Konle‐Seidl : 5), which makes them, in principle, appealing to policymakers in both liberal and conservative welfare regimes.…”

Section: Types Of Active Labour Market Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many EU member states have decades‐long experience with ALMPs. Denmark and Sweden were among the first countries to embrace ALMPs (Eichhorst and Konle‐Seidl ; Bengtsson ), soon followed by Finland (Kananen ). In 2007, Denmark, Finland and Sweden – along with France – were also the countries with the highest public expenditures on ALMPs (Martin : 4).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Youth‐oriented Active Labour Market Policies: Explaining Policy Effort in the Nordic and the Baltic States

2017

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The starting point of this study is the seemingly striking similarity in the number of youth-oriented labour market policies adopted by the Nordic and the Baltic EU member states in 2013-14 despite markedly different welfare regimes. The similarities remain when concentrating on active labour market policies (ALMPs) and extending the observation period to 2007-15, but the application of a more refined coding scheme suggests that there are also notable cross-country differences. Estonia, Finland and Sweden are found to exhibit a relatively similar approach to youth-oriented ALMPs, while Denmark, Latvia and Lithuania are more distinct cases. The similarities in the policy effort can be explained by similar problem pressure, EU-guided policy learning and the provision of EU funding. Lastly, the policy approaches of the Nordic states indicate a path-dependency. Thus, while the youth-oriented policy effort may appear to be quite similar, important differences remain.

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Section: Types Of Active Labour Market Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Youth‐oriented Active Labour Market Policies: Explaining Policy Effort in the Nordic and the Baltic States

2017

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“…Disability benefits eligibility criteria were limited to only medical criteria without any consideration of local labour market conditions 9. Several organisational efforts have later been introduced to ensure a more strict and efficient practice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Too sick to work, too healthy to qualify: a cross-country analysis of the effect of changes to disability benefits

Jensen

Brønnum-Hansen

Andersen

et al. 2019

J Epidemiol Community Health

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BackgroundDenmark and Sweden have implemented reforms that narrowed disability benefit eligibility criteria. Such reforms in combination with increasing work demands create a pincer movement where in particular those with moderate health problems might be unable to comply with work demands, but still not qualify for permanent disability benefits, ending up with temporary means-tested or no benefits. This paper examines whether this actually happened before and after the reforms.MethodsThe Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) study waves 1–2 and 4–6 in Denmark and Sweden for the age group 50–59 years (N=5384) was used to analyse changes in employment rates and benefits among people with different levels of health before, during and after disability benefit reforms. Interaction between time and health in relation to employment versus permanent or temporary benefits was used as a criterion for whether our hypotheses was confirmed.ResultsOverall, employment rates have increased in the age group, but only among the healthy. The OR for receiving temporary or no benefits increased from 1.25 (95% CI: 0.81 to 1.90) before to 1.73 (95% CI: 1.14 to 2.61) after policy reforms for the 29% with moderate health problems and from 2.89 (95% CI: 1.66 to 5.03) to 6.71 (95% CI: 3.94 to 11.42) among the 11% with severe health problems. The interaction between time and health was statistically significant (p<0.001).ConclusionPeople with impaired health and workability are forced into a life with temporary means-tested or no benefits when pressed by rising work demands and stricter disability benefit eligibility criteria.

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“…In addition, it must be considered that these policy designs are not static but constantly changing. Activation policies in Sweden are currently moving towards a greater emphasis on incentives and work-first approaches (Bengtsson, 2014). A similar trend can also be observed in Germany, where labour market instruments have been rearranged and tightened in order to increase their effectiveness and efficiency (Kaltenborn, 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Active inclusion as an organisational challenge: integrated anti-poverty policies in three European countries

Heidenreich

Petzold

Natili

et al. 2014

J. int. comp. soc. policy

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Active inclusion aims at the reduction of poverty by strengthening the agency of excluded persons by the provision of a minimum income, activation and social services. The contribution to poverty alleviation is determined by expenditure levels and the organisation of these three policy fields. This can be shown by three examples: The comprehensive Swedish regime is characterised by high expenditures; the redistributive German regime is characterised by lower service levels and in Italy, all three dimensions are least developed. In addition, the organisation of services differs: Decentralised and discretionary system for the provision of services in Sweden, "creaming and parking" effects in Germany and fragmented providers in Italy. As a result of different expenditure levels and organisational patterns, the selectivity of active inclusion strategies is low in Sweden, medium in Germany and high in Italy. Both the financial and organisational dimensions of active inclusion therefore are decisive for poverty alleviation.

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Towards standby‐ability: Swedish and Danish activation policies in flux

Cited by 42 publications

References 29 publications

Youth‐oriented Active Labour Market Policies: Explaining Policy Effort in the Nordic and the Baltic States

Youth‐oriented Active Labour Market Policies: Explaining Policy Effort in the Nordic and the Baltic States

Too sick to work, too healthy to qualify: a cross-country analysis of the effect of changes to disability benefits

Active inclusion as an organisational challenge: integrated anti-poverty policies in three European countries

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