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The possible impacts of contextual effects on political behaviour have long been studied and analysed by political scientists and geographers. We review previous relevant literature and extend it by incorporating the recent rise of populism and developments of socio‐economic determinants of the political economy of discontent and the geography of happiness and well‐being across the European Union. In particular, the research presented in this paper is aimed at analysing the impact of individual and contextual variables on political behaviour across European regions. Additionally, this paper examines links between subjective well‐being and political preferences, while at the same time considers contextual factors at the regional level across Europe. Methodologically, we adopt a multilevel modelling approach to analyse voting behaviour and to also examine subjective happiness indicators in relation to factors of political geography. We employ data from the European Social Survey (ESS) to estimate the effects of economic and non‐economic factors across Europe on the geography of subjective happiness and discontent using individual social values and cultural norms. We find that not only are individual level characteristics significant, but so too are regional characteristics.

Investments in human capital are essential themes in many policy programs. Besides the direct private returns of education, there is evidence of positive human capital externalities at the level of regions and firms. Our results show that both production and consumption externalities have positive effects on wages. Production externalities are transmitted at the level of firms and not at the regional level. For workers in low skilled jobs, consumption externalities dominate production externalities.Workers on low skilled jobs earn higher wages when working in co-operation with workers in high skilled jobs, while for low educated workers such co-operation with high educated workers is negative.JEL: J21, J24, J31, R23 1

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Abstract** Many welfare reforms undertaken in OECD-countries are directed towards enhancing efficiency in the administration and implementation of social security and social benefits. In this perspective the governance reforms in The Netherlands are an example of decentralisation through budgeting of means to municipalities. This brings about a unique twofold experiment in which we compare the efficiency changes in providing social assistance as a result of decentralisation and budgeting and the influence of policy measures at a local level. By using data envelopment analysis we assess the effect of the introduction of the new Work and Social Assistance Act (WSA) in 2004 on cost efficiency. By using a stochastic frontier analysis we assess the impact of municipal policy strategies on cost inefficiencies for the period 2005-2007. We find a clear positive effect of the WSA in 2004 on cost efficiency. Furthermore, we find that in the aftermath, when efficiency slowly dropped after 2005, there is a distinct impact of policy strategies municipalities adopt. Pursuing a strategy of activation raised efficiency significantly, whereas strict control or combinations of strategies led a (weak) fall in efficiency. Terms of use: Documents in

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Samenvatting Welke handelings- en interventiestrategieën van gemeenten dragen bij aan perspectief op werk en een verbetering van het welbevinden en vertrouwen van mensen in de bijstand? Zes gemeenten – Groningen, Utrecht, Tilburg, Wageningen, Deventer en Nijmegen – hebben de afgelopen jaren (van 1 oktober 2017 tot 31 december 2019) unieke randomised controlled trials uitgevoerd in de bijstand. De volgende (combinatie van) interventies zijn onderzocht: ontheffing van re-integratieverplichtingen, intensivering van begeleiding en vrijlating van bijverdiensten. Er is zowel gekeken naar uitstroom naar werk als naar baanzoekintensiteit, welbevinden, zelfredzaamheid en sociaal vertrouwen. De uitstroom naar werk is bij alle interventies niet lager dan de huidige aanpak, terwijl de uitstroom naar deeltijdwerk in sommige gemeenten hoger is. Vooral intensivering op maat en vrijlating kan uitstroom naar werk (minimaal in deeltijd) vergroten. Voor wat betreft de effecten op baanzoekintensiteit, zelfredzaamheid, welbevinden en vertrouwen, is het beeld diffuus. We vinden kleine en soms ook positieve effecten, vooral voor zelfredzaamheid en vertrouwen, maar het beeld is niet eenduidig. De kleine aantallen deelnemers in de experimenten maken het lastig statistisch significante effecten te vinden.

Many western countries struggle with the realization of an inclusive labor market: a labor market in which everyone can participate and disabled or otherwise vulnerable, disadvantaged and low productive people can participate in the real labor market up to the best of their possibilities. Following countries like Germany and Austria, the latest Dutch policy proposal is to introduce a mandatory quota for employers with more than 25 employees to create job openings for disabled for 5 percent of their workforce. A first calculation of possible job openings shows that from a national perspective a mandatory quota seems promising. However due to differences in the regional economic structure the arrangement will not be sufficient to solve spatial inequalities in regional exclusion of disabled at the level of municipalities and also not for larger regions at the NUTS-1 level like the North of the Netherlands. We conclude more attention should be paid to the spatial variation in impact when the national government decides to decentralize the implementation of national policy measures to municipalities.

Abstract. This note introduces the special issue on Well-being in cities and regions: measurement, analysis and policy practices. After highlighting the importance of wellbeing research, this contribution provides a rationale for focusing on the local level rather than looking at country averages for both analytical and policy purposes. While introducing the papers in this Special Issue, we highlight the need to focus on the regional and local factors that improve people's well-being and the need to understand the link between objective and subjective measures of well-being so that better use is made of them in policy making.