Developing capabilities and rights in welfare-to-work policies. European societies, 7 (1). pp. 3-26.

No abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a brief introduction to activation policies, then discuss the capability approach, in particular highlighting a number of key concepts relevant to the analysis of active labour market policies. The second section presents the articles in this special issue, which address organisational innovation in activation policies and cover: six European countries (including Scandinavia and East and West Europe); an historical perspective; and policies aimed at the general workless population along with those targeted at specific groups e.g. disabled people. The final section emphasises three important teachings from this special issue. This paper introduces the special issue on the theme of activation policies and organisational innovation in the capability perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a normative and analytical framework. Its relevance for empirical fieldwork is then illustrated through a synthesis of the case studies presented in the special issue.FindingsIt is argued that the capability approach provides a highly useful framework for analysis of activation policies. Across the diverse range of organisational innovation examined in the articles in the special issue, a capability perspective allows for identification of a number of common themes and failings.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper lies in the presentation of a diverse range of organisational innovation in relation to activation policies, and using a capability approach as a framework for analysis.

Most activation policies are based on a simplistic conception of responsibility: behaving responsibly coincides with quickly reintegrating the labour market. Local welfare agents are called to push beneficiaries to actively endorse this goal. But the issue of responsibility is much more complex. Drawing on Sen's capability approach, this article suggests that responsibilisation of recipients requires both empowerment and granting them more real freedom of choice on the labour market. Against the present trend toward hypertrophying individual responsibility, it calls for a more equilibrated balance between individual and social responsibility. The objective is not to define an impracticable ideal of responsibility, but to provide a yardstick for assessing activation programmes.

This article presents the capability approach as an alternative conceptual and normative framework to assess the impact and relevance of existing labour market regulations. In this perspective, what matters is not GDP growth or the overall employment rate, but the development of people’s real freedom to choose a job or an activity they have reason to value. The two key notions of ‘capability for work’ and ‘capability for voice’ are presented in detail, as well as the way to use them as a framework for scientific analysis and empirical research. The article strongly emphasizes the significant difference that the use of such tools makes when it comes to assessing the impact and relevance of collective regulations in the field of work. Cet article présente l’approche par les capacités comme un cadre conceptuel et normatif alternatif pour évaluer l’impact et la pertinence des réglementations existantes du marché du travail. Dans cette perspective, ce qui importe, ce n’est pas la croissance du PIB ou le taux global d’emploi, mais le développement de la liberté effective des individus de choisir un emploi ou une activité qu’ils ont des raisons d’apprécier. Les deux notions essentielles de « capacité à exercer un travail » et de « capacité à faire entendre sa voix » sont présentées en détail, de même que la manière d’utiliser ces notions comme cadre d’analyse scientifique et de recherche empirique. L’article souligne fortement la différence considérable qu’entraîne l’utilisation de tels outils quand il s’agit d’évaluer l’impact et la pertinence des réglementations collectives dans le domaine du travail. In diesem Beitrag wird der Ansatz der Verwirklichungschancen als alternativer konzeptueller und normativer Rahmen vorgeschlagen, um die Auswirkungen und die Relevanz der bestehenden Arbeitsmarktvorschriften zu bewerten. Unter diesem Gesichtspunkt ist nicht das BIP-Wachstum oder die Gesamtbeschäftigungsrate von Bedeutung, sondern die Entwicklung der realen Freiheit der Menschen, eine Arbeit oder Tätigkeit zu wählen, die sie wertschätzen. Die beiden zentralen Konzepte der “capability for work” (Verwirklichungschance im Arbeitsleben) und der “capability for voice” (Chance, für Arbeitnehmerbelange einzutreten) werden ausführlich beschrieben, und es wird erklärt, wie diese als Rahmen für die wissenschaftliche Analyse und empirische Forschungsarbeiten dienen. Der Beitrag unterstreicht den bedeutenden Vorteil, der sich aus der Verwendung derartiger Konzepte bei der Bewertung der Auswirkungen und der Relevanz kollektiver Regelungen im Arbeitsbereich ergibt.