Activation, health and well‐being: neglected dimensions?

Abstract

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:226685 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This article argues that some of the most profound costs of unemployment are social in nature, rather than solely economic. Consequently, the aim of the paper is to argue that the design and evaluation of active labour market policies (ALMPs) should incorporate a better and more sophisticated understanding of how such interventions affect the health, well-being and social exclusion of the unemployed, as opposed to more typically economic outcomes like re-employment and wage levels. Design/methodology/approach -To achieve this, a range of theoretical and empirical evidence is reviewed that shows how unemployment is consistently associated with a range of health and social problems. Evidence is also presented that demonstrates the capacity that ALMPs have to intervene and mediate such problems. Findings -The evidence presented demonstrates that not only is unemployment associated with a range of health and social problems but it appears to have a causal function. Further, the evidence also demonstrates how the causal pathway that leads from unemployment to poor health, low well-being and social exclusion is often psychosocial in nature. It is argued that such findings reinforce the potential that activation policies have to improve the qualitative, psychosocial environment of unemployment for the better. Originality/value -This article argues that politicians, policy-makers and academics should take a more holistic approach vis-à -vis ALMPs, beyond the more typical economic-centric way in which such programmes are often conceptualised. Further, it offers a framework for future research; suggesting that further work should focus on analysing the impacts of qualitatively different types of active interventions. To achieve this, a framework -based upon Bonoli's typology -is outlined.

Intensity, moderation, and the pressures of expectation: Calculation and coercion in the street‐level practice of welfare conditionality

“…Activation refers to the linking of behavioral conditionality to active labour market policy, otherwise known as “welfare‐to‐work” (Lødemel & Trickey, ; Sage, ). A “particularly ambiguous policy category” (Bonoli, , p. 439), active labour market policy, encompasses a range of different policy measures through which the state takes an “active” rather than “passive” role with respect to labour supply.…”

Do Active Labour Market Policies Promote the Well-Being, Health and Social Capital of the Unemployed? Evidence from the UK

“…Of these outcomes, three stand out in terms of substantive importance and empirical interest: subjective well-being, physical health and social capital. In the context of ALMPs, increasing numbers of academics have hypothesized that ALMPs can improve these non-economic outcomes for participants (see Strandh 2001;Anderson 2009;Sage 2013). This is an argument influenced by theories from sociology and social psychology that the environment of employment fulfils a range of psychosocial needs, such as daily structure and activities (Jahoda 1982).…”

Active labour market policy and its outcomes

“…However, alternative theories suggest that ALMP participation increases the psychological distress caused by unemployment (Sage, 2013). Because active labour market policies require personal responsibility and self-motivation, these alternative 22 IJSSP 35,1/2 theories assume that participation in ALMPs can also be accompanied by increased psychological stress and stigmatisation (Dean, 2003;Wright, 2012).…”