Who are the lucky ones? Heterogeneity in active labour market policy outcomes

Abstract

This study focuses on how the effects from investments in Active Labour Market Policy programmes (ALMPs) may be differently distributed due to the age and educational level of participants. Outcomes were measured as the chance of labour market inclusion, labour market stability and postunemployment incomes. This longitudinal study captures long-term effects among 50,000 Swedes who entered unemployment in 1993. While the youngest gained most from ALMP-training, the oldest were best helped by ALMPemployment in reducing the risk of labour market exit. The lowest educated gained much from ALMP participation, although the effects were weaker than expected: those with a higher education gained more in terms of labour market stability from ALMP-training compared with the less educated persons. This result was interpreted in terms of a springboard effect, meaning that ALMP-training pushes higher educated people into further education in the regular educational arena.

Training for the unemployed: differential effects in white- and blue-collar workers with respect to mental well-being

“…The findings provide stronger support for our hypothesis about greater improvements of well-being among members of upper social classes. They are also in line with earlier research (Auer et al, 2005;Nordlund, 2011) indicating that participants with the best resources benefit more from the measures. The persistence of strata differences during unemployment and also during ALMP measures is in fact in line with statements stressing the multidimensional nature of the strata differences and health inequalities (Goldthorpe, 2010): the salariat has a lower risk of unemployment, although job loss is perhaps more stressful for them.…”

Cognitive Skills Matter: The Employment Disadvantage of Low-Educated Workers in Comparative Perspective

“…However, while these passive labour market policies are believed to negatively affect the employment opportunities of the low-educated workers, active labour market policies (ALMPs) such as public employment services or training measures, on the other hand, may counterbalance the negative effect of the former and help the low-educated workers integrate or re-integrate the labour market (Esping-Andersen, 2000;Oesch, 2010). According to Oesch (2010) and Nordlund (2011), ALMPs will help the unemployed find a job in two main ways: first, through training measures, they will improve the human capital of unemployed workers; second, through employment services and individual case management, they will enhance social networks and keep the beneficiaries of these measures motivated to find a job.…”

“…Putting aside the fact that this effect is mainly due to the three Scandinavian countries, it is possible to find two reasons why the employment prospects of the low-educated workers should be less enhanced than those of their more educated counterparts by ALMPs. First, the latter seem to be more successful in getting a job and keeping it with the help of these policies than the former (Martin and Grubb, 2001;Gaure, Røed and Westlie, 2008;Nordlund, 2011). Second, the participation rates to ALMPs are generally higher for those with intermediate education than for low-educated workers (Amoroso and Witte, 1998;Crépon, Ferracci and Fougère, 2007).…”

Education and active labour market policy complementarities in promoting employment: Reinforcement, substitution and compensation

“…It has been found, for instance, that in some contexts, the highly educated tend to benefit more from ALMP‐training programmes and the lower educated from ALMP‐employment programmes (e.g. in Sweden by Nordlund, 2011 ). It is therefore important to disentangle total ALMP efforts when studying how they interact with education.…”