Activation and Labour Market Reforms in Europe: Challenges to Social Citizenship (Work and Welfare in Europe)

This book analyzes in what way activation policies impact on given patterns of social citizenship that predominate in national contexts. It argues that the liberal paradigm of activation introduced into labour market policies in all Western European states challenges the specific patterns of social citizenship in each country. Front Matter....Pages i-xxii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Activation and Labour Market Reforms in Europe: Challenges to Social Citizenship — Introduction....Pages 3-14 How Do Activation Policies Affect Social Citizenship? The Issue of Autonomy....Pages 15-34 Front Matter....Pages 35-35 Social Security Provision Targeted at Immigrants — A Forerunner for the General Change of Scandinavian Equal Citizenship? A Danish Case Study....Pages 37-58 Relinquishing Rights? The Impact of Activation on Citizenship for Lone Parents in the UK....Pages 59-78 Social Citizenship and Activation in Europe: A Gendered Perspective....Pages 79-100 Front Matter....Pages 101-101 The Erosion of Social Status: The Case of Germany....Pages 103-124 Redefining Unemployment and Employment Statuses: The Impact of Activation on Social Citizenship in France....Pages 125-146 Chances and Pitfalls of Flexible Labour Markets: The Case of the Spanish Strategy of Labour Market Flexibility....Pages 147-172 Activation and the Limited Social Citizenship Status of Young and Female Workers: The Italian Case....Pages 173-192 Front Matter....Pages 193-193 The Local- and Street-Level Production of Social Citizenship: The Case of Dutch Social Assistance....Pages 195-217 Norwegian Welfare Reforms: Social Contracts and Activation Policies....Pages 218-239 Front Matter....Pages 241-241 Activation Policies: Potential Enhancement and Factual Restraints of Citizens’ Autonomy....Pages 243-258 Back Matter....Pages 259-290 Activation and Labour Market Reforms in Europe examines the consequences of activation policies from the individual citizen's perspective. The book offers an original analytical perspective of how the multidimensional concept of social citizenship can be used in comparative research in order to capture underlying policy change which is often underestimated by policy analysts who delimit their perspective to material aspects of social policy reforms. Eight case studies, covering the North, West, and South of Europe, provide a comprehensive analysis of labour market reforms, including aspects of labour promotion, income maintenance policies, and labour market regulation. Tackling both the contents and governance, the chapters draw a highly instructive picture of how activation policies affect the whole population, the middle class as well as more vulnerable social groups. The findings indicate a deep normative change of the given patterns of state-citizen relationships to the detriment of the citizens' autonomy