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A
TLM.NET conference 25
- 26 November 2004
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conference
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Calls
for papers - closed
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The calls for papers deadline is closed.
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Submission
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Abstract
guidelines
Before August 1 you will be informed if your paper is accepted for the conference. |
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Paper
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The package aims at getting a better picture of the job mobility patterns and how they affect the employability and security (flexicurity) of the workers involved across various institutional settings (countries and employment regimes). The focus is on in-work transitions either on the internal or the external labour market. The changing patterns of job mobility will be studied against the background of major societal structural changes such as: 1) the globalisation of production and consumption and the resulting larger labour mobility across national borders, 2) the ageing of the labour force; 3) the need for a flexible internal and external labour market in order to adapt the work force in quantitative [numerical flexibility] and qualitative terms [functional flexibility] as well as the internal labour organisation to quickly changing market demands 4) the greater instability of employment careers with more intermittent periods of non-employment and their consequences for income and work security 5) the shortening of work life and the greater differentiation in life biographies (from a standard to a 'free-choice' life biography) and 6) the increased demand for high skilled labour in the 'knowledge economy' and the need for participation in life-long-learning programmes and 7) the weakened tie between employer and employee tie and the shift into self-employment for particular groups on the labour market. Type of transitions The sort of in-work transitions the package wants to focus on are:
The package particularly focuses on the flexicurity thesis and the variation of mobility patterns across regimes. It encourages to focus on individuals within households and to consider household work transition patterns and the trade-offs in work-education/training-social security/leisure choices between household members. A special focus exists on the impact of institutional differences across regimes. Regimes will be characterised according to their configuration of the flexibility-security (flexicurity) nexus, which is determined by the incentive structure, the regulatory setting in the flexibility domain and the architecture of the social security system. The
flexicurity thesis and employment regimes
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Social Democratic Scandinavian regime | Liberal Anglo-Saxon regime | |||
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Corporatist Continental European regime | Traditionalist Southern European regime | |||
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The literature to date suggests that the Social-Democratic and Scandinavian Regimes perform best in attaining a high level of labour market flexibility and at the same time providing much security in terms of income and employment security. Although generalisations are risky, the Southern European, traditionalist regime seems to deliver the worst combination as regards 'flexicurity'. The Anglo-Saxon regime is weak on the income security part while the Continental European does not perform particularly well as regards labour market flexibility (Muffels, Wilthagen and van den Heuvel 2002; Muffels and Fouarge 2004; Muffels, Tsakloglou and Mayes 2002). Sort
of questions to be covered in the package
The range of questions that might be covered is quite broad which is an advantage but at the same time a disadvantage. The key words to be remembered are: in-work transitions, the balance between flexibility and security, a comparative approach, the role of institutional factors, the notion of employability, the household perspective. Disciplinary
background Theory The
Data Objectives The main objectives are:
References __________________________________________________________________________ |
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Background
and Objectives
The concept of transitional labour markets is a starting point for the analysis of the education and training system in its relationship to the changing conditions in the employment system, focusing on the dynamics of transitions in the life course of individuals, with the social risks as well as the interests and preferences for an improved work-life balance involved, and searching the institutional preconditions for the establishment of new social insurance mechanisms connected to the transitions in working life and the labour market. Education and training are involved in many kinds of transitions during the life course, which have been analysed by previous work, namely, the transition process from initial education to employment; education and training measures involved in transitions between unemployment and employment; and learning experience in continuous vocational training and human resource development related to transitions within employment. Building on that knowledge, a main objective of the workpackage 4 workshops is to figure out the implications of the concept of transitional labour markets for the development of life-long learning policies. Themes
and questions More specifically the following themes and questions deserve attention by proposals for the sessions of workpackage 4 (please indicate the themes and questions addressed by your contribution):
The exchange of ideas and research results on labour market transitions and life-long learning policies and the pooling of knowledge from the perspectives of different approaches would also be interesting for the workshop, e.g., the OECD and the EU transition projects, the evaluation of large scale adult education policies as the recent Swedish initiative, the analysis of attempts in some countries to provide new forms of insurance of non-standard employment. Methodology The contributions should be focused around those transitions in working life which include some relationship to education and training, and should have in mind as much as possible a life course perspective, and various forms of risks resulting from the current changes in the employment relationships due to globalisation, technological change and the rise of the knowledge economy and society. The potential of a life-long learning strategy along the proposed European priorities and building blocks to recognise and to take up those transitions, and to find ways to turn them into a positive direction, or at least to provide insurance against the risks involved, should be explored from the various - conceptual, empirical, evaluative, behavioural, institutional or theoretical - starting points. The workshop will thus bring about better knowledge, on both quantitative and qualitative grounds, regarding education and training related transitions in the European countries and of life-long learning policies' impact and functioning in relation to social inclusion and a new model of full employment. The contributions can then enable not only to identify what works, but also to give insights into why things work (or fail), and to make propositions for innovative measures and policies. __________________________________________________________________________ |
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The
context The
challenge of 'flexicurity' Objectives
and Research lines This workpackage focusses on three relatively new trends in active social and employment policies (De Lathouwer, 2004). A first line is that of "making work pay policies". In the nineties several European continental countries introduced such policies. The idea is that it is better to use income arrangements actively as wage subsidies to pay people for working rather than for not working. A policy of income supplements to wages (so called 'in-work benefits') can take various forms such as back-to-work bonuses, part-time unemployment benefits, tax credits, vouchers, wage insurance,.. We welcome institutional and empirical analyses on such policies. Empirically, very little is known in continental countries about the impact of wage subsidies on upward mobility, wages, career prospects, acquisition of skills, benefit generosity and on poverty or inequality. A second line is that on "activation and responsabilisation of various actors", being the unemployed, but also the implementation organisations and the employers. The emphasis in many countries is on a re-balancing of entitlements and obligations, based on a growing consciousness that the unemployment risk does not only arises from external circumstances, but that it is also related to choices of individuals, households and firms. We welcome research on activation policies of 'the carrot' (policies raising access to opportunities which increase the earning capacity of the unemployed such as training, services, in-work benefits see supra), policies of 'the stick' (policies raising control on work requirements and benefit sanctions) and policies which combine carrot and stick measures. We welcome also more institutional analyses on how modern welfare states are coping with responsabilisation. In particular we welcome research on theoretical and practical ways to develop the responsibility of employers, as this perspective is almost completely neglected. A third line is that of the "management of active policies". Many countries have linked their activation policies to radical changes in the implementation and delivery system structure. In many countries the PES is re-organised. A striking change in some countries is the introduction of market forces through a complete or partial privatisation of the public provider, forcing him to compete with other professional players from the profit (enterprises, temp agencies,..) and non-profit sectors in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation. Other countries are following models of New Contractualism and New Public Management, with a strong emphasis on performance management and input- and outcome-financing. Other important changes are the development of one-stop shops and employment companies, providing encompassing job enhancing services such as training and placement. Also the introduction of new forms of quasi-contractual agreements between the unemployed client and the employment administration is a important trend. We welcome policy analyses and empirical evaluation research regarding the impact of these changes on the employability and well being of the non-employed or the employed in danger of dismissal. References De Lathouwer,
L. (2004), From Passive to Active Management of the Unemployment
Risk: What can we learn from Transitional Labour Markets?, Position
Paper for Work Package 5 of the Transitional Labour Markets Network,
Paper for the TLM Workshop, Rotterdam 26 and 27th April 2004, 22 pp
(unpublished paper) Schmid, G. (2004), Comments to the Position Paper by Lieve De Lathouwer, From Passive to Active Management of the Unemployment Risk: What can we learn from Transitional Labour Markets?, 8 April 2004, 4 pp. __________________________________________________________________________ |
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One of the major objectives of the European Employment Strategy is to increase the overall employment rate, which inter alia requires an increase of female employment rates. In several Member States, with a traditional gender division of labour, such a policy has to be complemented by a pro-active policy making possible for both men and women to better balance work and family commitments. In other words, the expected increase of female employment rates is conditional to the implementation of reforms concerning for instance the design of tax/benefit system, childcare provision and leave of absence which are conducive to current and future changes in household time allocation favouring gender equal opportunities, combating social exclusion and improving working and living conditions. There is hence a need, both at a theoretical, normative and especially at the empirical level, to better understand the determinants of time allocation between various activities from a life course perspective. One of the future challenges we are confronted with is to attempt to conceptualise transitions in a dynamic way and to emphasise not only transitions between specific states (transitions from the domestic sphere to employment, from employment toward retirement, from part-time to full time etc.) but to analyse various time arrangements over the life cycle in an integrated way. Without some theoretical understanding of the intricate interrelation between, on the one hand the prevailing institutional framework in a broad sense and the inter-temporal choice made by household between various time consuming activities on the other hand, it is a priori difficult to assess how policy changes may affect household choices over the life cycle. One of the objectives of work package 6 is therefore to provide new theoretical insights and empirical evidence about how changes in the institutional and policy framework may affect household's time allocation over the life course. As far as empirical evidence is concerned, traditional quantitative approach (econometric analysis) and qualitative analysis could be used to examine the impact of the various national contexts on household time allocation focusing in particular on the articulation between the domestic sphere and other activities (paid work, caring, leisure etc). Relevant issues here are, for instance, how income compensated parental leave system with employment guarantee or the legal possibility to redistribute working time and income over the life course may influence both men and women life cycle behaviour in terms of labour market participation, working time and more generally the gender allocation of time between various activities. In other words, the conceptual and empirical analysis should primarily focus on how household time allocation over the life course responds to changes in the parameters of social security and welfare system and how innovative institutional arrangements or company practices may favour a better balance between paid work and other social activities. Other relevant research areas here could be to examine to what extent time allocation is gendered within household in different societal and institutional regimes? Are specific institutional arrangements more prone to promote a better balance in time allocation between gender and foster integrative transitions over the life cycle? Comparative analysis of current time allocation across different employment and welfare state regimes might be a good way of isolating the role of the overall institutional framework on time allocation over the life cycle. By linking the specificity of the various social security/welfare state systems to the prevailing country time allocation, the research could assess the impact of the overall institutional framework on time allocation over the life cycle. __________________________________________________________________________ |
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Background
and objectives There is a wide range of institutions and policies influencing the situation of older workers, and creating either incentives or disincentives for continuing work. Early retirement schemes play a central role, but they have many functional equivalents, like durable unemployment insurance (with somewhat weakened or no job search conditions), disability pensions, and even (but more rarely) private agreements. The pension system is also crucial, and especially the existence of an incentive to work some additional years. Thus, a comprehensive approach of these policies is necessary to understand the position of seniors from a public policy point of view. This should be complemented by some knowledge about the labour demand side, and about firms' hiring and firing behaviour. Besides, some information about seniors' preferences would also be interesting. A better knowledge about seniors' position on the labour market, as well as knowledge about the policies targeted at this age group, is a prerequisite for thinking about reforms. From a more normative point of view, European comparisons will enable to identify good and bad institutional combinations : to do so, it will be necessary to take a variety of indicators and benchmarks, including the quality of the retirement transitions (wage level, voluntary vs involuntary part time jobs, precariousness, existence of training…). As far as reforms are concerned, the workshop should try to identify the path followed by different countries. Indeed, some reforms have been launched during the recent years, like part time retirement schemes (France), pension system reform (Sweden), specific active labour market programmes (New Deals 50+ in UK). Nevertheless, they meet varied success. These reforms should be analysed and assessed to invent innovative solutions on the ground of these experiences. On the whole, this is a field where reforms seem particularly difficult, which requires specific research to be understood more fully. Institutionalist perspective (path dependence theory, evolutionism, policy learning, theories of justice…) might be useful to get explanations about reform difficulties. Using the results of these research directions, the workshop should provide some proposals in the spirit of transitional labour markets, which means for instance to combine negotiation, co-financing, and enhanced mobility. The impact of these new institutional arrangements should be assessed or simulated, and the transferability of successful national experiences needs to be discussed. Methodology On the basis of individual data (and if possible panel data), one should be able to identify the transitions of seniors between employment, unemployment and inactivity, but also between jobs (including information about the nature of jobs, full time or part time, working time, temporary or permanent contracts, …). The role of training in the trajectories should also be identified : aggregate data suggest that the probability to get training decreases with age, but this result needs precisions (is the situation the same for all qualification levels? In all countries?). This transitions focused analysis should be performed at the national level, but also in a comparative perspective. This perspective will be mixed with an evaluation point of view, trying to assess the impact of some programmes or policies on the transitions of seniors. In a more prospective way, this quantitative part could also include some case type studies or simulations to forecast the effects of intended reforms. If they are available, surveys concerning individual preferences would also help to understand seniors' behaviour. Besides, all these analyses should be linked to the question of the functioning and implementation of institutions and policies. Therefore, from an institutionalist perspective, the papers presented at the workshop should use either case studies, including historical perspective on the dynamics of seniors targeted policies, or comparative analysis, to deal with policies dynamics in this area. A key question is then to understand why innovative policies have succeeded? Or failed? The workshop will thus bring about better knowledge regarding older age transitions in the European countries and of targeted policies impact and functioning, on both quantitative and qualitative grounds. The contributions can then enable not only to identify what works, but also to give insights in why things work (or fail), and to make propositions for innovative combinations. __________________________________________________________________________ |
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There is now a wealth of contributions and academic debate about the ‘Social Dimension of Europe’. High hopes by some actors for stimulating input to reach higher social and welfare standard coincide with anxious looks on acquired standards in some other countries. Therefore, innovative approaches to the European Social Model, specific assessments of parts of the European Social Model and more general overviews on the topic remain high on the agenda of research and political actors within Member States of the European Union, its new members, candidate countries and even beyond. The Lisbon target that the European Union will become the most competitive region in the world has, so far, not inspired new dynamics on the labour markets and the economic and employment outlook for the next few years seems to push aside new concerns about the meaning of the ‘Social Dimension of Europe’ in the European Union of the 15 members and in the enlarged European Union as of 1st of May 2004 (European Commission 2003,2004, ETUI 2004). There have been considerable advances towards a more integrated Union as far as the markets for services and products, the European monetary union, the €uro and the European Central Bank are concerned. However, there is a growing concern that services of public interest and basic public infrastructure is falling behind past standards and remote regions are at particular disadvantage. The first signs that these evolutions have an impact also on employment and regional distributions of employment opportunities and unemployment are becoming available (Eurostat 2003). Maastricht criteria for national budget deficits and a restricted scope for interest rate policies and fixed internal exchange rates within the Union despite persistent inflation rate differentials put social policy expenditure and particularly unemployment insurance deficits at times of rising unemployment within tight boundaries. This has led to ample reforms at the national level to curb social expenditure in the last few years. Hence the question of the sustainability of the traditional unemployment insurance systems is questioned at its roots. Additionally the reforms of employment protection systems and the rising share of fixed-term, part-time and self-employment have sparked concerns whether the European Union as a whole and each of its 25 Member States has found the adequate balance between flexibility and security. The impact of this evolution on overall life course developments and social security systems as a whole will be reassessed by this workpackage. Despite the heavily debated shape of social policies and security in the European Union the sustainability of major elements of the European Social Model (ESM) cannot be taken for granted. The Workshop on the sustainability of employment insurance, therefore, welcomes a broad range of papers of theoretical and empirical nature that enlighten the theoretical debate, contribute to the empirical assessment of sustainability as well as any combined approaches of particular aspects of what could be vital or difficult to manage elements of an employment insurance system. __________________________________________________________________________ |
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The
TLM.NET conference 'Quality in Labour Market Transitions: A European
Challenge'
Conference
committee: Correspondence
address:
The
TLM.NET conference 'Quality in Labour Market Transitions: A European
Challenge'
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