Offering new knowledge and insights into European job markets, this book explores how young men and women experience job insecurity. Focusing on the ways in which young adults deal with this by actively increasing their chances of getting a job through a variety of methods, it shows how governmental policies can be altered to reduce early job insecurity. By combining analysis of original data collected through a variety of innovative methods, the book compares the trajectories of early job insecurity in nine European countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. It explores the differing reactions to the 2008 Great Recession and socio-economic and institutional characteristics of each country, analysing the strengths and weaknesses of different national policies. Contributions from experts in the field investigate the long-term consequences of having difficulty finding suitable and stable jobs in young adulthood, including 'scarring' in the form of weaker long-term employment prospects, lower life earnings and reduced well-being. Incorporating high-level academic research with policy recommendations, this insightful book is essential reading for advanced public policy and European studies scholars, as well as policymakers at national and European levels. Contributors include: D.S. Abebe, S. Ayllon, K.K. Bohler, M. Bussi, D. Buttler, L.A. Helbling, B. Hvinden, C. Hyggen, C. Imdorf, V. Krasteva, C. Lewis, A. McDonnell, J. O'Reilly, D. Parsanoglou, S. Sacchi, M.A. Schoyen, L.P. Shi, R. Stoilova, I. Tolgensbakk, J.S. Vedeler, A. Yfanti

The growth in part-time employment has been one of the most striking features in industrialized economies over the past forty years. This work discusses the controversial debates surrounding the subject - is part-time work better than unemployment or is social welfare a disincentive to taking up part-time work, is this kind of work becoming an increasingly normal part of most people's working lives, or does it remain a female ghetto of low pay, low pensions and low labour standards. The book presents a systematically comparative analysis of the common and divergent patterns in the use of part-time work in Europe, America and the Pacific Rim. It brings together sociologists and economists in this wide-ranging and comprehensive survey, tackling such areas as gender issues, ethnic questions and the differences between certain national economies.

The growth in part-time employment has been one of the most striking features in industrialized economies over the past forty years. Part-Time Prospects presents for the first time a systematically comparative analysis of the common and divergent patterns in the use of part-time work in Europe, America and the Pacific Rim. It brings together sociologists and economists in this wide-ranging and comprehensive survey. It tackles such areas as gender issues, ethnic questions and the differences between certain national economies including low pay, pensions and labour standards.

After the financial crisis of 2008 youth unemployment soared across Europe, leaving a generation of highly qualified young people frustrated in their search for secure, meaningful work. With contributions from over 90 authors and more than 60 individual contributions this collection summarises the findings of a large-scale EU funding project on Strategic Transitions for Youth Labour in Europe (STYLE). Including the often overlooked and unheard voices of young people themselves, this eclectic range of contributions discuss the distinctive characteristics of the current phase of youth employment. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the causes of European youth unemployment and assesses the effectiveness of labour market policies across the region.

The original essays in this book have been written by a number of leading international experts in the field of labour market studies to honour the intellectual contribution and lifetime achievement of Gunther Schmid.The multidisciplinary contributions, which cover a variety of theoretical approaches, are all concerned with transitional labour markets and labour market policy in the new global economic environment. The authors first address current arguments and controversies regarding appropriate institutions for the formation and implementation of labour market and employment policies. They move on to focus on the policies and problems associated with enhancing gender equality in terms of labour market integration and transitions. Finally, they examine new institutional arrangements that they believe will both enhance the performance of transitional labour markets and improve the management of social risks. Combining a theoretical approach with empirical research and a strong policy emphasis, the scope and diversity of this book will ensure a broad audience amongst economists, political scientists and academics in the fields of labour market theory and policy.

This major new Handbook is a detailed, up-to-date guide to different national labour markets and policies to combat unemployment and their outcomes. It will become established as a standard reference book - the first of its kind - providing an authoritative account of the rapidly growing field of labour market policy in a coherent and systematic framework.A group of internationally renowned researchers provides a state-of-the-art account of research on three levels; an evaluation of the methods available, an evaluation of policies and policy regimes and an evaluation of institutional frameworks and monitoring systems. Unique features of this reference book include the presentation of a 'Target-Oriented Approach' to evaluating labour market policy. The Handbook is international in its approach - all chapters apply an international comparative framework in assessing contemporary developments in the field. International Handbook of Labour Market Policy and Evaluation will be an indispensable source of reference for policymakers, social scientists and academics interested in labour market policy and policy evaluation.

Over the past twenty years European labour markets have seen the simultaneous rise of unemployment and working-time flexibility. While unemployment generates widespread concern about social exclusion, the reorganisation of flexible working-time has been greeted with more ambivalence. The concept of Transitional Labour Markets (TLMs) is an attempt to address and analyse the factors and policies that can prevent high levels of unemployment and exclusion from paid work.This book addresses three key questions: Can working-time flexibility integrate more people into paid employment? Can working-time flexibility prevent unemployment? Is it possible for the barriers between core and peripheral employment to become more permeable in the way advocated by the concept of TLMs? Drawing on both quantitative longitudinal panel study data and qualitative case study material, the authors (whose expertise is drawn from the fields of economics, sociology and law) provide an original perspective on the nature and implications of TLMs in Spain, Sweden, Ireland, Britain, Germany, France and The Netherlands. This will be essential reading for both academics and policymakers in the field of labour market policy.

Exacerbated by the Great Recession, youth transitions to employment and adulthood have become increasingly protracted, precarious, and differentiated by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Youth Labor in Transition examines young people's integration into employment, alongside the decisions and consequences of migrating to find work and later returning home. The authors identify key policy challenges for the future related to NEETS, overeducation, self-employment, and ethnic differences in outcomes. This illustrates the need to encompass a wider understanding of youth employment and job insecurity by including an analysis of economic production and how it relates to social reproduction of labor if policy intervention is to be effective. The mapping and extensive analysis in this book are the result of a 31/2-year, European Union-funded research project (Strategic Transitions for Youth Labour in Europe, or STYLE; http://www.style-research.eu) coordinated by Jacqueline O'Reilly. With an overall budget of just under 5 million euros and involving 25 research partners; an international advisory network and local advisory boards of employers, unions, and policymakers; and non-governmental organizations from more than 20 European countries, STYLE is one of the largest European Commission-funded research projects to exist on this topic. Consequently, this book will appeal to an array of audiences, including academic and policy researchers in sociology, political science, economics, management studies, and more particular labor market and social policy; policy communities; and bachelor's- and master's-level students in courses on European studies or any of the aforementioned subject areas.

This book provides an overview of the institutional arrangements affecting labour market transitions through different working-time arrangements in seven European countries. It examines the extent to which social integration through transitional labour markets is possible, assesses the effects of labour market transitions, and prescribes improvements, with the aim of preventing the development of social exclusion from paid employment. The book concentrates on how working-time transitions are shaped by industrial relations, employment regulation and social policy systems. In particular it seeks to ascertain how institutional regulations may hinder or encourage the development of transitional labour markets in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The contributors to this volume also analyse the characteristics of employment regulation with regard to working-time flexibility and industrial relations in their national setting. They provide a review of current debates around this issue, and explore the role of recent reforms to social policy in facilitating or hindering labour market transitions. Outlining the changes that have occurred in the regulatory institutional framework shaping working-time transitions in recent years, this book will be invaluable to academics with an interest in labour market policy. The book will also strongly appeal to labour market policymakers.

This major new Handbook is a detailed, up-to-date guide to different national labour markets and policies to combat unemployment and their outcomes. It will become established as a standard reference book - the first of its kind - providing an authoritative account of the rapidly growing field of labour market policy in a coherent and systematic framework.A group of internationally renowned researchers provides a state-of-the-art account of research on three levels; an evaluation of the methods available, an evaluation of policies and policy regimes and an evaluation of institutional frameworks and monitoring systems. Unique features of this reference book include the presentation of a 'Target-Oriented Approach' to evaluating labour market policy. The Handbook is international in its approach - all chapters apply an international comparative framework in assessing contemporary developments in the field. International Handbook of Labour Market Policy and Evaluation will be an indispensable source of reference for policymakers, social scientists and academics interested in labour market policy and policy evaluation.

Shining a light on the very different experiences of work in the digital age, this book provides a unique contribution to the reform discussion on the consequences of the fourth industrial revolution. Drawing on a wide range of international expertise, contributors examine important policy challenges arising from the transformation of work as a result of the introduction of digital technology at work. Authors in this volume discuss the effects of automation, platform business models, stagnating productivity, increasing regional disparities, and rising levels of inequality within and between countries. They consider how to unlock the vast economic and social potential of new technologies and the implications for policy reform to meet these challenges. Mastering them requires developing a new inclusive narrative and progressive reform agenda. Such an agenda would be economic and political, and not determined universally by technology. The narrative is not only about what policymakers need to do, which is rather a lot. It is also about reforming established organisations and institutions, understanding new emerging players and supporting disaffected citizens in how the effects of these changes are going to affect their lives. The authors clearly pinpoint what needs to be done to support the transition to work in the digital era.