Active labour market policies

Active labour market policies (ALMPs) are government programmes that intervene in the labour market to help the unemployed find work, but also for the underemployed and employees looking for better jobs. In contrast, passive labour market policies involve expenditures on unemployment benefits and early retirement.[1] Historically, labour market policies have developed in response to both market failures and socially/politically unacceptable outcomes within the labor market. Labour market issues include, for instance, the imbalance between labour supply and demand, inadequate income support, shortages of skilled workers, or discrimination against disadvantaged workers.[2]

Many of these programmes grew out of earlier public works projects, in the United States particularly those implemented under the New Deal, designed to combat widespread unemployment in the developed world during the interwar period. Today, academic analysis of ALMPs is associated with economists such as Lars Calmfors and Richard Layard.[3][4] ALMPs have traditionally been considered “supply-side measures” because they consisted of different employment programs and job placement policies and were designed to assist the most marginalised groups in the labour market. In more recent times, ALMPs have shifted towards a “demand-side” focus by involving employers in various initiatives aimed at offering employment opportunities to those who are disadvantaged in the labour market.[5]

Active labour market policies are prominent in the economic policy of the Scandinavian countries, although over the 1990s they grew in popularity across Europe as several policy plans were created with the aim of enhancing long-lasting labor market performance. Notable examples include the New Deal in the UK and many welfare-to-work programmes in the US.

  1. ^ Armingeon, Klaus (2007). "Active labour market policy, international organizations and domestic politics". Journal of European Public Policy. 14 (6): 905–932. doi:10.1080/13501760701497923. S2CID 154850715. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  2. ^ Bredgaard, Thomas (2015). "Evaluating What Works for Whom in Active Labour Market Policies". European Journal of Social Security. 17 (4): 436–452. doi:10.1177/138826271501700403. S2CID 155917394. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  3. ^ Calmfors, L. Active labour market policy and unemployment: a framework for the analysis of crucial design features, OECD Economic Studies, 1994
  4. ^ Layard, R., S. Nickell and R. Jackman, Unemployment: macroeconomic performance and the labour market, Oxford University Press, 1991
  5. ^ Bîrcă, Alic (2022). "THE INCREASING OF LABOUR FORCE EMPLOYMENT THROUGH ACTIVE LABOUR MARKET POLICIES" (PDF): 216–222. Retrieved 10 April 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)