Activation and labour market reforms in Europe

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.