Preventing unemployment in Europe: a new framework for labour market policy

Book abstract:

'Preventing unemployment in Europe' is an interdisciplinary volume offering an effective and authoritative contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the utility of preventive labour market policies. Positive labour market performance is discussed from a European perspective and analysed against the background of transferability in an era of increasing globalisation of markets. Concentrating particularly on the role of corporatist and market processes, the book focuses on the effects of preventive unemployment through the comparison of innovative and flexible policy solutions.

Some of the fundamental issues the book tackles include the extent to which the conditional framework for preventive labour market policy is undergoing change, the response mechanisms to these changes which categorise national strategies and the learning processes which can be triggered through the exchange of national experiences within the EU. The discussions within the book benefit from both an economic analysis of the subject matter complemented by a broader social science approach.

The book is split into three parts: Part one: Preventive labour market policy in a changing environment. Part two: National experience with preventive labour market policy strategies. Part three: Perspectives with regard to European learning processes.

The editors, themselves distinguished scholars in this field, have produced a comprehensive resource which should prove invaluable reading for both policymakers and academics in the fields of labour market theory and policy.

Paul Klemmer and Rüdiger Wink are from the Ruhr Research Institute for Regional and Innovation Policy, Germany.

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