Active labour market policies around the world. Coping with the conseqences of globalisation

Book by Peter Auer, Emit Efendioglu and Janine Leeschke. Active labour market policies (ALMPs) are found in almost all countries of the world but differ in amplitude, design and implementation. Comprising an array of measures, ALMPs can take the form of special support for job searching, and training and education for the unemployed, and various other subsidies and job creation activities. While providing a valuable overview of the nature of ALMPs, this book examines some of the pitfalls and challenges countries face when evaluating these programmes. It also provides a policy framework for designing ALMPs that are a permanent, yet adaptable, instrument to cope with change linked to globalization.
The book puts forth some powerful arguments in favour of ALMPs as they are utilized in developed, transition and developing countries. It reveals that most countries open to the global economy are those that have put in place ALMPs precisely in order to protect their workers from some of the negative effects of globalization and technological change. The study also shows how worker perception of security increases along with spending on these labour market policies.
The role of evaluation of ALMPs is also stressed and the book examines the different models. It finds that often analysis does not take into account enough factors to comprehensively evaluate the effects of programmes.
While suggesting that ALMPs shed their ad hoc nature as a quick fix solution, the study recommends new ways of financing and looks at the importance of social dialogue as a vital policy tool for establishing more permanent frameworks which allow for labour market flexibility while maintaining security.

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