Handbook of Labour Market Policy in Advanced Democracies

Bringing together contributions from leading labour market policy scholars from across the globe, this state-of-the-art Handbook offers extensive and compelling analyses of labour market policy in advanced democracies.Drawing on the lively debates on labour market policy that have characterised comparative social policy and comparative political economy scholarship in recent years, the Handbook provides theoretical insights into the core concepts, changing contexts and main actors that shape contemporary labour market policy. Using macro-regional case studies spanning Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America, it offers detailed empirical illustrations of how major labour market policies and institutions have evolved over time and across countries. Chapters further examine the diversity of policy options and their various political implications, assessing the relationship between labour market policy and major socio-economic outcomes, such as inequality, well being and political participation.Integrating cutting-edge theory with rich empirical insights, this incisive Handbook will be an invaluable reference for students and scholars of comparative social policy and comparative political economy. Its comprehensive coverage will also allow policy-makers and practitioners to reflect critically on the role of labour market policy in today’s complex societies.

‘This new Handbook is an impressive volume that brings together leading scholars in labour market policy research. It not only provides a fresh view on long-debated topics in labour market policy design and implementation, but it also widens the perspective to include new topics, updated comparative evidence and political economy issues. Everyone interested in learning about contemporary labour market policies from different angles should have a look at this book.’, ‘Deindustrialisation, globalisation and automation all contribute to the tremendous complexity of labour markets in the 21st century, even as countries struggle to provide jobs for all or most citizens. This superb and comprehensive collection of essays sheds light on the many ways that capitalist democracies struggle to sustain growth and solidarity in our age of underemployment.’, ‘This is an extraordinary collection. The editors and their collaborators have managed to produce not just a survey of labour market policy, but a comparative political economic study of developed nations that is empirically rich, thematically exhaustive and theoretically sophisticated. The value of this volume cannot be overstated.’

Edited by Daniel Clegg, Professor of Comparative Social Policy and Niccolo Durazzi, Senior Lecturer in Political Economy of Social Policy, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, UK