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The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influence of public employment services (PES) on transitions from unemployment.

The likelihood of exit from unemployment is explained by a multinomial logit model which takes into account the target state of the transition (unemployment, employment or inactivity). In order to analyze the unobserved heterogeneity, the model has been estimated using a Generalized Linear Latent and Mixed Models.

The analysis suggests that the contribution of PES to improving labor market outcomes is low in the case of transitions to employment. Nevertheless, PES play an important role in workforce dropout prevention.

The results suggest that redesign and modernization are needed to improve PES performance. More intensive job counselling should be provided so that PES get beyond workforce dropout prevention and start having clear positive effects on placement. Target groups should be defined more clearly so as to ensure sustainable transitions for individuals at risk of exclusion. PES should focus on the most disadvantaged jobseekers and those who need more help to get jobs.

First, the results highlight the role PES play in reducing inactivity rates. Second, this is the first study in Spain that uses Labor Force Survey (LFS) data to evaluate PES in a dynamic framework. The LFS is the only data source which allows us to relate people registered unemployed to people considered unemployed by international standards.

The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual framework that sets out the linkages that exist between digitalisation and active labour market policies (ALMPs).

Based on a narrative literature review, this article seeks to connect two research streams, namely that relating to ALMPs and that relating to digitalisation in the public sector. This exercise requires an understanding of both how the context of digitalisation in the public sector has evolved in relation to technological change and the identification of specific ALMPs that are more sensitive to digitalisation.

Starting from the identification of ideal-types of ALMPs, “employment assistance” can be considered the type of policies most sensitive to digitalisation, looking at main forms of interventions as career guidance, profiling and job-matching tools. The first tool is closer to a technological domain of “remotisation”, while the second is closer to that of “automatisation”.

Achieving an understanding of the different degrees of sensitivity to digitalisation for various types of ALMPs is relevant for policy-making purposes to identify potential priority areas of strategic investment to enhance this sector.

The authors present an understanding of the current state of the digitalisation of public employment services. The literature review itself allowed the authors to conclude that, despite the interests in the public and academic debate, the existing research relating to the digitalisation of public employment services remains scant. At the same time, the article points towards fertile areas for further analysis.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the diversity of markets for the provision of activation services.

The article is based on the outcomes of a project involving nine European countries. The project investigated changing forms of governance of income protection schemes and activation services for unemployed people. Diversity is investigated by focusing on five dimensions of diversity derived from the quasi‐market concept as developed by Le Grand: the purchasers, the providers, the customers, the purchaser‐provider split and the purchaser‐customer split.

The paper finds considerable diversity in the design of markets for the provision of activation. Diversity is visible in all dimensions involved in the analysis. One interesting finding is that a full split between purchasers and providers hardly exists, although some countries have introduced a stricter split than others. Another finding concerns the voice and choice of service consumers, which seems hardly affected by the introduction of market mechanisms in the provision of activation. Finally, marketisation does not seem to be an irreversible project, as de‐marketisation processes were identified as well.

Most current research into activation markets and their effects pays little attention to the issue of diversity in the design and functioning of markets. This article argues in favour of more systematic research of market diversity and of the variety of effects of various market models. Rather than comparing marketised with public service provision, a stronger focus on various market models may strengthen our insight into how service provision models affect the effectiveness of activation services.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the question regarding how the similar implementation traditions in two countries (Czech Republic and Italy) have influenced the implementation of activation policies in the frame of similar reform trajectories (decentralization and marketization) but different modes of governance (multilevel vs hierarchical).

Moving from a policy implementation studies approach, the paper assumes that substantive reforms and procedural reforms are mutually interdependent: activation policies often require changes in delivery structures while the changes in these structures influence the key substantive features of the activation policies. Further, implementation capacities and implementation traditions shape the real policies implemented.

Although the two countries compared are different in terms of the mode of governance emerging from the governance reforms, in both cases the gaps in coordination and implementation capacities have led to several implementation failures in the field of activation policies. In poorly developed active labour market policy (ALMP) regimes, activation governance reforms (such as decentralization and marketization) may not be effective due to enduring implementation gaps.

The paper is innovative since it develops a full‐fledged comparative approach by focusing on two countries with similar implementation traditions which contrast with different modes of governance. Furthermore, the findings put implementation traditions and capacities at the heart of policymaking.

The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation and results of Finnish activation policy from the viewpoint of integrated services and in the framework of network governance. Special emphasis is given to examining the role of health care as an emergent partner in activation.

The functioning of integrated activation policy is addressed from the perspective of network governance. Network governance refers to an ideal type of governance based on strong strategic partnership and joint action. In Finland the one‐stop model of LAFOS represents a culmination of integrated activation policy. Implementation and results of LAFOS highlight the governance demands of joined‐up service delivery. Health care proposes yet another viewpoint to the development. The analysis is based on the results of two national evaluations.

Network governance has been a good starting point in Finnish activation policy for creating a client‐centered approach and for the co‐ordination of separate resources and services. However, problems with legitimacy and accountability seem hard to overcome in the network context. Elements of different types of governance are mixed in activation policy while network governance remains in transition. In Finland, health care has been an essential party to activation, and its role is getting stronger. The challenge is to incorporate health and work ability into a wider concept of employability and capability in society.

The article presents an analysis of the unique model of joint services in activation, LAFOS, and its governance. It also contributes to the discussion of the role of health care in activation and integrated activation policy.

The use of performance management in the private sector was prefaced by the establishment of qualitatively new forms of corporate entities in the early years of the twentieth century, particularly in the United States. These vast new corporations involved increasing separation of ownership from control and the establishment of substantial corporate management bureaucracies to organise often technical and geographically diverse tasks and processes. As such, the use of performance management became a key corporate governance tool to extend control to disparate, highly hierarchical and complex organisations and business processes (Drucker, 1955; Kennerley & Neely, 2001, p. 146).

The purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of traineeships as an active labour policy for young people in Italy. The role of traineeships as a formative experience for improving youth employment is stated by law and the specific evaluation of the regional Quality Traineeships Programme allowed for a more in-depth analysis of the role quality criteria plays in traineeship implementation.

Such evaluation relies on administrative data, while a counterfactual approach was used to compare trainees to unemployed young people registered with Public Employment Services. The impact of traineeships on youth careers was measured in terms of employment probability, but innovatively, the actual placement was measured in terms of both hiring and along a “quality” metric with respect to entry in the labour market. It is reasonable to assume that young people are interested in traineeships as an investment towards a more satisfying career (not just as a gateway to recruitment). At last, the authors introduce a persistency analysis of the effects on youth employment rates.

The results show that traineeships hinder rapid transition to work, but they are effective stepping-stones for young people seeking a quality career. A benefit of 7 percentage points was estimated on the probability of finding a quality job after completing the traineeship and a long-lasting effect on trainees’ employment rate is demonstrated by the persistency analysis. These benefits are strengthened for participants in the Quality Traineeships Programme, confirming the relevance of desirable learning and contractual conditions in supporting the effectiveness of internships in Italy.

As far as the authors know, this paper is the first study that specifically refers to traineeships as an active policy in Italy and the questions resulting from the research suggest new trends in the debate over the role of policies for supporting youth employment. The administrative archives used in the analysis and the persistence effects on youth employment rates are further innovations to the empirical literature on the effectiveness of Italy’s training programmes.

This paper addresses the relevance of job search methods and strategies in determining vertical mismatch and the risk of underusing skills or knowledge in first jobs amongst graduates from bachelor's and master's programmes in Spain. Support from universities (via internships and career services) is compared to support from public institutions and informal strategies.

The authors use the 2019 University Graduate Job Placement Survey. The dependent variables are estimated with a bivariate probit model with sample selection on a subsample of graduates who were not working at graduation.

Internships and university career employment offices significantly improve the quality of first job matches. Job banks and public examinations also contribute to finding well-matched first positions, while for public employment services, results are mixed. When the job search is not supported by institutions, graduates generally do worse finding their first jobs, particularly when temporary employment agencies are involved. There are also large differences in mismatch risks across fields of study.

If more graduates found their first jobs through internships and university job placement services, educational mismatch rates would decrease substantially. Further collaboration between universities and employers for the provision of high-quality internships may foster their conversion into regular, well-matched jobs. Industrial policies addressed to knowledge-based economic activities would enhance the creation of highly skilled positions. Further orientation towards STEM degrees is required to improve imbalances between supply and demand for graduate labour in Spain.

Evidence about education mismatch among master's degree graduates is very scarce. This paper compares them to bachelor's degree graduates. It addresses two complementary types of education mismatch and takes into account potential self-selection into post-graduation job search.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the recent evolution of the employment services system of a Northern Italian region (Lombardy), which was planned according to principles inspired by quasi-markets and horizontal subsidiarity theories, with a focus on its design and implementation challenges. It aims to provide practical and theoretical insights for the design of public services’ governance systems that similarly feature public-private competition and/or cooperation and users’ freedom of choice.

The paper reviews and integrates previous empirical research analysing the programmes that are part of the recent evolution of Lombardy’s employment services system, in order to draw insights and lessons.

The paper suggests areas where closer scrutiny and related intervention is warranted on the part of the institution in charge of the system’s design (in this case the regional administration), especially in terms of appropriate design of incentive mechanisms for partnership creation, and adequate consideration of the equity implications of the chosen solutions.

The paper may be of interest to public officials aiming to implement systems with similar characteristics (public-private competition vs collaboration, users’ freedom of choice), in order to consider challenges and possible implications of their decisions during the planning phase. From a theoretical perspective, this case suggests that reliance on freedom and responsibility, both on the demand and the supply side, may not be adequate to reach the desired outcomes, and may produce negative equity implications. Focused partnerships may be more effective, but may experience similar shortcomings from the viewpoint of equity.