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Article
Publication date: 1 June 1990

Paul Lewis

In the 1980s trade unions developed a policycommitment to the unemployed, but researchsuggests that unions are seen solely asorganisations for people in work. What benefitsand…

Abstract

In the 1980s trade unions developed a policy commitment to the unemployed, but research suggests that unions are seen solely as organisations for people in work. What benefits and services can trade unions usefully provide for the unemployed? How can trade union provision for the unemployed be improved? What organisational structures might be developed for the unemployed? These are the questions that this article attempts to address. Providing job information, retraining and legal services appear to be the most promising way forward. Moreover, there is support among the unemployed for these to be provided within a trade union context. However, finance is a problem because the unemployed cannot pay for what they receive. Unions should see provision for the unemployed as an investment in goodwill which is likely to have a pay‐off in terms of future membership stability and strength.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 12 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 July 2015

Benjamin Cornwell and Kate Watkins

The ability to analyze social action as it unfolds on micro time scales – particularly the 24-hour day – is central to understanding group processes. This chapter describes a new…

Abstract

Purpose

The ability to analyze social action as it unfolds on micro time scales – particularly the 24-hour day – is central to understanding group processes. This chapter describes a new approach to this undertaking, which treats individuals’ involvement in specific activities at specific times as bases for: (1) sequential linkages between activities; as well as (2) connections to others who engage in similar action sequences. This makes it possible to examine the emergence and internal functioning of groups using existing network analysis techniques.

Methodology/approach

We illustrate this approach with a specific application – a quantitative and visual comparison of the daily activity patterns of employed and unemployed people. We use data from 13,310 24-hour time diaries from the 2010–2013 American Time Use Surveys.

Findings

Employed and unemployed people engage in significantly different types of activities and at different times. Beyond this, network analyses reveal that unemployed individuals experience much lower levels of synchrony with each other than do employed individuals and have much less organized action sequences. In short, there is a chronic lack of prevailing norms regarding how unemployed people organize the 24-hour day.

Research implications

Future research that uses time-stamped data can employ network methods to analyze and visualize how group members sequence and synchronize social action. These methods make it possible to study how the structure of social action shapes group and individual-level outcomes.

Details

Advances in Group Processes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-076-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 April 2011

Francesco Figari, Andrea Salvatori and Holly Sutherland

As unemployment rises across the European Union (EU), it is important to understand the extent to which the incomes of the new unemployed are protected by tax–benefit systems and…

Abstract

As unemployment rises across the European Union (EU), it is important to understand the extent to which the incomes of the new unemployed are protected by tax–benefit systems and to assess the cost pressures on the social protection systems of this increase in unemployment. This chapter uses the EU tax–benefit model EUROMOD to explore these issues, comparing effects in five EU countries. It provides evidence on the differing degrees of resilience of the household incomes of the newly unemployed due to the variations in the protection offered by the tax–benefit systems, according to whether unemployment benefit is payable, the household situation of the unemployed person and across countries.

Details

Who Loses in the Downturn? Economic Crisis, Employment and Income Distribution
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-749-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 December 2004

Namkee Ahn, Juan F. Jimeno and Arantza Ugidos

Abstract

Details

The Economics of Time Use
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-838-4

Book part
Publication date: 20 May 2017

Jonathan Cylus

Unemployment insurance (UI) reduces the opportunity cost of leisure, but it is unknown whether this additional leisure time is physically active. To obtain unbiased estimates of…

Abstract

Unemployment insurance (UI) reduces the opportunity cost of leisure, but it is unknown whether this additional leisure time is physically active. To obtain unbiased estimates of the effect of UI on physically active leisure participation, I exploit changes in UI program legislation across US states and time. Using nationally representative monthly data between 2003 and 2010 from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), I find evidence that both state UI eligibility expansions and increases in maximum allowable state UI benefits coincide with greater probability of physical activity among the recently unemployed. Based on point estimates, state UI eligibility expansions increased the probability of physical activity participation by 8–10 percentage points among the unemployed with less than a high school education, while a 10% increase in the maximum allowable state UI benefit increased the probability of physical activity by 0.3 to 0.6 percentage points among the unemployed who have completed high school or some college.

Details

Human Capital and Health Behavior
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-466-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1998

Sandra L. Fielden and Marilyn J. Davidson

Aims to present the findings of a recent study into the availability of social support to unemployed female managers. It is widely recognised that social support is an important…

946

Abstract

Aims to present the findings of a recent study into the availability of social support to unemployed female managers. It is widely recognised that social support is an important factor in determining well‐being during unemployment, yet its role in managerial unemployment has received very limited attention. Previous research has demonstrated that social support is of particular importance to women, with a strong emphasis on emotional support. This paper investigates the experiences of 115 unemployed female managers in terms of social support, an area which, despite its importance, has to‐date received no specific attention. The findings indicate that the social support available to unemployed female managers is not only unsupportive but is severely restricted because of their unique position in society.

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 13 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2014

Bettina Grimmer and Jennifer Hobbins

With a particular focus on cultural understandings and the concepts behind welfare policies, the purpose of this paper is to analyse commonalities and dissimilarities in the…

Abstract

Purpose

With a particular focus on cultural understandings and the concepts behind welfare policies, the purpose of this paper is to analyse commonalities and dissimilarities in the patterns of social policy, and more precisely youth unemployment policies, in Sweden and Germany.

Design/methodology/approach

A document analysis of Swedish and German youth unemployment policies was conducted with regard to how the two welfare regimes’ policies define the underlying problem, the instruments through which this problem is tackled, and the aim of youth activation policies.

Findings

The findings show congruency concerning the definitions of the problem of youth unemployment, in which the unemployed are regarded as lacking in discipline, as well as in the policies through which the problem is tackled: through conditionality and pastoral power as policy tools. The solution of the problem on the other hand, found in the notion of the ideal worker to be produced, diverges between active entrepreneurs in one country, and blue-collar workers in the other. The authors conclude that the introduction of supranational policy concepts is not a matter of mere implementation, and that concepts like activation are reinterpreted according to differing cultural ideologies and accommodated into the context of particular welfare states.

Originality/value

This paper provides an innovative framework for the understanding of the influence of cultural understandings on policy making, but also on challenges facing activation governance on the one hand and European Union policy initiatives and transnational policy diffusion on the other.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 34 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1988

David Macarov

The author argues that we must stop and take a look at what our insistence on human labour as the basis of our society is doing to us, and begin to search for possible…

2387

Abstract

The author argues that we must stop and take a look at what our insistence on human labour as the basis of our society is doing to us, and begin to search for possible alternatives. We need the vision and the courage to aim for the highest level of technology attainable for the widest possible use in both industry and services. We need financial arrangements that will encourage people to invent themselves out of work. Our goal, the article argues, must be the reduction of human labour to the greatest extent possible, to free people for more enjoyable, creative, human activities.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 8 no. 2/3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2017

Yarine Fawaz

The purpose of this paper is to use the Health and Retirement Study to examine the social security (SS) claiming decision of older Americans, with a focus on the behavior of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use the Health and Retirement Study to examine the social security (SS) claiming decision of older Americans, with a focus on the behavior of the unemployed.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a duration model first, and a bivariate probit framework then, the author investigates whether older unemployed individuals lacking liquidity use SS benefits as a safety net in order to finance consumption during an unemployment episode, even if they do not retire at the same time. In this way, SS might be thought as a form of unemployment insurance (UI) which would allow them to maintain their standard of living during their job search.

Findings

The author finds evidence of a claiming pattern specific to the unemployed: they claim sooner than full-time workers, even when they do not retire at the same time. They also seem to discontinue this behavior when their access to UI is extended, which gives support to the author’s hypothesis that the unemployed workers, who lack liquidity, claim their SS benefits even if they do not wish to retire, as a source of alternative unemployment benefits.

Originality/value

By focusing on the SS claiming behavior of the unemployed rather than on their retirement patterns, this paper sheds light on the social insurance role of SS retirement benefits for unemployed workers who are not willing to retire, but need a new source of income while they continue looking for a job.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 38 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 November 2018

Moritz Zoellner, Michael Fritsch and Michael Wyrwich

The purpose of this paper is to review the results of studies that investigate the most important active labour market policy (ALMP) measures in Germany. A focus is also on…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the results of studies that investigate the most important active labour market policy (ALMP) measures in Germany. A focus is also on programmes devoted to foster entrepreneurship which can make important contributions to a country’s growth and social welfare.

Design/methodology/approach

The study relies on quantitative and qualitative assessments and a comparison of results of previous studies on ALMPs.

Findings

The available evidence suggests that most ALMP measures increase labour market prospects of the participants. In particular, evaluations of the entrepreneurship promotion activities show high success rates as well as high cost efficiency. The bulk share of participants of entrepreneurship measures is still self-employed after several years and nearly one-third of these businesses had at least one employee. The authors mention problems regarding the evaluation of previous programmes and highlight future challenges of German ALMP.

Originality/value

This is the first study on ALMP that has an extensive and explicit focus on entrepreneurship-promoting programs.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2045-2101

Keywords

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