On the Mysteries of Unemployment: Causes, Consequences and Policies PDF
Preview On the Mysteries of Unemployment: Causes, Consequences and Policies
ON THE MYSTERIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND POLICIES Studies in Operational Regional Science VOLUME 10 The titles published in this series are listed at the end of this volume. On the Mysteries of Unemployment: Causes,Consequences and Policies Edited by c. H. A. Verhaar, L. G. Jansma (General Editors) & M. P. M. de Goede, J. A. C. van Ophem and A. de Vries FA nr. 749 FRYSKE AKADEMY LJOUWERT, THE NETHERLANDS SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data On the mysterles of unemployment causes, consequences, and policies I edlted by C.H.A. Verhaar, L,G. Jansma, general editors .. , [et a 1. l. p. cm. -- (Studies in operatlonal regional SClence ; 10) Includes index. ISBN 978-90-481-4206-4 ISBN 978-94-015-8080-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-015-8080-9 1. Unemployment--Congresses. 2. Labor pol lcy--Congresses. 1. Verhaar, C. H. A. (Cornel is Henr1cus Antonius), 1959- II. Jansma, Lammert Gosse. III. Series. HD5707.5.063 1992 331.13·7--dc20 92-31352 ISBN 978-90-481-4206-4 Printed an acid-free paper AII Rights Reserved © 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published byKluwer Academic Publishers in 1992 Softcover reprint of the hardcover Ist edition 1992 No pari of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without writlen permission from the copyright owner. Contents Acknowledgements 9 Part I Introduction Introduction C.H.A. Verhaar, L.G. Jansma, M.P.M. de Goede, J.A.c. van Ophem and 13 A. de Vries Regional economic policy in a European perspective 19 B. Millan Part II Studies from the field of economics that primarily aim at making a contribution to science Unemployment as a mystery 25 J. Pen Labour market adjustment in Wales 32 R.R. MacKay National differences in service employment - trends, causes and 48 consequences P. van den Besselaar The effects of unemployment benefit levels on the duration of 70 unemployment W. Groot & G. Jehoel-Gijsbers Social security and job search among the Finnish unemployed 88 K. Viihiitalo Are the unemployed 'outsiders' or former 'insiders'? Evidence 97 from a depressed area B. McCormick & S.H. Searle The impact of personal and regional unemployment on individual 110 wages in The Netherlands 1. van Dijk & H. Folmer 6 Duration of unemployment: an analysis of the Labour Force Survey 129 D.L. Bosworth An empirical analysis of unemployment by region: a case study - 145 Sweden E. Kazamaki Ottersten Unemployment resistance and labour mobility in the UK: a spatial 166 perspective D.R. Jones Regional differences in the efficiency of the Dutch labour market 179 J.C. van Ours Part III Studies from the field of social sciences that primarily aim at contributing to science Poverty stricken? A plea for a greater emphasis on the role of 191 poverty in psychological research on unemployment and mental health in the social context D.M. Fryer Does jobless mean workless? A comparative approach to the sur- 209 vival strategies of unemployed people R.E. Pahl Causality in the relation between health and unemployment 225 F.G.E.M. van der Horst, F.J.N. Nijhuis, l.W.M. Muris, H. Philipsen and R.F. van der Grinten Unemployment and mental health in well and poorly educated 253 school-Ieavers W.B. Schaufeli Unemployment and health. Results from a two-year follow-up study 272 S. Sabroe & L. Iversen Latent functions of employment: variations according to em- 281 ployment status and labour market S.T. Evans & M.H. Banks On the social impact of youth unemployment: political radi- 296 calization and a decline of the work ethic? H. de Witte 7 Part IV Studies from both economics and social sciences that primarily focus on policies regarding the unemployment problem The choice was ours 317 C. de Neubourg The functioning of labour markets in welfare state capitalism 334 W. Visser Long-term unemployment in Australia: problems of memory 358 and measurement P.N. Junankar & C.A Kapuscinski Forecasting regional differences in characteristics of the labour 383 force M. Vermeulen Economic policy in a broader regional policy perspective 403 J.G. van Rijn The effectiveness of a local government labour market policy - 419 The case of Groningen R. Boin & J. van Dijk Skill shortages and the re-training needs of the unemployed: - a 438 local labour market study J. Lewis The re-establishment of labour market equilibrium following a 452 temporary employment scheme L Rosenthal Can unemployment centres help the jobless? A case study based 464 on the Arbeitslosenzentrum Hannover A. Wacker About the contributors 482 Name index 492 Acknow ledgements Some five years ago the Fryske Akademy and the Frisian Labour Exchange decided to organize an international Conference on the Unemployed in their Regional Environment (in short labelled as CURE), which was held in April 1990 and now finds its completion in the appearence of On the Mysteries of Unemployment. We would like to express our gratitude for the trust the Boards of the Fryske Akademy and the Frisian Labour Exchange have placed in all the colleagues who participated in one way or another in the conference and/or the book. The decision to start working on a follow-up in the form of CURE-II is felt to be an extra sign of that trust as well as a token of appreciation for all of us. It goes without saying that endeavours such as CURE or this book can only be brought to a good ending with the help of people; we are very grateful to all who gave their energy and support in one way or another during the past years, especially the excellent assistance we received from the secretarial staff of the Fryske Akademy. The editors. 9 Part I Introduction On the mysteries of unemployment C.H.A. Verhaar, L.G. Jansma, MP.M. de Goede, JA.C. van Ophem and A. de Vries 1 Introduction 1.1 A MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENON This book owes its title On the mysteries of unemployment to the contribution by J. Pen, who starts his article by acknowledging that despite quite some research and experience acquired through policy efforts, 'unemployment' is still a rather mysterious phenomenon. In that respect, we feel that in a scientific sense it is only natural that our understanding of unemployment is limited by the boundaries as defined by the current state of the art, for the scientific process of acquiring knowledge is an on-going concern. However, that same lack of understanding may be seen as a real problem from a policy point of view. To be sure that one will not start reading the volume with false hopes, we might as well admit at the very beginning that the book will confirm Pen's observation in the sense that it will not offer a solution to the many mysteries connected to the phenomenon of unemployment. However, the following articles go beyond a mere demonstration of the challenges that lie embodied in dealing with unemployment, both from a scientific and a policy point of view. Indeed, through (cumulative) research and policy efforts over the years many insights into matters related to the unemployment problem have been gained. Still, the examples of this progress that will be given by specialists from the two disciplines that are represented here, economists and social scientists, will also show that despite these advances policy has been unable as yet either to prevent or to get rid of unemployment and/or its consequences. 1.2 SOCIETY ACCEPTS SOME UNEMPLOYMENT In fact, as for instance De Neubourg shows, the level of unemployment may be seen as the consequence of political choice rather than as something that 'just' arrived as a result of specific circumstances, into which science may give insight. Naturally, this does not imply that a government chooses directly for unemployment, but that as a result of giving priority to other goals, a certain level of unemployment is de facto accepted. Such other goals may be of a sheerly economic nature, e.g. cutting the governments' budget deficit or opting for wage moderation to improve international competitiveness (see De Neubourg on the case of The Netherlands), or they may reflect a choice for matters that lie a bit further away from the field of economics (e.g. the preservation of regional culture, as discussed by Van Rijn in his contribution on the Dutch province of Friesland). In fact, one might argue - as Pen does quite convincingly - that it would be rather unwise to merely concentrate on full employment policies, when these would tend to be rather destructive for the natural environment and thereby to the detriment ultimately of human well-being. It is interesting to note that different countries, confronted with more or less similar international economic developments (e.g. the recession at the beginning of the eighties), make different choices as far as (un)employment policies are concerned. Visser goes further into the causes for these differences, by comparing a number of DEeD countries and by dwelling in detail on the case of The Netherlands. His study serves to illustrate that apart from mere 13 C. H. A. Verhaar and L. G. Jansma et al. (eds.), On the Mysteries of Unemployment, 13-18. © 1992 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
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