Policy Press
Four Work and citizenship: unemployment and unemployment policies in Denmark, 1980-2000
-
Jørgen Goul Andersen
Abstract
This chapter discusses changing welfare policies in Denmark. It provides an overview of (un)employment policies in Denmark during the 1980s and 1990s from the changing conceptions of citizenship. The Danish experience is interesting from a comparative perspective because Denmark was among the first countries to recover significantly from persistent mass employment without sacrificing an unusually high-income quality. From the citizenship perspective, work is not equal to social integration. The main concern from the citizenship perspective was to avoid exclusion from full participation in the social and political life. It was only in the late 1970s that priority was given to protecting the economic and social rights of the unemployed. However, since the economic upswing, Denmark has moved from a state of ‘ultimate universalism’ to a strongly activation-oriented welfare regime with an emphasis on the right and duty to work, as work is considered as the only source of full and true citizenship. In addition to discussing the welfare policies of Denmark, the chapter also discusses the advantages and the pitfalls of this development from the social protection to activation within the citizenship perspective.
Abstract
This chapter discusses changing welfare policies in Denmark. It provides an overview of (un)employment policies in Denmark during the 1980s and 1990s from the changing conceptions of citizenship. The Danish experience is interesting from a comparative perspective because Denmark was among the first countries to recover significantly from persistent mass employment without sacrificing an unusually high-income quality. From the citizenship perspective, work is not equal to social integration. The main concern from the citizenship perspective was to avoid exclusion from full participation in the social and political life. It was only in the late 1970s that priority was given to protecting the economic and social rights of the unemployed. However, since the economic upswing, Denmark has moved from a state of ‘ultimate universalism’ to a strongly activation-oriented welfare regime with an emphasis on the right and duty to work, as work is considered as the only source of full and true citizenship. In addition to discussing the welfare policies of Denmark, the chapter also discusses the advantages and the pitfalls of this development from the social protection to activation within the citizenship perspective.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on contributors v
- List of acronyms viii
- Glossary x
- Preface xiii
- Citizenship, changing labour markets and welfare policies: an introduction 1
- Internationalisation and the labour market of the European Union 15
- Citizenship and changing welfare states 39
- Work and citizenship: unemployment and unemployment policies in Denmark, 1980-2000 59
- New institutional forms of welfare production: some implications for citizenship 85
- Unemployment, welfare policies and citizenship: different paths in Western Europe 107
- Youth unemployment, welfare and political participation: a comparative study of six countries 129
- Ethnicity, racism and the labour market: a European perspective 149
- From externalisation to integration of older workers: institutional changes at the end of the worklife 183
- Movements by the unemployed in France and social protection: the Fonds d’urgence sociale experience 209
- Changing welfare states and labour markets in the context of European gender arrangements 235
- A second order reflection on the concepts of inclusion and exclusion 257
- Concluding remarks 281
- Index 289
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on contributors v
- List of acronyms viii
- Glossary x
- Preface xiii
- Citizenship, changing labour markets and welfare policies: an introduction 1
- Internationalisation and the labour market of the European Union 15
- Citizenship and changing welfare states 39
- Work and citizenship: unemployment and unemployment policies in Denmark, 1980-2000 59
- New institutional forms of welfare production: some implications for citizenship 85
- Unemployment, welfare policies and citizenship: different paths in Western Europe 107
- Youth unemployment, welfare and political participation: a comparative study of six countries 129
- Ethnicity, racism and the labour market: a European perspective 149
- From externalisation to integration of older workers: institutional changes at the end of the worklife 183
- Movements by the unemployed in France and social protection: the Fonds d’urgence sociale experience 209
- Changing welfare states and labour markets in the context of European gender arrangements 235
- A second order reflection on the concepts of inclusion and exclusion 257
- Concluding remarks 281
- Index 289
