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Labour Market Challenges and the Role of Social Investment

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Attitudes, Aspirations and Welfare

Abstract

Labour market issues were a major topic of discussion in all countries, but different aspects attracted attention: in Germany the key issues were precarious work, poor job conditions at the bottom end and the balance between work and family life; in the UK the strong work-first ethos dominated discussion; issues surrounding flexicurity (the cost of active labour market support and the extent of security) emerged in Denmark; and in Slovenia unemployment and living standards were the main focus. Immigrants were seen in different ways—as providing younger workers to balance ageing populations in Norway and Denmark, as requiring skill training and integration in Germany and as unwelcome competitors for jobs in the UK.

Social investment is valued everywhere for different reasons: for realigning the skills provided by education with those required by the market in Denmark; for producing more productive workers in the UK and Slovenia and enhancing opportunities so that individuals can take more responsibility for outcomes in the UK; and as compensating for inequalities in education and enhancing women’s opportunities in Germany.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This is the standard academic qualification taken by almost all school students at age 16.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Katharina Zimmermann & Jan-Ocko Heuer

  2. University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

    Heejung Chung

Authors
  1. Katharina Zimmermann
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  2. Heejung Chung
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  3. Jan-Ocko Heuer
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Correspondence to Katharina Zimmermann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom

    Peter Taylor-Gooby

  2. Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Benjamin Leruth

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Zimmermann, K., Chung, H., Heuer, JO. (2018). Labour Market Challenges and the Role of Social Investment. In: Taylor-Gooby, P., Leruth, B. (eds) Attitudes, Aspirations and Welfare. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75783-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75783-4_8

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75782-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75783-4

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