ABSTRACT
This chapter considers two dimensions of employment policy making in Europe before, during and after the Great Recession. Firstly, it explores the relationship between changes in the overall economic conditions and the relative disadvantage suffered by young people in the labour markets of EU countries. Secondly, it analyses the intensity of labour market policy activity, the main focus of interventions and the balance of flexibility and security, so-called “flexicurity,” in labour market reforms in EU countries. While labour market policy making should ideally have a long-term goal of making the functioning of the labour market more efficient, there are many other competing influences that shape the direction and focus of policy. It is thus possible to consider employment policy making as a dependent variable from this perspective, one that is shaped by the institutional and economic context in which labour market reforms are enacted. By analysing a database of almost 3,600 policies enacted by European member states (2000–2013), the authors examine changes in labour market policies and institutions. Their analysis reveals how policy priorities wax and wane over a relatively long period with the parallel evolution of European Employment Strategy guidance, national reforms, and policy responses to changing economic conditions. They underline the importance of taking a longer-term and stable approach to labour market policy making that relies on institutional complementarities at the national level and that recognises that policy making often occurs in the context of economic, financial and political pressures. Such influences risk negative consequences for weaker groups on the labour market, particularly young people.
