GINI DP 87: Activation strategies within European minimum income schemes

Sarah Marchal and N. van Mechelen

GINI Discussion Papers from AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies

Abstract: This paper provides a description of activation efforts directed towards minimum income recipients. Information on activation strategies aimed at this population group has remained relatively limited, partly because social assistance claimants have only quite recently become a target group of activation policies. This paper compares the mix of activation policy instruments for a sample of 17 EU countries and 3 US states, as of January 2012. More in particular, in line with previous literature, the paper distinguishes between demanding, enabling and financial elements within activation strategies. The financial incentives dimension is measured based on the gap between net income at social assistance and minimum wage. The demanding elements aim to gauge minimum income scheme’s overall tendency towards behavioural conditions on continued benefit receipt. Our indicator of demandingness focuses on reasonable job criteria, time limits and sanctions applied for activity related infringements. The enabling dimension is based on the prominence of training within the available active labor market programs, the range of ALMP and the extent of additional support provided to minimum income recipients. This mainly qualitative information on activation instruments is summarized into self-constructed indicators, in order to provide a clear cross country comparison of both the use of specific activation instruments and the overall inclination of minimum income schemes towards more or less demanding or enabling activation strategies.

Date: 2013-08
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