Decentralisation of Active Labour Market Policy: The Case of Swedish Local Employment Service Committees

Per Skedinger and Martin Lundin ()
Additional contact information
Martin Lundin: Office of Labour Market Policy Evaluation (IFAU), Postal: P.O. Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden

No 537, Working Paper Series from Research Institute of Industrial Economics

Abstract: Decentralisation of decision-making in active labour market policy makes it possible to use local information to the fullest, but may also impinge on the fulfilment of national objectives, as suggested by principal-agent theory. The purpose of this study is to ex-amine the effects of a Swedish pilot programme in 1996, which strengthened the role of the local authorities in labour market policy in parts of the country. Survey evidence suggests a non-negligible divergence between the objectives of the municipality repre-sentatives and the central government's goals. Regarding programme effects, our econometric findings do not indicate any increase in geographical lock-in of the unem-ployed, but decentralisation seems to spur local initiatives in the form of labour market programmes organised by the municipalities. In addition, targeting on outsiders is to some extent more common in municipal projects than in others.

Keywords: Active labour market policy; Decentralisation; Intergovernmental relations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H70 J60 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2000-09-22
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Decentralisation of active labour market policy: The case of Swedish local employment service committees (2006)
Working Paper: Decentralisation of active labour market policy: The case of Swedish local employment service committees (2000)
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