Jean-Michel Bonvin

Activation Policies, New Modes of Governance and the Issue of Responsibility

Most activation policies are based on a simplistic conception of responsibility: behaving responsibly coincides with quickly reintegrating the labour market. Local welfare agents are called to push beneficiaries to actively endorse this goal. But the issue of responsibility is much more complex. Drawing on Sen’s capability approach, this article suggests that responsibilisation of recipients requires both empowerment and granting them more real freedom of choice on the labour market. Against the present trend toward hypertrophying individual responsibility, it calls for a more equilibrated balance between individual and social responsibility. The objective is not to define an impracticable ideal of responsibility, but to provide a yardstick for assessing activation programmes.

Individual working lives and collective action. An introduction to capability for work and capability for voice

This article presents the capability approach as an alternative conceptual and normative framework to assess the impact and relevance of existing labour market regulations. In this perspective, what matters is not GDP growth or the overall employment rate, but the development of people’s real freedom to choose a job or an activity they have reason to value. The two key notions of ‘capability for work’ and ‘capability for voice’ are presented in detail, as well as the way to use them as a framework for scientific analysis and empirical research. The article strongly emphasizes the significant difference that the use of such tools makes when it comes to assessing the impact and relevance of collective regulations in the field of work. Cet article présente l’approche par les capacités comme un cadre conceptuel et normatif alternatif pour évaluer l’impact et la pertinence des réglementations existantes du marché du travail. Dans cette perspective, ce qui importe, ce n’est pas la croissance du PIB ou le taux global d’emploi, mais le développement de la liberté effective des individus de choisir un emploi ou une activité qu’ils ont des raisons d’apprécier. Les deux notions essentielles de « capacité à exercer un travail » et de « capacité à faire entendre sa voix » sont présentées en détail, de même que la manière d’utiliser ces notions comme cadre d’analyse scientifique et de recherche empirique. L’article souligne fortement la différence considérable qu’entraîne l’utilisation de tels outils quand il s’agit d’évaluer l’impact et la pertinence des réglementations collectives dans le domaine du travail. In diesem Beitrag wird der Ansatz der Verwirklichungschancen als alternativer konzeptueller und normativer Rahmen vorgeschlagen, um die Auswirkungen und die Relevanz der bestehenden Arbeitsmarktvorschriften zu bewerten. Unter diesem Gesichtspunkt ist nicht das BIP-Wachstum oder die Gesamtbeschäftigungsrate von Bedeutung, sondern die Entwicklung der realen Freiheit der Menschen, eine Arbeit oder Tätigkeit zu wählen, die sie wertschätzen. Die beiden zentralen Konzepte der “capability for work” (Verwirklichungschance im Arbeitsleben) und der “capability for voice” (Chance, für Arbeitnehmerbelange einzutreten) werden ausführlich beschrieben, und es wird erklärt, wie diese als Rahmen für die wissenschaftliche Analyse und empirische Forschungsarbeiten dienen. Der Beitrag unterstreicht den bedeutenden Vorteil, der sich aus der Verwendung derartiger Konzepte bei der Bewertung der Auswirkungen und der Relevanz kollektiver Regelungen im Arbeitsbereich ergibt.

What Informational Basis for Assessing Job-Seekers?: Capabilities vs. Preferences

The evaluative function of local public actors has been exacerbated in recent years with the individualisation of social policies. One of their tasks is to select the appropriate informational basis in order to assess welfare claimants. Amartya Sens capability approach offers a theoretical and normative framework to analyse this evaluative function. In particular, it insists on the importance of “objectivating” peoples preferences with reference to their capabilities. The weight that is to be attached to individual preferences in the course of public action can be a matter of controversy. Claimants “capability for voice”, we argue, should be developed. This capability refers to their effective possibility to express their concerns with regard to the choice of the informational basis. It is argued that local institutions prohibiting capability for voice will produce adaptive preferences, whereas procedural institutions promoting reflexive public evaluation and capability for voice will result in a fairer wording of individual preferences. At a situated level, the way to connect subjective and objective information when assessing people very much depends on the position of the evaluator. Several illustrations show that the fairness of evaluation, and its impact on the peoples capability set, depend on this positional perspective.

Activation policies and organisational innovation : the added value of the capability approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief introduction to activation policies, then discuss the capability approach, in particular highlighting a number of key concepts relevant to the analysis of active labour market policies. The second section presents the articles in this special issue, which address organisational innovation in activation policies and cover: six European countries (including Scandinavia and East and West Europe); an historical perspective; and policies aimed at the general workless population along with those targeted at specific groups e.g. disabled people. The final section emphasises three important teachings from this special issue. This paper introduces the special issue on the theme of activation policies and organisational innovation in the capability perspective.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a normative and analytical framework. Its relevance for empirical fieldwork is then illustrated through a synthesis of the case studies presented in the...

The impact of contractualism in social policies: The case of active labour market policies in Switzerland

Purpose – This articles purpose is to analyse the current transformations of public action in two main respects: on the one side the relationships between individuals and institutions and their recent evolutions, on the other, the new contractual or market‐like ways of designing and implementing public action. This twofold transformation and the extent to which it represents a deep‐seated revolution or a more limited recalibration of the public realm are to be investigated against the case of Swiss active labour market policies.Design/methodology/approach – This issue is examined through the design of a theoretical and normative typology, which is then applied to the case of active labour market policies in Switzerland, based on an in‐depth empirical investigation (more than 50 interviews with field actors).Findings – The emergence of new modes of governance coincides with the promotion of market solutions to unemployment, thus leading to a conception of welfare and its individual beneficiaries as subord...

Job-satisfaction in the Broader Framework of the Capability Approach

Being one of the leading paradigms for analyzing human well-being, the Capability Approach (CA) may serve as a frame of reference for job-satisfaction. The CA mainly argues for (1) complementing information on job-satisfaction by the more objective conception of “valuable work” to avoid biases due to adaptive preferences and (2) taking a holistic perspective of the multidimensional work-situation while (3) emphasizing the importance of opportunities and individual choice and agency. Thereby the CA provides a new perspective on classical insights on job-satisfaction by putting them into a broader framework. This paper is but a first tentative appreciation of the CA in this context.

Assessing integrated employment policies against the capability approach: A Swiss case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the current trend towards integrating employment policies against Amartya Sens capability approach. By contrast with the conventional efficiency measures, it focuses on two main issues: to what extent does the integration of policies result in more performing programs when it comes to empowering the beneficiaries? What is the impact of integrated programs in terms of freedom to choose and capability for voice? These issues are investigated against a Swiss case study, i.e. the CII‐MAMAC project.Design/methodology/approach – An investigation relying on qualitative interviews conducted with 25 local agents and managers belonging to the various institutions engaged in the CII‐MAMAC project and an in‐depth documentary survey of the official texts (laws, directives, etc.).Findings – Integrating employment policies is very ambivalent in terms of both empowerment and freedom to choose. On the one hand, it can certainly lead to an increased effort in ...

Decoding the European dynamic employment security indicator through the lens of the capability approach. A comparison of the United Kingdom and Sweden

The balance between flexibility and security on the labour market has since 2007 become a priority on the European Union’s agenda. The efforts of Member States are assessed by means of performance indicators. This article focuses on the dynamic employment security indicator, in an attempt to highlight what the EU’s Employment Committee means by the notion of ‘making people’s pathways more secure’. With both empirical and theoretical perspectives in mind, we seek to reveal the postulates behind the decisions of those who designed this indicator. Drawing on an epistemological analysis founded on Amartya Sen’s capability approach, and in particular on his key idea of the ‘informational basis of judgement’, this article identifies the normative thread of this indicator, which gives flexibility precedence over real freedom for workers, and employability precedence over capability. Our case studies of Sweden and the United Kingdom demonstrate the key effects of institutional systems, shed light on practices whereby labour market policies can be manipulated to optimize the performance of the dynamic employment security indicator, and cast doubt on the relevance of institutionalized benchmarking using this indicator. Depuis 2007, la question de l’équilibre entre flexibilité et sécurité sur le marché du travail est devenue une des priorités de l’agenda de l’Union Européenne. Les efforts des Etats-Membres sont évalués au moyen d’indicateurs de performance. L’article se focalise sur l’indicateur dynamique de sécurité d’emploi afin de mettre en lumière le contenu concret que le Comité de l’emploi de la Commission européenne donne à la notion de sécurisation des parcours professionnels. S’inscrivant dans une double ambition empirique et théorique l’article vise à révéler les postulats sous jacents aux choix des concepteurs de cet indicateur. A partir d’une analyse épistémologique fondée sur l’approche par les capacités d’Amartya Sen, et notamment sur l’idée centrale de « base informationnelle de jugement » il identifie la trame normative de cet indicateur qui privilégie flexibilité plutôt que liberté réelle des travailleurs et employabilité plutôt que capacité. L’analyse des cas suédois et britannique montre l’importance des effets de système des institutions, éclaire des pratiques d’instrumentalisation des politiques du marché du travail visant à optimiser la performance de l’indicateur dynamique de sécurité d’emploi et met en doute la pertinence du benchmarking institutionnalisé au travers de cet indicateurs. Der Ausgleich zwischen Flexibilität und Sicherheit auf dem Arbeitsmarkt gehört seit 2007 zu den Prioritäten der Europäischen Union. Die Anstrengungen der Mitgliedstaaten in diesem Bereich werden anhand von Leistungsindikatoren bewertet. Dieser Beitrag befasst sich mit dem dynamischen Indikator für Arbeitsplatzsicherheit und versucht zu ermitteln, was der EU-Beschäftigungsausschuss unter dem Begriff der “Sicherung von Erwerbsverläufen” versteht. Er analysiert empirisch und theoretisch, auf welche Postulate sich die Entscheidungen derjenigen stützen, die diesen Indikator erarbeitet haben. Ausgehend von einer epistemologischen Analyse, die sich auf den Ansatz der Verwirklichungschancen von Amartya Sen und insbesondere auf sein Konzept der “Informationsbasis für die Beurteilung” stützt, wird zunächst die normative Grundlage dieses Indikators herausgestellt, der Flexibilität Vorrang vor realer Freiheit für Arbeitnehmer und Beschäftigungsfähigkeit Vorrang vor Verwirklichungschancen gibt. Anhand von Fallstudien aus Schweden und dem Vereinigten Königreich werden die wichtigsten Auswirkungen institutioneller Systeme dargestellt und es wird gezeigt, wie arbeitsmarktpolitische Maßnahmen manipuliert werden können, um bei dem dynamischen Indikator für Arbeitsplatzsicherheit eine bessere Leistung zu erzielen. Insofern sind Zweifel angebracht, ob institutionalisierte Benchmarking-Verfahren, die sich auf diesen Indikator stützen, relevant sind.

Towards a critical sociology of democracy: the potential of the capability approach

The aim of this article is to lay down the foundations of a critical sociology of democracy and participation. Based on Amartya Sen’s capability approach, we identify four major pitfalls of classical theories on justice and deliberative democracy: 1) an excessive emphasis on the procedural dimension of democracy at the expense of its substantial value; 2) an ideal of deliberation that does not sufficiently account for the inequalities that characterize actual participative practices; 3) an ideal approach to rationality which is inconsistent with the plurality of reasons to value and arguments that can be observed in social reality; and 4) a focus on official or institutionalized forms of deliberation that does not pay due attention to the many forms and dynamics of participation. We contend that, by contrast, Sen’s epistemology may be fruitful for the development of a critical sociology of democracy and suggest an agenda for empirical research on participation and deliberative practices.

The Capability Approach, Education and the Labour Market

This mainly theoretical article addresses the core idea and concepts within the capability approach and serves as an introduction to our conception of the approach for the readings of the other articles in this volume. The concepts will be presented briefly, and their interdependent relations will be explained with a strong emphasis on the capability for education and work. Due to some differences between the conceptual understanding of capabilities between Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen (Robeyns, J Hum Dev 6:93–114, 2005), we will also present our suggestion for an accessible model which combines the strengths of each conceptual perspective.