Coordination patterns and institutional settings: a comparative study of labour market programs for unemployed youth in Sweden and the United Kingdom. (2nd January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Andersson, Lisa
• Is Part Of: Policy studies. Volume 43:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 90
• Page End: 107
• Publication Date: 2022-01-02
• Subjects: Social policy coordination -- institutional settings -- comparative case study -- youth unemployment -- labour market programs for youth -- UK -- Sweden; Policy sciences -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Economic policy -- Decision making -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1945- -- Decision making -- Periodicals; 320.605
• DOI: 10.1080/01442872.2020.1724924
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0144-2872

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Over the past decades, Europe has seen increasing interest in and pressure to coordinate social policy. Studies on the coordination of social policies have found that institutional settings affect coordination patterns when comparing different welfare state ideal-types. Adding to this body of research, this paper compares two countries with diverging authority to regulate social policy areas; Sweden representing a unitary decentralized state and the UK representing a regionalized state. With labour market programs for youth serving as a case, the purpose of this paper is to compare the development of inter- and intra-policy coordination over a period of 10 years, analysing the impact of regulatory authority. Policy documents which set the regulatory frame of the programs are analysed from the perspectives of instruments, and territorial levels of regulatory authority and how these connect to coordination patterns. The results show that levels of discretion and processes of decentralization and fragmentation of regulatory authority impact on coordination patterns, where inter- and intra-coordination develops under different circumstances.