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Varieties of Market Competition in Public Employment Services – A Comparison of the Emergence and Evolution of the New System in A ustralia, the N etherlands and B elgium
Author(s) -
Struyven Ludo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
social policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9515
pISSN - 0144-5596
DOI - 10.1111/spol.12054
Subject(s) - restructuring , competition (biology) , context (archaeology) , convergence (economics) , state (computer science) , market structure , welfare , economics , domain (mathematical analysis) , process (computing) , welfare state , market economy , industrial organization , political science , computer science , macroeconomics , mathematics , finance , ecology , paleontology , mathematical analysis , algorithm , biology , politics , law , operating system
This article deals with the evolution of a quasi‐market system in the employment services in three countries: A ustralia, the N etherlands and B elgium. Based on an in‐depth analysis of the reform process over the past two decades, we arrive at the observation that A ustralia and the N etherlands, unlike B elgium, make comparable choices when restructuring this policy domain, although their context of a welfare state is different. Second, the new structures in those countries which have made the same choices are seen to evolve differently after only a short period of time. This article argues that no convergence towards the same competitive market model is to be found. It provides an institutional explanation by tracing elements of a new system logic which entered the existing structure, and identifying change mechanisms which generate a cumulative process of smaller changes.