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Equal Rights and Equal Duties? Activating Labour Market Policy and the Participation of Long-term Unemployed People with Disabilities after the Reform of the German Welfare State

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2009

ANGELA RAUCH*
Affiliation:
Institute for Employment Research IAB, Research Institute of the German Federal Employment Agency, Research Unit ‘Joblessness and Social Inclusion’, Regensburger Str. 104, D-90478 Nürnberg
JOHANNA DORNETTE*
Affiliation:
Institute for Employment Research IAB, Research Institute of the German Federal Employment Agency, Research Unit ‘Joblessness and Social Inclusion’, Regensburger Str. 104, D-90478 Nürnberg

Abstract

The recent German welfare state reform with the introduction of Social Code II has created a complex situation for the labour market integration of long-term unemployed people with disabilities. A range of social laws with differing underlying principles is now applicable. In this article, we examine the effects that the implementation of this social code has on long-term unemployed people with disabilities. We show that their integration patterns changed. This is due to the building of new institutions responsible for labour market integration, followed by a temporary destabilisation of work routines at the operational level. Additionally, more persistent consequences occur because the inconsistencies of the relevant laws are creating an area of conflict, which is increasing the risk of marginalising people with disabilities in terms of labour market integration.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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