Policy Press

Local Policies and the European Social Fund

Employment Policies Across Europe

By Katharina Zimmermann

Published

Oct 2, 2019

Page count

224 pages

Browse the series

Research in Comparative and Global Social Policy

ISBN

978-1447346517

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Oct 2, 2019

Page count

224 pages

Browse the series

Research in Comparative and Global Social Policy

ISBN

978-1447346531

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Oct 2, 2019

Page count

224 pages

Browse the series

Research in Comparative and Global Social Policy

ISBN

978-1447346531

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press
Local Policies and the European Social Fund

This book reviews how local social and employment policy fields react to the European Social Fund (ESF) to determine the role of the ESF in local activation policies. Drawing on both sociology and political science literature on welfare state reforms, the author examines what shapes local policy reactions to ESF and what effects these reactions have on change in local policy fields.

Comparing data from 18 local case studies across 6 European countries, and deploying an innovative mixed-method approach, the book presents comparative evidence on everyday challenges in the context of the ESF and discusses how these findings are applicable to other funding schemes.

"Without any doubt, the book written by Zimmermann is a timely intervention into current academic research as well as in public and political discussion on potential effects of cohesion policies in implementing European Union (EU) strategies at the ground level." Journal of Social Policy

Katharina Zimmermann is Assistant Professor for Economic Sociology at the University of Hamburg. Her work focuses on labour market policies and comparative welfare state research from a multilevel perspective.

Introduction

Social and employment policies in Europe from a multilevel perspective

Domestic responses to European money: a theoretical perspective

The research programme in a nutshell

Comparative insights into local responses to the ESF

What responses under what conditions? Formal QCA analyses and preliminary interpretations

Beyond numbers: Using case-study insights to support interpretation

A broader perspective on local policies and the European Social Fund

Conclusion