8th ESPAnet Conference 2010Social Policy and the Global Crisis:
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11.2.Fit for work in Europe? Health, Employability and Challenges for Activation in an Era of Crisis
Welfare states across and beyond the EU face significant challenges related to the rise in the number of people of working age claiming 'sickness', 'disability' or 'incapacity' benefits.
The increasing numbers claiming these benefits raises a number of immediate and longer-term issues for policy makers. Beyond the fiscal pressures placed on welfare budgets, long-term population ageing has raised concerns around the need for more citizens to be economically active, and to be active for longer. The perceived need to combine health and activation policies therefore pre-dates the current recession and will retain its relevance long after the recovery. Nevertheless, the current downturn in labour demand across most of the EU poses a substantial challenge to the effectiveness of activation policies in this area in the short and medium-term.
This stream will bring together state-of-the-art research on EU policy makers’ understanding of the links between health, social exclusion, employment and employability. It will address a number of key research questions:
- How do health problems and other barriers to work combine to limit opportunities for labour market participation among claimants of sickness/disability benefits?
- How do different local/regional labour market conditions and welfare regimes shape these individuals’ experiences of social and labour market exclusion?
- How appropriate are the rationale, content and governance of activation policies that seek to promote transitions from sickness/disability benefits into work?
- What works in helping people claiming sickness/disability benefits to cope with health problems and/or make progress towards work?
- Is the activation of those claiming sickness/disability benefits a realistic policy goal in an era of high unemployment?
- What impacts has the economic crisis had on people claiming sickness/disability benefits and on sick and disabled people more generally?
- How has the economic crisis influenced this area of activation policy?
Convenors:
| Dr. Colin Lindsay | Dr. Donald Houston | |
| Employment Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh EH14 1DJ; t: 0131 455 4315. E-mail: c.lindsay@napier.ac.uk |
School of Social and Environmental Sciences, |
Friday, 9:00-11:00 Room 01, Session 11.2./A
Presentations
1. Christopher Prinz with Shruti Singh: Sickness and disability trends in OECD countries – issues for policy [abstract] [paper]
2. Ludo Struyven and Liesbeth Van Parys: The identification and assessment of job seekers and social assistance clients facing multiple barriers to employment [abstract] [paper]
3. John Macnicol: The History of Work-Disability in the UK [abstract] [paper]
Contributed papers:
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Friday, 11:30-13:30 Room 01, Session 11.2./B
Presentations
1. Christina Beatty and Steve Fothergill: Incapacity benefits in the UK: an issue of health or jobs? [abstract] [paper]
2. Helen Barnes with Paul Sissons: Redefining ‘fit for work’: Welfare reform and the introduction of Employment Support Allowance in Great Britain [abstract] [paper]
3. Jon Warren with Kayleigh Garthwaite and Clare Bambra: Evaluating the impact of case management on the health of long term Incapacity Benefit recipients in the North East of England [abstract] [paper]
Contributed papers:
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Friday, 14:30-16:30 Room 01, Session 11.2./C
Presentations
1. Thomas Kampen: Learning participation in activation programmes [abstract] [paper]
2. Goretti Horgan: Dealing with the legacy of conflict: challenges for activation policies in Northern Ireland [abstract] [paper]
3. Jacqueline Davidson and Peter A. Kemp: Access to sickness benefits in a liberal market economy [abstract] [paper]
Contributed papers:
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Important dates
17 November 2009 = Call for stream convenors
18 December 2009 = Deadline for stream convenors
25 January 2010 = Call for abstracts
29 March 2010 = Deadline for abstract submission
3 May 2010 = Registration starts
6 June 2010 = Reduced fee application deadline
21 June 2010 24:00 (CET) = Early bird registration deadline
13 August 2010 24:00 (CET) - Deadline for submission of papers
16 August 2010 - Deadline for Registrations and payments
Registration fee is 160 Euros for early birds, 210 Euros for late birds. Central and Eastern European PhD students and professionals can apply for a reduced fee of 60 Euros at info@espanet2010.net until 6th June.
Registration opens on the 3rd May, early bird registration closes on the 21th June at 24:00 (CET).
Theme of the Conference
The theme of ESPAnet’s 2010 Annual Conference is the social consequences of the global financial crisis and its differential impact across Europe. The main questions for consideration include:
How is the crisis affecting already existing inequalities? How are different social classes and groups, especially those in poverty, affected by the crisis? What are the adaptable capacities of the different “worlds of welfare”? Does the intensifying social vulnerability lead to the re-structuring of the programs to provide more security? How far have new programs been developed, and how far have new questions of social policy and welfare been opened up by the crisis?
We would like to broaden the horizon of social policy analysis and see global environmental concerns taken into account: How far are responses to the crisis re-thinking the role of the national and international/global state and the role of the European Union in creating economically, socially and environmentally sustainable societies?