Was ist beschäftigungspolitischer Erfolg? : eine Einführung zum Workshop "Strategien für mehr Beschäftigung und weniger Arbeitslosigkeit - Internationale Erfahrungen und ihre Übertragbarkeit in Deutschland" (What is employment policy success? : an introduction to the workshop "Strategies for more employment and less unemployment - international experiences and their applicability to Germany")

"According to widely held views, the concepts developed in the USA, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark are prime examples of successful strategies for promoting employment and reducing unemployment. These countries were therefore the focus of attention at the international workshop organised by the IAB in April 1998, the subject of which was the 'success concepts' applied in these countries. The aim of this introductory report is firstly to clarify the criteria used in order to be able to record and assess employment policy success at all. The indicators of the unemployment rate and the level of employment continue to be regarded - also in international comparisons - as the definitive quantities for assessing the labour market situation; however, in the different 'philosophies' these indicators have a different role in the assessment of what is regarded as employment policy success. An international comparison could provide a common basis in this issue, since in spite of all the differences in the institutional basic conditions and the historical starting conditions, in all the highly developed market economies of the present day there is a common view concerning the welfare objectives of employment and labour market policy. In an attempt to assess correctly the labour market problems in Germany and to tackle their solution appropriately, all the strategies that have been applied with success anywhere should therefore at least be worth examining impartially." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))