Unemployment and activation policies in Norway

  • Erling Barth
Keywords: Welfare State, Public Sector Reform, Public Policies, Labour market, Long Term Care, Family Policies, Europe

Abstract

Compared to most OECD countries, Norway has low unemployment rates, high employment rates, high educational attainment and relatively small income differentials. Outcomes have been good relative to most countries, also in the aftermath of the recent Great Recession. This paper provides a discussion about the policies towards the unemployed in Norway, their key elements and their key challenges. The policies towards the unemployed, with an emphasis on activation and skills development, have been key elements in Norway’s labour market policies and a contributing factor behind the good performance of the Norwegian labour market, but clearly not the only, or even the most important one. The institutional framework of coordinated wage bargaining, the management of the income from oil and gas and overall economic policies have had a strong structural impact as well as an impact on how the current crisis affected the Norwegian labour market.

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Published
2017-04-22
How to Cite
Barth, E. (2017). Unemployment and activation policies in Norway. GIGAPP Estudios Working Papers, 3(1-7), 1-14. Retrieved from https://gigapp.org/ewp/index.php/GIGAPP-EWP/article/view/65