“Who does what” for active labour market policies
A zoom on the role of subnational governments
This paper maps “who does what” across levels of government in OECD countries in relation
to active labour market policies (ALMPs), with a focus on the role of subnational
governments. It highlights recent reforms in the multi-level governance of ALMPs in
a number of countries, and shows that in about two out of five OECD countries, subnational
governments have some type of formal competences for delivering ALMPs. It also shows
other ways subnational governments are commonly involved in such policies. This includes
delivering their own labour market programmes, often targeted to those farthest from
the labour market or facing multiple barriers to employment. Finally, it considers
some of the benefits and drawbacks of more decentralised approaches to ALMPs and offers
some general principles for managing these trade-offs across different types of governance
systems.
Published on June 21, 2023
In series:OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papersview more titles