Welfare to work and the organisation of opportunity

Welfare to work policy is central to British reforms of itswelfare state and social security system. We are not alonein our desire to assist unemployed and other claimants tofind and retain work. It is therefore important to be able tolook to other countries and consider lessons that could bedrawn. Learning from abroad is a difficult and challengingexercise. While it is tempting to try and take the ‘best’aspects of foreign policies and to bring them home, it isoften dangerous to do so without a real appreciation oftheir context – not only their macro-economic andideological foundations – but also their organisationalbasis. The core task of welfare to work programmes is toenable and encourage non-employed claimants of cashtransfer programmes to work or to better prepare them foremployment. The core of this report is a comparison ofBritish, American, French, German and Dutch practices.[...]