Labor activation programs

The concept of links to labor activation programs is appealing, but such programs can be complex and difficult to run, and the track record on increasing employment or income is mixed (box 5-8). Some proponents of such programs value the less tangible... 

Labor-intensive public works programs have two main objectives first, to provide a source of income to poor workers, and second, to construct or rehabilitate public infrastructure. In the safety net literature, the shorthand term public works is often used for such programs.Sometimes the term workfare is used, although some reserve that term for programs that are more closely linked to labor activation programs that provide job search, training, or apprenticeships than the sort of heavy construction labor that is the traditional mainstay of labor-intensive public works. For a list of workfare programs, see table B.4 in appendix B. 

Imposing a condition that households do something that helps them establish an income independent of social assistance is an idea that has been sweeping the world, first in the form of labor activation policies in the United States and Europe, and then by means of the wave of CCT programs in the developing world. 

Many OECD countries link social assistance benefits and active labor market programs that seek to increase the skills, employment, and long-run earning potential of partici-... 

BOX 5.8 Global Experience with Active Labor Market Programs... 

As noted earlier, some programs provide labor activation measures in addition to income support. In these cases, the activation measures need to be sensitive to disability. Case officers may need to coordinate not only with potential workers, but with potential employers to discern whether some accommodations in relation to equipment, job structure, work flow, or work hours are required for a job placement. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom now make a ressive use of this approach. 

Betcherman, Gordon, Karina Olivas, and Amit Dar. 2004. Impacts of Active Labor Market Programs New Evidence from Evaluations with Particular Attention to Developing and Transition Countries. Social Protection Discussion Paper 0402. Washington, DC World Bank. 

Using the federal system, the New Jersey Department of Labor assigns the classification code at the time that an employer registers his or her business with that department for unemployment insurance programs. The assignment is based on the employer s description of the primary activity of the business. 

An active abscission research program for citrus has been underway for a number of years in Florida by the Florida State Citrus Commission in collaboration with a number of chemical companies. This program was initiated originally because of a shortage of labor for handpicking citrus. Chemicals to speed up the removal of fruit by mechanical harvesters and to increase... 

Returning to the clinical activities listed in Table 3, some thoughts on the level of support that is realistic to obtain from CROs are as follows. A number of the labor-intensive activities, such as monitoring, auditing, database management, programming for listings and tables, and statistical interpretation are relatively easy to outsource, and many CROs will have the necessary experience and capacity. 

International Institute for Labour Studies Established in 1960, the ILO International Institute for Labour Studies in Geneva promotes a wider study and public discussion of policy issues of concern to the ILO and its constituents, through systematic interaction between the Organization and the international academic community, and other policymakers. The central theme of its activities is the interaction between labor institutions, economic growth, and equity. The Institute s means of action include research networks, social policy forums, courses and seminars, visiting scholar and internship programs, and publications. 

FIGURE 11.1 Three levels of compound testing in a drug discovery-development program. Level 1 entails testing every compound made for primary activity. Level 2 can be done on selected compounds for scaffold (chemical type) characterization. Level 3 may involve labor-intensive assays to fully characterize mechanism of action and define all activities relevant for possible candidate selection. The actual types of assay are different for agonists (Table 11.1) and antagonists (Table 11.2). 

Note Benefits paid by UI programs (1970-2000 includes all regular, extended, federal, and emergency UI programs 2001-2003 includes only regular UI benefits). Federal outlays for labor market programmes include job training, employment services, and other active... 

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