Paper long abstract:

Unemployment was an almost unknown phenomenon in the Soviet Union, a country officially based on a full employment policy where the ‘parasitic lifestyle’ was criminalized and employment was both a right and an obligation. After 1991, the development of labour market institutions in the new independent states often followed the example of high-income countries, based on models of public employment services funded through employment insurance schemes, and on labour market programs aimed at the activation of the labour force (Lubyova 2009).

As a matter of fact, starting from the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the neoliberal imperatives of state retrenchment, privatization of social services, and cost containments have been replaced by an activating welfare state globally (Bonoli and Natali 2011). Within the sphere of employment support, passive labour market policies (like unemployment benefits) have been integrated with a wide range of active labour market programs promoting employability and showing an increasing correlation between labour market participation and social security (Freier and Senghaas 2021).

Central Asian countries have also taken this activating turn and started reforming their social policies from a passive mode of helping those in need to helping those who are willing to undertake active steps to overcome poverty (Dugarova 2019). Concepts such as the “active welfare state”, “social investment”, and responsibilisation of welfare recipients are being integrated in employment support policies and labour market programs.

Drawing on policy analysis and expert interviews with policy experts Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, in this paper I will reflect on how policy transfer (Dolowitz and Marsh 2000) and travelling of ideas and beliefs have been adapted and embedded in the local context.

References

Bonoli, Giuliano, and David Natali. 2011. The Politics of the New Welfare States in Western Europe. Vol. RSCAS 2011. Florence.

Dolowitz, David P., and David Marsh. 2000. “Learning from Abroad: The Role of Policy Transfer in Contemporary Policy-Making.” Governance 13(1):5–23.

Dugarova, Esuna. 2019. “Labor Activation, Social Protection and Poverty Reduction: The Case of Russia.” Russian Politics 4(3):328–53. doi: 10.1163/2451-8921-00403003.

Freier, Carolin, and Monika Senghaas. 2021. “Placement Advisors as Innovators. How Professionals Use Enhanced Discretion in Germany’s Public Employment Services.” Journal of Social Policy 1–18.

Lubyova, Martina. 2009. Labour Market Institutions and Policies in the CIS: Post-Transition Outcomes. Moscow.