Paths, politics and patterns of convergence - A comparative case study of youth unemployment policy change in Sweden, the United Kingdom and France

Abstract: The ‘activation’ of labour market policies is a relatively undisputed phenomenon in the concomitant research field. However, welfare regime scholars predict the importance of path dependence in different advanced welfare states’ policy responses to the ever-present problem of mass youth unemployment. The aim of this thesis is to explore the trajectories of youth unemployment policy in Sweden, the UK and France between 1990-2014 in order to determine whether there has been a convergence of policy across different welfare regime types. Using process tracing and motivation analysis methods, the parliamentary debates surrounding four major youth employment programmes are analysed through the juxtapose perspectives of youth transition regime theory and policy convergence theory. The indicators of policy change detected through these case studies are classified under ideational, organizational and financial dimensions developed by Weishaupt (2011). The results of the comparative analysis of the three countries suggest that the youth transition regime legacy in the overarching goals and purposes of policy choices is a strong determinant for policy choice; that patterns of convergence are strongest with regards to subsidization of non-public employers and the expenditures on active labour market measures.