2025/06/09 by Daniel Witzani-Haim · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism #Income, Poverty, and Inequality #Social Policy and Reform Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/09538259.2025.2504412
openalex publication_date 2025/06/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Public employment programs (PEPs) have garnered increasing attention over the past years. Often, these programs are only temporary or underfunded. This paper investigates the political aspects of PEPs in the spirit of Michał Kalecki’s Political Aspects of Full Employment (1943). First, I construct a theoretical debate between Kalecki, Karl Polanyi, and Hyman P. Minsky to identify (1) reasons for the continued opposition to full employment, (2) the relevant social actors involved, and what can be said about their bargaining power, (3) how PEPs relate to other income policies, and (4) how PEPs fit in the theorists’ broader political agenda. Second, I apply these insights to three case studies in Argentina, India, and Austria. Political opposition to public employment programs is still most prevalent among parties and media who uphold capitalist ethics. While the case studies reveal some bargaining power of participants in the early stages of the programs and positive individual impacts on participants, social movements have little leverage when fighting off attacks against PEPs. The programs hold emancipatory potential for women and break with liberal labor market polices yet fall short on transforming labor markets more fundamentally.