The currently emerging model of economic production is characterized by a process of constant change and instability. A new political culture and regulatory concept – a concept of self-regulation and greater market flexibility – has emerged. Political intervention has become problematic: the need for intervention in the labour market is more important than ever but there is increasing pressure to reduce the control of the welfare state.
In order to examine what kind of policies can produce a positive relationship between social justice and economic efficiency, this book emphasises the need for a holistic approach, which includes not only labour recognised by the market but also informal labour; not only structural factors which shape behaviour but also individual strategies to negotiate positions in society. The book argues that the concept of employment needs to be reinvented. The different contributions to the book develop this theoretical approach and analyse new ideological maxims, the emergence of multiple institutions with regulatory authority over employment and the role played by individual strategies and institutional factors in determining choices and behaviour.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Pertti Koistinen/Amparo Serrano Pascual: Introduction – Francisco José Tovar/Juan Carlos Revilla: An Alternative View of Competence-Based Management – Valentina Cuzzocrea: Careers in the Shaping – Janne Autto: Symbolic Struggle in the Politics of Childcare – Mia Hakovirta: Employment and Incomes of Lone Mothers – Minna van Gerven: The Winners and Losers of Unemployment Protection Reforms – Dorian R. Woods: Stratification in Policies of Employment and Care Work – Carlos de Castro: Constructing Working Times within the European Union – María Paz Martín Martín: The Social Construction of Employability at the Local Level – Simone Scarpa: Scalar Politics and Workfare Reforms – Ilpo Airio: Labour Market Problems or Something Else? – Mia Tammelin: Identifying Finnish Dual-Earner Families’ Work-Family Time Strategies – Henna Isoniemi: The Role of Economic Factors in Young Adults’ Home Leaving Process – Pertti Koistinen/Amparo Serrano-Pascual/Lilja Mósesdóttir: Conclusions.