At a time when welfare regimes in Anglophone countries are being reshaped to reflect neoliberal ideology, there is little by way of empirical, qualitative research which directly addresses the question of how jobless families live or are affected by their circumstances, particularly in regional Australia. This study combines a consideration of questions of social structure as they pertain to jobless families at the theoretical level with an ethnographic journey into their life worlds. It aims to understand the impact of long-term joblessness upon the families and to explore the interconnections between system and life world.I adopt Layder’s (1997, 1998) theoretical and methodological formulations as the most appropriate means to underpin an investigation of this nature. The study is comprehensively situated within a structural context which examines discourses and events that have exerted an influence on our present social arrangements, including an analysis of relevant social policy. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with two non-purposive samples and analysed using a modified Grounded Theory approach as advocated by Layder (1998).It was found that the current welfare regime helps to stabilise the capitalist global economy and does at least provide a precarious stability for those excluded from the labour market. Whilst families receiving long-term income support are not a homogeneous group, they are subject to hidden injuries in common. The linkages between system and life world are theorised in terms of the displacement principle, which holds that the displacement of a problem does not solve it, but merely relocates it elsewhere. It is used to explain both large-scale displacements as well as micro processes occurring within jobless families. Long-term joblessness is found often to have destructive consequences for intimacy, though family structure may remain intact. This is partly due to a welfare regime which disrespects its beneficiaries. I argue that social policy must be informed by an alternative discourse which includes social or welfare rights as a part of human rights, based upon recognition of mutual interdependency and an ethic of care. This is vital if future policy directions are to accord equal respect to all citizens.

At a time when welfare regimes in Anglophone countries are being reshaped to reflect neoliberal ideology, there is little by way of empirical, qualitative research which directly addresses the question of how jobless families live or are affected by their circumstances, particularly in regional Australia. This study combines a consideration of questions of social structure as they pertain to jobless families at the theoretical level with an ethnographic journey into their life worlds. It aims to understand the impact of long-term joblessness upon the families and to explore the interconnections between system and life world.I adopt Layder’s (1997, 1998) theoretical and methodological formulations as the most appropriate means to underpin an investigation of this nature. The study is comprehensively situated within a structural context which examines discourses and events that have exerted an influence on our present social arrangements, including an analysis of relevant social policy. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with two non-purposive samples and analysed using a modified Grounded Theory approach as advocated by Layder (1998).It was found that the current welfare regime helps to stabilise the capitalist global economy and does at least provide a precarious stability for those excluded from the labour market. Whilst families receiving long-term income support are not a homogeneous group, they are subject to hidden injuries in common. The linkages between system and life world are theorised in terms of the displacement principle, which holds that the displacement of a problem does not solve it, but merely relocates it elsewhere. It is used to explain both large-scale displacements as well as micro processes occurring within jobless families. Long-term joblessness is found often to have destructive consequences for intimacy, though family structure may remain intact. This is partly due to a welfare regime which disrespects its beneficiaries. I argue that social policy must be informed by an alternative discourse which includes social or welfare rights as a part of human rights, based upon recognition of mutual interdependency and an ethic of care. This is vital if future policy directions are to accord equal respect to all citizens.

At a time when welfare regimes in Anglophone countries are being reshaped to reflect neoliberal ideology, there is little by way of empirical, qualitative research which directly addresses the question of how jobless families live or are affected by their circumstances, particularly in regional Australia. This study combines a consideration of questions of social structure as they pertain to jobless families at the theoretical level with an ethnographic journey into their life worlds. It aims to understand the impact of long-term joblessness upon the families and to explore the interconnections between system and life world.I adopt Layder’s (1997, 1998) theoretical and methodological formulations as the most appropriate means to underpin an investigation of this nature. The study is comprehensively situated within a structural context which examines discourses and events that have exerted an influence on our present social arrangements, including an analysis of relevant social policy. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with two non-purposive samples and analysed using a modified Grounded Theory approach as advocated by Layder (1998).It was found that the current welfare regime helps to stabilise the capitalist global economy and does at least provide a precarious stability for those excluded from the labour market. Whilst families receiving long-term income support are not a homogeneous group, they are subject to hidden injuries in common. The linkages between system and life world are theorised in terms of the displacement principle, which holds that the displacement of a problem does not solve it, but merely relocates it elsewhere. It is used to explain both large-scale displacements as well as micro processes occurring within jobless families. Long-term joblessness is found often to have destructive consequences for intimacy, though family structure may remain intact. This is partly due to a welfare regime which disrespects its beneficiaries. I argue that social policy must be informed by an alternative discourse which includes social or welfare rights as a part of human rights, based upon recognition of mutual interdependency and an ethic of care. This is vital if future policy directions are to accord equal respect to all citizens.

This thesis follows and analyses what happens to individuals who work at establishments that are closed down. I examine if and when the displaced workers are re-employed. Furthermore, I examine to what extent individuals have moved, changed industry of work, have started to commute or have become self-employed. Additionally I examine, if the workers become selfemployed after displacement, how many of them that does so within the same industry of work as they initially got displaced from. A unique longitudinal matched employer-employee data incorporating all firms, establishments and their employees in Sweden between the years 1997-2008 is used. All individuals between 25 and 55 years of age at the time of displacement that were displaced between 2000 and 2003 due to establishment closures are followed over a five-year period of time. Consistent with previous empirical research, it is shown that an absolute majority of the workers that are displaced one given year also recovers within that same year. The results moreover express that the longer the displaced workers are out of employment, the larger is the willingness to change industry of work, change municipality of living or move into self-employment. The willingness to commute is however found to be fairly constant over time. Finally, I find that those who become self-employed to a greater extent start business in other industries than they were displaced from as time passes.

This paper studies the relationship between individual characteristics of displaced workers and the probability of re-employment. A competing risks hazard model is used, distinguishing between exits from joblessness to self-employment and to paid-employment. All individuals between 25 and 55 years of age, at the time of displacement, that suffered from at least one year of joblessness after being displaced between 1990 and 1998 due to establishment closures that occurred between 1990 and 2001 are included. This allows for the closure procedure to be between one and three years long. Each individual is followed, from the year of displacement until the year of re-employment or at the latest, ten years after displacement. Semi-parametric estimation techniques for discrete time data are used, and in consistency with previous research the results show that subgroups of the jobless individuals experience different re-employment probabilities. The results suggest that a non-immigrant, high income-earner in the mid-thirties, with short tenure at the closing establishment, and who was not displaced early in the closure process and who has lived in the same city for a long time, faces the greatest probability of becoming re-employed. Furthermore, men and individuals with self-employment experience face lower probabilities of re-employment in paid-employments compared to their counterparts. This relationship is however reversed when studying the probability of leaving joblessness for self-employment. Men, immigrants, high income-earners, displaced from smaller establishments, previously self-employed and those with shorter tenure in previous employment are found to be more likely to enter self-employment than their counterparts. A positive duration dependency is prevalent in re-employment probability, suggesting that search activity is increased over time. The probability of self-employment entry is however decreasing the first years of joblessness following displacement, displaying an initial negative duration dependency.

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