On the Mysteries of Unemployment: Causes, Consequences and Policies

I Introduction.- Regional economic policy in a European perspective.- II Studies from the field of economics that primarily aim at making a contribution to science.- Unemployment as a mystery.- Labour market adjustment in Wales.- National differences in service employment - trends, causes and consequences.- The effects of unemployment benefit levels on the duration of unemployment.- Social security and job search among the Finnish unemployed.- Are the unemployed 'outsiders' or former 'insiders'? Evidence from a depressed area.- The impact of personal and regional unemployment on individual wages in The Netherlands.- Duration of unemployment: an analysis of the Labour Force Survey.- An empirical analysis of unemployment by region: a case study - Sweden.- Unemployment resistance and labour mobility in the UK: a spatial perspective.- Regional differences in the efficiency of the Dutch labour market.- III Studies from the field of social sciences that primarily aim at contributing to science.- Poverty stricken? A plea for a greater emphasis on the role of poverty in psychological research on unemployment and mental health in the social context.- Does jobless mean workless? A comparative approach to the survival strategies of unemployed people.- Causality in the relation between health and unemployment.- Unemployment and mental health in well and poorly educated School-leavers.- Unemployment and health. Results from a two-year follow-up study.- Latent functions of employment: variations according to employment status and labour market.- On the social impact of youth unemployment: political radicalization and a decline of the work ethic?.- IV Studies from both economics and social sciences that primarily focus on policies regarding the unemployment problem.- The choice was ours.- The functioning of labour markets in welfare state capitalism.- Long-term unemployment in Australia: problems of memory and measurement.- Forecasting regional differences in characteristics of the labour force.- Economic policy in a broader regional policy perspective.- The effectiveness of a local government labour market policy - The case of Groningen.- Skill shortages and the re-training needs of the unemployed: - a local labour market study.- The re-establishment of labour market equilibrium following a temporary employment scheme.- Can unemployment centres help the jobless? A case study based on the Arbeitslosenzentrum Hannover.- About the contributors.- Name index.