This themed issue contributes to European research on the role of front-line work in the implementation of welfare-to-work policies. A number of factors underline the relevance of such study. First, the focus on activating and disciplining the unemployed seen in many countries may on the surface look similar. However, a closer look at these policies and how they unfold in different contexts reveals many and interesting differences. While all contain a certain level of disciplining and coercive elements, they also to a varying degree contain elements that focus on the upgrading of skills, building human capital and providing other types of support in promoting labour-market participation. In turn, these policies contain both people processing and people changing technologies that are used for different aspects of policy delivery. In addition, policy developments have gradually expanded the client group of these policies, including more hard-to-place unemployed, thus making the client group more heterogeneous. Finally, we have seen a strong political belief in the positive effects of using punitive sanctions. Research supports this belief when it comes to clients with high employability and limited problems besides unemployment, but the knowledge-base is rather shaky when it comes to the hard-to-place clients with substantial problems. Using punitive sanctions or other disciplining or coercive measures in frontline work has caused controversy and resistance. In order to qualify our understanding of welfare-to-work policies, we need to take a step closer to where these policies are translated into reality for the target group.

中文翻译：

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简介：在不同的欧洲背景下提供福利到工作的前线

这个主题问题有助于欧洲研究一线工作在实施福利到工作政策中的作用。许多因素强调了此类研究的相关性。首先，许多国家对激励和惩戒失业者的关注从表面上看可能相似。然而，仔细研究这些政策以及它们在不同背景下如何展开，会发现许多有趣的差异。虽然所有这些都包含一定程度的纪律和强制要素，但它们也不同程度地包含侧重于技能提升、人力资本建设和提供其他类型支持以促进劳动力市场参与的要素。反过来，这些政策包含用于政策交付不同方面的人员处理和人员变更技术。此外，政策的发展逐渐扩大了这些政策的客户群体，包括更多难以安置的失业者，从而使客户群体更加多样化。最后，我们看到了对使用惩罚性制裁的积极影响的强烈政治信念。当涉及具有高就业能力和除失业之外的问题有限的客户时，研究支持这种信念，但当涉及到难以安置且存在重大问题的客户时，知识基础相当不稳定。在一线工作中使用惩罚性制裁或其他惩戒或强制措施引起了争议和抵制。为了验证我们对福利到工作政策的理解，我们需要更接近于将这些政策转化为目标群体的现实。