A welfare state for the 21st century

Abstract

"The challenge is immense, because the ongoing revolutions in both the labour market and family structure that are creating fantastic new opportunities are also posing novel social risks and needs. Changing technologies, accelerating global integration, and the upgrading of human capital are essential to ensuring competitiveness. The labour market will be dominated by service occupations, and this means a general bias in favour of professional and technical skills. In response to the new needs of families, however, there will also be an expansion of low-level (and possibly low-paid) personal and social services. The availability of such service jobs offers the only realistic means of achieving full employment. Thus, the emerging economy will be knowledge- intensive in many, but not all, respects." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))