The persistence and pervasiveness of long-term unemployment across Europe has led to a renewed interest in active labour-market policies by policymakers. In the United Kingdom the new government has recently announced its proposals for the ‘New Deal’ aimed at getting young people (aged 18–24 years) and the long-term unemployed into work. This has stimulated a growing debate about the effectiveness of such policies. The author contributes to that debate by discussing the findings of a recent evaluation of the National Development Programme undertaken for the Employment Service.
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