Client experience of street-level activation practices: Implementation of discourage policy in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Despite the fact that the unemployment rate in the Czech Republic is one of the lowest in Europe, the country suffers from stagnating long-term unemployment. At the same time, there is a large number of people who fall out of the system as a result of harsh sanctions. The article aims to examine how the activation policy is implemented from the perspective of job seekers and to identify street-level activation practices using a micro-institutionalist perspective. To meet the objective, we used a qualitative research strategy and in-depth interviews. The results of the study show how particular levels of activation intertwine and how they strengthen and create a comprehensive normative system around work, unemployment, and financial support, thus enabling the implementation of the street-level activation practices. Street-level bureaucrats pursue formal policy goals that seek to discourage people from entitlement to benefits and services to cut down expenditures and improve statistics.