Conference Agenda

Active labour market policies (ALMPs) are commonly introduced to activate the population, often with aims of full employment, and can be essential for ensuring sustainability of the welfare state through increasing the number of taxpayers and reduce the number of beneficiaries, implying increased revenues and reduced costs. ALMPs also reflect an element of the welfare state particularly important for disadvantaged individuals, with a large potential of improving life outcomes through assisting users with finding suitable employment and obtaining the necessary skills to participate in the labour market, associated with welfare benefits both at the individual and national level. Digitalization of the public sector is also considered a key element in a sustainable welfare state, where increased use of digital technologies in the public sector is expected to promote efficiency and quality of service provision. Digitalization may, however, also pose a barrier for optimal services provision as a significant proportion of the recipients have low education, and therefore often lower literacy skills and digital competencies. As over-the-counter assistance is replaced by digital platforms, often requiring higher skills, the outcome may be increased inequalities in services use, access to information and knowledge of entitlements – reflecting a digital divide. This paper analyses the impact of active labour market policy (ALMPs) on unemployment at the individual level, and as a key contribution to the literature: investigate the moderating role of digitalization, comparing the impact on individuals with high and low educational backgrounds. The paper takes two different approaches to analysing digitalization: first it analyses the role of digitalization of public services, often referred to as e-government. Then it will analyse the role of digital government, reflecting the degree in which governments use digital technologies and data for optimal service provision, capturing a more advanced stage of digital transformation. Two sets of multi-level analyses are therefore conducted: 1) Focusing on the role digital public services (e-government) in 19 European countries, using the European Commision’s Digital Public Services-dimension of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), and 2) Focusing on role of digital government in 26 OECD countries, using the OECD’s Digital Government Index (DGI). ALMP spending is divided by unemployed individuals and analysed in term of total spending levels as well as that related to public employment services, with data from the OECD statistical database. Data from European Social survey and World Values survey are used to capture unemployment at the individual level, using observations from 2018 and 2020. Findings from show that although digital government and e-government, as measured in this paper, are not closely related, they both appear to have a moderating role in relation to the association between ALMP spending and unemployment, where spending is associated with a reduced probability of being unemployed when digitalization is high or low, however insignificant in-between. When considering digital government in OECD countries, this is however only the case for individuals with low education, where the relationship between ALMPs and unemployment is insignificant for those with more education.

The intersection of administrative burden, digitalization, and vulnerability is intricate and

multifaceted. Vulnerable populations often face significant barriers when accessing and

navigating administrative processes, such as language barriers, limited time or resources, and physical or cognitive disabilities. Digitalization is believed to have the potential to streamline administrative processes, reduce paperwork, and enhance service accessibility. However, does this potential extend to vulnerable segments of society? While digitalization has the capacity to alleviate administrative burdens for certain individuals by providing more efficient and convenient access to services, it is also assumed to exacerbate existing inequalities for those with limited administrative or digital literacy. Central to this investigation is the question: How does the digitalization of public administrative processes affect the distribution of administrative burdens among various socio-economic, ethnic, and demographic groups, particularly considering the needs of vulnerable populations?

This paper aims to comprehend the complex interplay among administrative burden,

digitalization, and vulnerability. This includes a historical review of research on administrative burdens, illustrating how it has evolved over time and how the focus has shifted. Additionally, it examines the impact of digital technologies on administrative processes, considering both their potential to optimize operations and their role in potentially exacerbating social inequalities. Using the theoretical concept of administrative burden, the study aims to explainthis dynamic relationship. Furthermore, through a systematic review of relevant literature, the article explores the interaction between state digitalization and the capacities or competencies of different citizen groups in handling digital interfaces, with a focus on vulnerable groups such as immigrants, homeless individuals, those with addictions, retirees, unemployed persons, and

those with physical or mental impairments.

The findings underscore the diverse effects of digitalization within public administration on society and emphasize the need for nuanced policy interventions and inclusive e-government

This article examines the interplay between public governance and socio-economic welfare in the context of digital transformation, with a specific focus on artificial intelligence (AI). Within the field of public administration, public governance has been increasingly recognised as pivotal in guiding economies and societies towards collective objectives. The integration of AI in governance processes represents a transformative shift, offering potential enhancements to socio-economic welfare. Yet, despite its significant promise, there are limited studies that would address the question of how AI intertwines with contemporary public governance and its principles and its consequent impact on socio-economic welfare.

The paper aims to highlight the relationship between AI and different governance models—such as (Neo)Weberian Bureaucracy, New Public Management, Good Governance— and the effect on promoting socioeconomic welfare based on an analysis of AI applications in the public sector in the European Union, provided by the European Commission, with a focus on the improvements they bring and search for answers to the research question through the lens of the selected PGMs principles. Additionally, the analysis is enriched by a case study focused on social services, specifically the introduction of AI mechanisms into social procedures in Slovenia.

The initial results of the paper highlighted that AI applications mostly influenced the improvements, characterised as NPM principles and good governance principles. The goal of public policy should be to allow the harnessing of the power of AI for the public good while keeping it safe, ethical, and legally compatible with public governance principles. The insights gained can inform future theoretical and empirical explorations into the optimal use of AI within public governance frameworks and its potential effects on socio-economic welfare.