The role of early exit from the labour market in social exclusion and marginalisation: the case of the United Kingdom

This chapter considers the issue of early exit and marginalisation from a British perspective. The UK can be described as having a liberal welfare regime. According to Esping - Anderson (1999, p 74): 'liberal welfare regimes in their contemporary form reflect a political commitment to minimise the state, to individualise risks, and to promote mark solutions.' In terms of labour-market policy, this is exemplified by the dominance of needs-based and means-tested unemployment benefits as well as the relatively high importance of occupational pensions. Moreover, liberal social policies favour a passive approach to employment management and largely unregulated labour markets [Introduction]