To Örebro University

The concept of street-level bureaucracy is central to understanding public administration asit pinpoints the role of individual civil servants in the realisation of policy. Oneissue in need of further illumination is that of knowledge production and reproduction in street-level bureaucracies. This paperseeks to examine these issues by linking street-level bureaucracy with the theory of social representations. Social representations offer a social-psychological understanding of how individuals make sense of their reality in day-to-day interaction. The overarching aim of the paperis to suggest a theoretical synthesis of these two perspectives –a synthesis that connects interaction atstreet-level with common-sense knowledge, as well as knowledge generatedwithin organisationsand among professionals. The synthesis is demonstrated by presenting an analysis of social representations of unemployment among two groups of street-level bureaucrats.

For most of the twentieth century, the welfare state was predominantly understood as a national project. In recent years, however, it has been recognized that other political levels — both sub- and supranational — have a profound impact on the design and delivery of social- and labour market policies and programmes. This article looks more closely at labour market policies on the sub-national level. In this domain, political bodies, such as municipalities and regions, have become key actors in developing and delivering programmes on local levels. The underlying assumption is that local actors are better suited to adapt services to the needs of residents in comparison with the national level. This assumption is contested, among other reasons because it leads to increased within-state inequalities. This article analyses Swedish municipalities. They have come to be central stakeholders in the area of active labour market policies. The article looks at data on municipal actions to reduce unemployment. Government data on geography, local political rule and economy of municipalities are used as potential factors that predicts reach of policies. The article also investigates potential neighbourhood effects by utilizing spatial analysis. The findings indicate that there are such effects, and that economic situation is the most influential non-spatial factor in explaining differences in reach of policies. Less well-off municipalities had more extensive reach. Geographic and political factors did also affect the outcomes but was less influential.