The Gospel According to St Matthew? Excluded Groups, Cumulative Disadvantage and Labour Market Intervention
##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.sidebar##
Published
Dec 31, 2025
Download
Statistic
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.main##
Abstract
Active labour market policies (ALMPs) are intended to reduce the uncertainty in labour markets for the most vulnerable groups through the improvement of skills. Further, this is expected to promote economic and social inclusion. However, research on the topic remains sparse and evidence suggests access biases in these interventions for the most vulnerable people. While Romania forms the focus of our inquiry, the wider lessons for Central Europe and other countries are considered. Our paper contributes to research on cumulative disadvantages on ALMPs provided by public employment services (PES) to improve access and participation in activation interventions. Between February and April 2024, we undertook 38 interviews with occupational and social work professionals designated as “experts” in public institutions in Romania. Our results confirm the existence of cumulative disadvantages in access to training and counselling provided by PES for three categories of people affected by unemployment. The low-skilled, the poorest and the extremely marginalised (the “invisible”) are confronted by specific mechanisms of cumulative disadvantages that impede them from participating in ALMPs. We also identify best practices for enhancing access to these interventions and promoting social inclusion more broadly. The originality of the paper lies in its examination of the topic from the perspective of experts as sources of critical opinion on policy issues. Further research could focus on producing complementary data on the topic.
##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##
How to Cite
Crivoi, S., Vasilescu, M. D., & Titterton, M. (2025). The Gospel According to St Matthew? Excluded Groups, Cumulative Disadvantage and Labour Market Intervention. Sociologie Românească, 23(2), 184-209. https://doi.org/10.33788/sr.23.2.10
References
Auer, D., & Fossati, F. (2020). Compensation or Competition: Bias in Immigrants’ Access to Active Labour Market Measures, Social Policy & Administration, 54, 3, 390-409.
Bask, M., & Bask, M. (2015). Cumulative (Dis)Advantage and the Matthew Effect in Life-Course Analysis. PLOS ONE, 10(11), e0142447. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0142447.
Bădoi, D., & Preoteasa, A. M. (2024). Răspunsuri la criza ocupării. Transformări digitale ale pieței muncii din România, Sociologie Romaneasca, 22(1), 51-68. https://doi.org/10.33788/sr.22.1.3.
Benda, L., Koster, F., & van Der Veen, R.J. (2019). Levelling the Playing Field? Active Labour Market Policies, Educational Attainment and Unemployment, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 39, 3/4, 276-95.
Bonoli, G., & van Liechti, F. (2018). Good Intentions and Matthew Effects: Access Biases in Participation in Active Labour Market Policies, Journal of European Public Policy, 25, 6, 894-911.
Bonoli, G., Cantillon, B. & Van Lancker, W. (2017). Social Investment and the Matthew Effect: Limits to a Strategy, in Anton Hemerijck (ed.), The Uses of Social Investment. Oraș: Oxford.
Bråthen, M, van der Wel, K.A., & van Løyland. B. (2020). Mental Health and Access to Active Labor Market Programs, Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 10, 3.
Braun, V., & van Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic Analysis A Practical Guide. Sage.
Centrul de Resurse si Informare pentru Profesiuni Sociale CRIPS. (2012). Difficulties and barriers in access to training for people with disabilities in selected regions. Available at http://www.crips.ro/doc/radbaf.pdf. Accessed November 21, 2025.
Clain, A. (2015). Adult education and life-long learning in Romania: current Issues and Future perspectives, Annals of the Ovidius University of Constanta - Political Science Series, 1, 149-164.
Clain, A. (2016). Overcoming Barriers in Lifelong Learning: Moving Towards ET2020 Goals, Revista Românească pentru Educaţie Multidimensională, 8, 1, 51-66.
Crystal, S., & van Shea, D. (1990). Cumulative Advantage, Cumulative Disadvantage, and Inequality Among Elderly People, The Gerontologist, 30, 4, 437-443, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/30.4.437
DiPrete, T. A., & van Eirich, G.M. (2006). Cumulative Advantage as a Mechanism for Inequality: A Review of Theoretical and Empirical Developments, Annual Review of Sociology, 32, 1, 271-97.
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Oxford: Polity Press.
European Commission. (2025). Education and Training Monitor 2025 Romania. Available at https://education.ec.europa.eu/about-eea/education-and-training-monitor. Accessed November 21, 2025.
European Commission. (n.d.). European Semester Thematic Factsheet. Active Labour Market policies. Available at https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2020-06/european-semester_thematic-factsheet_active-labour-market-policies_en_0.pdf. Accessed June 10, 2025.
European Union Fundamental Rights Agency (2019). Working with Roma: Participation and empowerment of local communities. Vienna: FRA. Available at https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2018/working-roma-participation-and-empowerment-local-communities. Accessed March 15, 2025.
Eurostat. (2025). LMP expenditure by type of action. Available at https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/empl/redisstat/databrowser/view/lmp_expsumm/default/table?lang=en. Accessed March 15, 2025.
Goldstein, K. (2002). Getting in the Door: Sampling and Completing Elite Interviews, Political Science & Politics, 35, 04, 669-72.
Guest, G., MacQueen, K.M., & van Namey, E.E. (2012). Applied Thematic Analysis. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483384436.
Im, Z.J., & van Shin, Y-K. (2022). Who Gets Labour Market Training? Access Biases of Social Investment in Finland, Journal of European Social Policy, 32, 1, 3-18.
Kaiser, R. (2014). Qualitative Experteninterviews: Konzeptionelle Grundlagen und praktische Durchführung. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-02479-6.
Mateescu, L. M., & Neagu, A.-M. (2014). Opportunities of Labour Market Integration for Young Professionals, Procedia Economics and Finance, 8, 444-452. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(14)00112-9.
Maguire, S. (2015). NEET, Unemployed, Inactive or Unknown - Why Does It Matter?, Educational Research, 57, 2, 121-32.
Merton, R.K. (1968a). The Matthew Effect in Science, in N. W. Storer (ed.), The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Merton, R.K. (1968b). Social Theory and Social Structure. Third edition. Glencoe: Free Press.
Messing, V. (2014). Patterns of Roma Employment in Europe, Neujobs Policy Briefing, D. 19(4), Centre of Policy Studies, Central European University.
Meuser, M., Nagel, U. (2009). The Expert Interview and Changes in Knowledge Production. In: Bogner, A., Littig, B., Menz, W. (eds) Interviewing Experts. Research Methods Series. Palgrave Macmillan. Oraș: London.ss
Mihai, H., & Niţu, A. (2024). The Youth Not in Education, Employment, or Training in Romania: A Structural Analysis, FILOSOFIJA. SOCIOLOGIJA, 35, 4, 446-455.
Moore, A. (2017). Critical Elitism: deliberation, democracy and the problem of expertise. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Morriss, L. (2024). Themes Do Not Emerge. An Editor’s Reflections on the Use of Braun and Clarke’s Thematic Analysis, Qualitative Social Work, August, 14733250241277355. https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250241277355.
Nordheim, O., & van Huijts, T. (2023). Social Functioning and Personal Development among Individuals with Low Literacy Skills; the Role of Active Labour Market Policy, Journal of Social Policy, October, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279423000417.
Parsland, E. (2024). Ethnicising activation as a standard story in a Swedish municipal labour market programme, Nordic Social Work Research, 14(2), 269-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/2156857X.2023.2188484.
Pearson, S., Lindsay, C., Batty, E., Cullen, A. M., & Eadson. W. (2023). Relational approaches to employability, Journal of Education and Work, 36, 4, 270-283, DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2023.2184466.
Pisoni, D. (2018). Between Idealism and Pragmatism: Social Policies and Matthew Effect in Vocational Education and Training for Disadvantaged Youth in Switzerland, Social Inclusion 6, 3, 289-300.
Rigney, D. (2010). The Matthew Effect: How Advantage Begets Further Advantage. New York: Columbia University Press.
Romanian Parliament. (2024). LAW no. 76 of January 16, 2002 regarding the unemployment insurance system and employment stimulation.
Stanescu, S., & Voicu, M. (2019). Romanian Welfare State: Lessons Learned from 30 Years of Post-Communist Experience, Problemy Polityki Społecznej: Studia i Dyskusje, 47, 4 https://doi.org/10.31971/16401808.47.4.2019.4.
Stanila, L., Vasilescu, M. D., & Militaru, E. (2020). Investigating Labor Market Discrimination in Romania, Sustainability, 12(12), 4983. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124983.
Tilly, C. (1998). Durable Inequality. 1st ed. California: University of California Press.
Van Audenhove, L., & Donders, K. (eds.) (2019). The Palgrave Handbook of Methods for Media Policy Research. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16065-4.
Von Soest, C. (2023). Why Do We Speak to Experts? Reviving the Strength of the Expert Interview Method, Perspectives on Politics, 21, 1, 277-87. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592722001116.
Bask, M., & Bask, M. (2015). Cumulative (Dis)Advantage and the Matthew Effect in Life-Course Analysis. PLOS ONE, 10(11), e0142447. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0142447.
Bădoi, D., & Preoteasa, A. M. (2024). Răspunsuri la criza ocupării. Transformări digitale ale pieței muncii din România, Sociologie Romaneasca, 22(1), 51-68. https://doi.org/10.33788/sr.22.1.3.
Benda, L., Koster, F., & van Der Veen, R.J. (2019). Levelling the Playing Field? Active Labour Market Policies, Educational Attainment and Unemployment, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 39, 3/4, 276-95.
Bonoli, G., & van Liechti, F. (2018). Good Intentions and Matthew Effects: Access Biases in Participation in Active Labour Market Policies, Journal of European Public Policy, 25, 6, 894-911.
Bonoli, G., Cantillon, B. & Van Lancker, W. (2017). Social Investment and the Matthew Effect: Limits to a Strategy, in Anton Hemerijck (ed.), The Uses of Social Investment. Oraș: Oxford.
Bråthen, M, van der Wel, K.A., & van Løyland. B. (2020). Mental Health and Access to Active Labor Market Programs, Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 10, 3.
Braun, V., & van Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic Analysis A Practical Guide. Sage.
Centrul de Resurse si Informare pentru Profesiuni Sociale CRIPS. (2012). Difficulties and barriers in access to training for people with disabilities in selected regions. Available at http://www.crips.ro/doc/radbaf.pdf. Accessed November 21, 2025.
Clain, A. (2015). Adult education and life-long learning in Romania: current Issues and Future perspectives, Annals of the Ovidius University of Constanta - Political Science Series, 1, 149-164.
Clain, A. (2016). Overcoming Barriers in Lifelong Learning: Moving Towards ET2020 Goals, Revista Românească pentru Educaţie Multidimensională, 8, 1, 51-66.
Crystal, S., & van Shea, D. (1990). Cumulative Advantage, Cumulative Disadvantage, and Inequality Among Elderly People, The Gerontologist, 30, 4, 437-443, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/30.4.437
DiPrete, T. A., & van Eirich, G.M. (2006). Cumulative Advantage as a Mechanism for Inequality: A Review of Theoretical and Empirical Developments, Annual Review of Sociology, 32, 1, 271-97.
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Oxford: Polity Press.
European Commission. (2025). Education and Training Monitor 2025 Romania. Available at https://education.ec.europa.eu/about-eea/education-and-training-monitor. Accessed November 21, 2025.
European Commission. (n.d.). European Semester Thematic Factsheet. Active Labour Market policies. Available at https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2020-06/european-semester_thematic-factsheet_active-labour-market-policies_en_0.pdf. Accessed June 10, 2025.
European Union Fundamental Rights Agency (2019). Working with Roma: Participation and empowerment of local communities. Vienna: FRA. Available at https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2018/working-roma-participation-and-empowerment-local-communities. Accessed March 15, 2025.
Eurostat. (2025). LMP expenditure by type of action. Available at https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/empl/redisstat/databrowser/view/lmp_expsumm/default/table?lang=en. Accessed March 15, 2025.
Goldstein, K. (2002). Getting in the Door: Sampling and Completing Elite Interviews, Political Science & Politics, 35, 04, 669-72.
Guest, G., MacQueen, K.M., & van Namey, E.E. (2012). Applied Thematic Analysis. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483384436.
Im, Z.J., & van Shin, Y-K. (2022). Who Gets Labour Market Training? Access Biases of Social Investment in Finland, Journal of European Social Policy, 32, 1, 3-18.
Kaiser, R. (2014). Qualitative Experteninterviews: Konzeptionelle Grundlagen und praktische Durchführung. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-02479-6.
Mateescu, L. M., & Neagu, A.-M. (2014). Opportunities of Labour Market Integration for Young Professionals, Procedia Economics and Finance, 8, 444-452. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(14)00112-9.
Maguire, S. (2015). NEET, Unemployed, Inactive or Unknown - Why Does It Matter?, Educational Research, 57, 2, 121-32.
Merton, R.K. (1968a). The Matthew Effect in Science, in N. W. Storer (ed.), The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Merton, R.K. (1968b). Social Theory and Social Structure. Third edition. Glencoe: Free Press.
Messing, V. (2014). Patterns of Roma Employment in Europe, Neujobs Policy Briefing, D. 19(4), Centre of Policy Studies, Central European University.
Meuser, M., Nagel, U. (2009). The Expert Interview and Changes in Knowledge Production. In: Bogner, A., Littig, B., Menz, W. (eds) Interviewing Experts. Research Methods Series. Palgrave Macmillan. Oraș: London.ss
Mihai, H., & Niţu, A. (2024). The Youth Not in Education, Employment, or Training in Romania: A Structural Analysis, FILOSOFIJA. SOCIOLOGIJA, 35, 4, 446-455.
Moore, A. (2017). Critical Elitism: deliberation, democracy and the problem of expertise. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Morriss, L. (2024). Themes Do Not Emerge. An Editor’s Reflections on the Use of Braun and Clarke’s Thematic Analysis, Qualitative Social Work, August, 14733250241277355. https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250241277355.
Nordheim, O., & van Huijts, T. (2023). Social Functioning and Personal Development among Individuals with Low Literacy Skills; the Role of Active Labour Market Policy, Journal of Social Policy, October, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279423000417.
Parsland, E. (2024). Ethnicising activation as a standard story in a Swedish municipal labour market programme, Nordic Social Work Research, 14(2), 269-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/2156857X.2023.2188484.
Pearson, S., Lindsay, C., Batty, E., Cullen, A. M., & Eadson. W. (2023). Relational approaches to employability, Journal of Education and Work, 36, 4, 270-283, DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2023.2184466.
Pisoni, D. (2018). Between Idealism and Pragmatism: Social Policies and Matthew Effect in Vocational Education and Training for Disadvantaged Youth in Switzerland, Social Inclusion 6, 3, 289-300.
Rigney, D. (2010). The Matthew Effect: How Advantage Begets Further Advantage. New York: Columbia University Press.
Romanian Parliament. (2024). LAW no. 76 of January 16, 2002 regarding the unemployment insurance system and employment stimulation.
Stanescu, S., & Voicu, M. (2019). Romanian Welfare State: Lessons Learned from 30 Years of Post-Communist Experience, Problemy Polityki Społecznej: Studia i Dyskusje, 47, 4 https://doi.org/10.31971/16401808.47.4.2019.4.
Stanila, L., Vasilescu, M. D., & Militaru, E. (2020). Investigating Labor Market Discrimination in Romania, Sustainability, 12(12), 4983. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124983.
Tilly, C. (1998). Durable Inequality. 1st ed. California: University of California Press.
Van Audenhove, L., & Donders, K. (eds.) (2019). The Palgrave Handbook of Methods for Media Policy Research. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16065-4.
Von Soest, C. (2023). Why Do We Speak to Experts? Reviving the Strength of the Expert Interview Method, Perspectives on Politics, 21, 1, 277-87. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592722001116.