The method of biographical policy evaluation

Our project focused on the evaluation of the success or failure of self-employment projects of women and minorities in relation to social citizenship policies. Earlier comparative research on self-employment in EU member states focused on the effects of labour market policies (Meager 1993) but neglected to take account of the effect of active social policies towards self-employment. The question we posed was whether these new instruments could offer participants the opportunity to mobilize and activate their own innovative human resources or whether they would again produce unstable working conditions and not secure long-term success for the self-employed.