Unwrapping the European social model / [electronic resource]
Jepsen, Maria,editor.
Serrano Pascual, Amparo,editor.
The notion of the European Social Model (ESM) has been one of the fastest growing in European political and academic discourse in recent years. It is conventionally used to describe the European experience of simultaneously promoting sustainable economic growth and social cohesion. However, the concept has suffered from a lack of clear definition. And where definitions have been found in the literature, they do not necessarily converge. This book presents the outcome of a project coordinated by the European Trade Union Institute in which experts from different countries and social scientific disciplines (sociology, political science and economics) were invited to reflect on both the meaning and political status of the concept of the ESM. In addition to analysing the ambiguities and multiple meanings attributed to the concept, the authors unpick the underlying assumptions and make use of a new approach - the ESM as political project - with which European countries can build consensus and share a common understanding. Offering a new analytical framework and with new empirical evidence, "Unwrapping the European Social Model" is essential reading for all those involved in European social policy research, education, policy and practice.
Cover; UNWRAPPING THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL MODEL; Contents; List of figures and tables; Acknowledgments; Notes on contributors; Introduction; Introduction; ESM: a multi-level governance project; The Open Method of Coordination: governance without government?; Conclusions; ONE - The concept of the ESM and supranational legitimacy-building; Introduction; Main conceptions; Some key ideas driven by the concept of the ESM as a political project; Conclusion; TWO - Taking stock of social Europe: is there such a thing as a community social model?; Introduction
History of European economic integration, social themes, treaty reformsAnalysis; Conclusion; THREE - Employment and pay in Europe and the US: food for thought about flexibility and the European Social Model; Introduction; Growth and nature of the employment gap; The role of the ESM; Concluding observations; FOUR - Activation policies and the European Social Model; Introduction; Ending welfare as we know it; Outcomes of welfare reform in the US; From the right to aid to the right to work in Western Europe; Outcomes of workfare in Western Europe; The triumph of myth and ceremony
FIVE - Has the European Social Model a distinctive activation touch?Introduction; The notion of an ESM, between normative and analytical; When social protection is activated; Looking for an activation ESM as compared with the US model; Conclusion; SIX - The European Social Model and gender equality; The EU's regulation paradigm; The potentials and limitations of the EU's regulation paradigm; Closing the gaps?; Conclusion; SEVEN - The European Social Model and enlargement; Introduction; The historical acquis perspective: NMS' welfare states and their performance
The political project perspective: the social acquis and its impact on the NMSConclusions; EIGHT - Reforming the European Social Model and the politics of indicators: from the unemployment rate to the employment rate in the European Employment Strategy; Introduction; The 'anomalies' in the benchmarking of employment policies; The employment rate or the search for labour market flexibility; The instrumental drift of the EES; The European political process and the future of the ESM; NINE - Assessing the European Social Model against the capability approach; Introduction
The ESM and capability for workThe ESM and capability for voice; Conclusion; TEN - Social dialogue as a regulatory mode of the ESM: some empirical evidence from the new member states; Introduction; The ESM or Concerted Regulation Model; EES demands for social dialogue; Social dialogue in the new member states: the state of play; Concluding remarks; Index
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 19 Jan 2022).
The notion of the European Social Model (ESM) has been one of the fastest growing in European political and academic discourse in recent years. It is conventionally used to describe the European experience of simultaneously promoting sustainable economic growth and social cohesion. However, the concept has suffered from a lack of clear definition. And where definitions have been found in the literature, they do not necessarily converge. This book presents the outcome of a project coordinated by the European Trade Union Institute in which experts from different countries and social scientific disciplines (sociology, political science and economics) were invited to reflect on both the meaning and political status of the concept of the ESM. In addition to analysing the ambiguities and multiple meanings attributed to the concept, the authors unpick the underlying assumptions and make use of a new approach - the ESM as political project - with which European countries can build consensus and share a common understanding. Offering a new analytical framework and with new empirical evidence, "Unwrapping the European Social Model" is essential reading for all those involved in European social policy research, education, policy and practice.
Economic development
Social problems