bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Respect? An investigation into the experience of referees in association football
Authors: Cleland Jamie , O’Gorman Jimmy , Webb Tom
Published: March 2017

This article focuses on the response by 2056 football referees across all 51 County Football Associations in England, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey to an online survey conducted from 30 September 2015 to 30 November 2015 regarding their experience of officiating since the implementation of a Respect programme in 2008 by the English Football Association. In assessing the impact of the programme, whilst 54 per cent of referees felt that it has been somewhat successful, there remains a need to implement stronger sanctions and show greater support when dealing with cases of misconduct. Some 60 per cent of referees still experience abuse every couple of games and 19 per cent have experienced some form of physical abuse. With 42 per cent of our sample officiating for less than five years, there is an urgent need for the impact and effectiveness of the programme to be re-evaluated.
Using self-categorization theory to uncover the framing of the 2015 Rugby World Cup: A cross-cultural comparison of three nations’ newspapers
Authors: Scott Olan Kees Martin , Billings Andrew C , Harris John , Vincent John
Published: March 2017

Research into the framing of sporting events has been extensively studied to uncover newspaper bias in the coverage of global sporting events. Through discourse, the media attempt to capture, build, and maintain audiences for the duration of sporting events through the use of multiple narratives and/or storylines. Little research has looked at the ways in which the same event is reported across different nations, and media representations of the Rugby World Cup have rarely featured in discussions of the framing of sport events. The present study highlights the different ways in which rugby union is portrayed across the three leading Southern Hemisphere nations in the sport. It also shows the prominence of nationalistic discourse across those nations and importance of self-categorizations in newspaper narratives.
College Admissions Tests and LD and ADHD Documentation Guidelines: Consistency With Emerging Legal Guidance
Authors: Lindstrom Will , Lindstrom Jennifer H.
Published: March 2017

Testing agencies request documentation to verify a test-taker’s disability status under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 2008 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A number of recent legal developments, culminating in technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice, suggest changes in enforcement of relevant laws are imminent. This article reviews the legal developments and presents results of a survey of the learning disability and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder documentation guidelines of 10 standardized tests commonly used to aid admissions decisions for undergraduate and graduate programs. Consistent with the recent guidance, virtually all guidelines requested documentation from a qualified evaluator, a diagnosis, and accommodation recommendations and rationale. In contrast, agencies were less likely to request the information necessary to grant accommodations based on history of accommodation use. Few agencies had policies allowing submission of reduced amounts of documentation for students with lengthy histories of disabling conditions. Finally, guidelines frequently neglected to provide the guidance that evaluators need to generate useful documentation. Benefits and limitations of the recent legal guidance are discussed, and recommendations for testing and enforcement agencies, as well as secondary schools, are provided.
Comparing Online and In-Person Delivery Formats of the OSHA 10-Hour General Industry Health and Safety Training for Young Workers
Authors: Shendell Derek G. , Milich Lindsey J. , Apostolico Alexsandra A. , Patti Alexa A. , Kelly Siobhan
Published: March 2017

Seven school districts or comprehensive high schools were enrolled in online OSHA 10-hour General Industry or Construction health and safety training via CareerSafe to determine the feasibility of online training for students, given limited resources for in-person trainings. A two-campus school district was analyzed comparing OSHA 10 for General Industry across in-person, supervisor-level teachers as authorized trainers, and online course formats. The online training courses were completed by 86 of 91 students, while another 53 of 57 students completed in-person training. Both groups completed identical OSHA-approved quizzes for “Introduction to OSHA,” the initial 2-h module consistently provided in OSHA 10 courses across topics and formats. Results indicated teacher supervision was critical, and girls had higher online course completion rates, overall quiz scores, and never failed. Though both cohorts passed, in-person had significantly higher scores than online; both struggled with two questions. Online OSHA 10 for General Industry can be an efficient learning tool for students when limited resources prevent widespread availability of in-person courses.
Survival of a native toxigenic isolate of Listeria monocytogenes CFR 1302 during storage of milk-based foods can be a potential cause of health risk
Authors: Jayanth Hampapura S , Varadaraj Mandyam C
Published: March 2017

The ability of a native toxigenic culture of Listeria monocytogenes CFR 1302 to survive and elaborate associated toxigenic trait in ice cream and mango pulp-based lactic fermented milk was studied. The culture of L. monocytogenes inoculated at two initial levels of 4.6 and 5.6 log10 CFU/ml almost remained unaltered during storage of the food products. However, in both the milk-based products, a marginal increase in viable population was observed during 2–4 d of storage as against the initial inoculum levels. The toxigenic trait, listeriolysin “O” was detected by PCR based on species-specific hlyA primers in the two products without any step of enrichment. The positive amplification in PCR was evidenced with initial population levels of 6.3, 7.3, and 8.3 log10 CFU/ml of the respective products. In culture broth, PCR detection was positive with the lowest level of 2.3 log10 CFU/ml. The established pathogenic strain of L. monocytogenes Scott A used as a reference culture revealed almost the same behavior to that of native culture in the food products. The findings of present study bring into focus that, irrespective of low storage temperatures, there exists the potential health hazard associated with foods initially contaminated with risk population levels of L. monocytogenes.
Children’s television in transition: policies, platforms and production
Authors: Potter Anna , Steemers Jeanette
Published: March 2017

While the internet has facilitated a proliferation in children’s media offerings and platforms, television remains the dominant medium in children’s lives. Broadcasters and subscription services both compete for their attention, as viewers and as potential consumers of merchandise. Within this transforming landscape, children’s television is now produced and distributed through complex processes for global and local markets. The arrival of SVOD services like Netflix and Amazon and a dedicated YouTube children’s app further complicated the global production ecology, increasing the transnational nature of children’s screen offerings. Locally produced children’s television content nonetheless retains its importance in policy circles, with its perceived contribution to national cultural representation often used to justify regulatory intervention and financial supports for the genre. This theme issue on children’s television in transition considers policy and production issues related to children’s television in a range of Australasian and international contexts. In doing so it confirms the importance of local content within an increasingly globalized children’s media sector.
A matter of trust: the complicated relationship between political media advisers and political journalists
Authors: Fynes-Clinton Jane
Published: March 2017

The professional relationship between political journalists and political media advisers – intermediaries between the public and their elected representatives – is complex and, because the stakes are high on multiple levels, filled with tension. Underpinning it all is trust: a dynamic that to be effective must work in both directions and is cyclically tested, broken and repaired. As part of a PhD research project, in-depth interviews with practitioners from two sides of political communication revealed that the absence or presence of trust is the foundation stone of the relationship. While the relationship is fostered in speed-of-lightning environments, the study revealed old-fashioned conventions buttress the trust framework, but circumstances dramatically affect it. It is found that political media advisers aim to be honest, but approach this indirectly, and that political journalists see little need for transparency about their work before it enters the public realm.
The relation between ethnic classroom composition and adolescents’ ethnic pride
Authors: Leszczensky Lars , Flache Andreas , Stark Tobias H. , Munniksma Anke
Published: March 2017

This study investigated how students’ ethnic pride was related to variation in ethnic composition between classrooms as well as within the same classroom over time. Predictions derived from optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT) were tested among 13- to 14-year-old ethnic majority and minority students ( N = 1,123). Lending support to ODT, a curvilinear relation between the share of same-ethnicity classmates and students’ ethnic pride was found in a cross-sectional analysis, with ethnic pride peaking in classrooms with approximately 50% same-ethnicity classmates. In line with ODT, longitudinal analyses revealed ethnic pride decreased for students who moved away from a share of 50% same-ethnicity classmates. Contrary to ODT, however, ethnic pride also decreased for students who moved closer to this point of optimal distinctiveness.
The New European ‘Buzzword’: ‘Open Method of Co-Ordination’
Authors: Schulte Bernd
Published: March 2017

“1. Implementation of the strategic goal will be facilitated by applying a new open method of co-ordination as the means of spreading best practices and achieving greater convergence towards the main EU goals. This method, which is designed to help Member States to progressively develop their own policies, involves:

– fixing guidelines for the Union combined with specific timetables for achieving the goals which they set in the short, medium and long terms; – establishing, where appropriate, quantitative and qualitative indicators and benchmarks against the best in the world and tailored to the needs of different Member States and sectors as a means of comparing best practices; – translating these European guidelines into national and regional policies by setting specific targets and adopting measures, taking into account national and regional differences; – periodic monitoring, evaluation and peer review organised as mutual learning processes.

2. A fully decentralised approach will be applied in line with the principle of subsidiarity in which the Union, the Member States, the regional and local levels, as well as the social partners and civil society, will be actively involved using varied forms of partnership. A method of benchmarking best practices on managing change will be devised by the European Commission networking with different providers and users, namely the social partners, companies and NGOs.”

(Conclusions of the Lisbon Summit, 23–24 March 2000, paragraph 37 ‘Implementing a new open method of co-ordination’).
EU Agreements with the Ceec — Achievements and Problems with Special Refference to the Free Movement of Persons and Services and to Freedom of Establishment
Authors: Sieveking Klaus
Published: March 2017

This article focuses on two questions that have proved particularly difficult to settle in the accession negotiations between the EU and ten Central and Eastern European Countries. The article begins with a survey of the present status of EU associations and then seeks to identify the distinctive characteristics of the proposed association relations, as distinct from the existing association relations. It then analyses the two questions: the first of these involves the free movement of workers and related aspects of social legislation while the second deals with the implementation of freedom of establishment which is already possible under the EU Agreements.
Current Practice in Posting According to Regulation 1408/71
Authors: Sengers Karin , Donders Peter
Published: March 2017

This article describes the findings of a study that investigates the application of posting provisions for the period 1995–20001. The study was requested by the European Commission and follows an earlier study. The aims of this study were to:

— find out how European mobility by posting is developing; — identify problems experienced by Member States' administrations, social security institutions, employers and workers when applying the posting provisions; — suggest possible solutions both at Community and at national level; — monitor the development of candidate countries with regard to the posting provisions in bilateral agreements and the preparations for implementing the co-ordination regulations 1408/71 and 574/72.

Four Candidate Countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Lithuania) were included in this study. Member States were also asked about the the posting provisions in bilateral agreements with Candidate Countries.
How to Compare the Incomparable: An International Comparison of the Impact of Housing Costs on Levels of Social Assistance
Authors: Kuivalainen Susan
Published: March 2017

This article analyses the importance of housing costs in cross-national comparisons of social assistance. The article explores the model family technique, the most commonly used method of comparing levels of support, and analyses the impact of housing costs on outcomes. The importance of housing costs is assessed by using different definitions of disposable income, by comparing the level of social assistance without, before and after housing costs. Three different rent levels are specified in order to evaluate the impact of housing costs and seven different family types are considered in the analysis. The countries used for comparison are Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, during the late 1990s. The findings show that housing costs have an impact on outcomes in social assistance: when housing costs are disregarded, the differences between countries are greater. The outcomes vary with different calculations of disposable income: the relative value of assistance between countries and families varies, and the ranking of countries is also altered. Different levels of housing costs have a similar impact, showing changes in the relative position of countries. Overall the findings show that taking housing costs into account makes a difference.
Freedom of Movement for the Unemployed and Co-Ordination of Unemployment Benefit Schemes
Authors: van der Mei Anne Pieter
Published: March 2017

This article provides an analytical overview of the most recent case law of the European Court of Justice in the field of the co-ordination of unemployment benefits. More specifically, it addresses judgments involving work-seekers' right to export unemployment benefits (Rydergård), the concepts of ‘wholly’ and ‘partially’ unemployed for the purposes of Article 71 of Regulation 1408/71 (De Laat), the calculation of benefits (Stallone), family members' right to benefits and the significance of international conventions for the right to unemployment benefits.
Some Aspects of the Application of Legal Safeguards to Active Social Policy in Denmark, Finland and Sweden
Authors: Van Aerschot Paul
Published: March 2017

The reappraisal of social policy in Denmark, Finland and Sweden1 has led to the adoption of activation policies targeting recipients of social assistance. At the same time more attention has been paid to protecting citizens against administrative action which infringes their rights. In Nordic law the importance of preventive legal safeguards precluding unlawful or wrongful decisions has been stressed. When applied to active social policy, these standards of good administration and effective implementation of legal protection raise problems related to adequate resources and to the different conditions of working for wages and qualifying for social benefits. In addition, the principle of proportionality may be violated if there is an imbalance between the likely results of activation measures and the limitations placed on the rights of the recipient.
Articles Originally Presented at the EISS Conference on ‘Choice in Social Security’ in Graz 2003: Freedom of Choice in Europe's Social Security Law
Authors: Pieters Danny
Published: March 2017

In the first part of this article, an inventory of the various types of choice that may be present in social security is outlined. In the second part, starting from the assumption that there is freedom of choice, the question of whose freedom of choice this is is addressed. Although neither national law nor international law recognises the principle of freedom of choice in social security, a concrete form of freedom of choice may be inferred from international human rights instruments and this is explored in the third part of the article. In the fourth and final part, the relationship between freedom of choice and social security is examined and the question of whether they are they friends or foes posed.
When is Choice Possible in Social Security?
Authors: Greve Bent
Published: March 2017

In recent years, the provision of public services has been reformed in many European welfare states. Inspired by ‘Public Choice’ and ‘New Public Management’ thinking, changes have emphasised competition, user involvement, and more efficient service delivery. Quasi-markets and vouchers have often been central elements in these developments.

The provision of services – public or private – can be regarded as an alternative to the provision of support in cash. Thus, the choice between income transfers and service delivery e.g. in relation to care of the elderly or of children, will have a (quantitative and qualitative) effect on the ways in which society supports the provision of care.

This article describes these changes and analyses new modes of delivery (which are often associated with ‘marketisation’). It discusses when choice is possible for service users and whether, given the need for greater efficiency, it can be combined with use of the market-mechanism. It specifically analyse the use of vouchers and the conditions under which vouchers can contribute to achieving the combination of increased empowerment of users and greater efficiency without having a detrimental impact on access to services or the distribution of welfare. Vouchers are employed as a means of ascertaining whether, and under what conditions, choice is possible. In this sense greater use of free choice is construed as being positive if it can combine increased empowerment and greater efficiency without any negative distributional impact.

The paper concentrates on elements of choice within the social services, emphasising variations between different service areas. It concludes by attempting to emphasise the aspects that decision-makers must be aware of when increasing the extent of choice offered to the users of public services.
The Relationship between Regulation (EEC) 1612/68 and Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 Analysed through ECJ Case Law on Frontier Workers
Authors: Verschueren Herwig
Published: March 2017

This article analyses the relationship between two EC Regulations protecting the social rights of migrant workers moving within the Union: Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68, concerning freedom of movement for workers, and Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, concerning the co-ordination of the social security systems of the Member States.

The article takes a closer look at the added value of Regulation 1612/68 over Regulation 1408/71. It begins by outlining the framework and general content of Regulation 1612/68 and explains its legal relationship with Regulation 1408/71. Building on ECJ case law, accepting that Regulation 1612/68 also applies to frontier workers, it then analyses the added value of Regulation 1612/68 over Regulation 1408/71. It argues that there is, in particular, added value for benefits not falling within the scope of Regulation 1408/71, such as some family benefits, pre-retirement benefits or career-interruption benefits. However for benefits covered by Regulation 1408/71, the latter takes precedence over Regulation 1612/68, which means that in some cases residence requirements can be maintained. At the end of the article, there is an assessment of the unresolved problems involved in applying Regulation 1612/68. It follows from the analysis that uncertainties and even loopholes still exist as regards the legal position of migrant workers under this regulation. It reveals that in certain cases migrant workers, in particular frontier workers, can still risk falling between two stools, or conversely, can end up having the best of both worlds.
More Activation — More Chances for the Unemployed? Changes in Austria's Active Labour Market Policy after Accessing the European Union
Authors: Wroblewski Angela
Published: March 2017

One of the main political objectives throughout the European Union (EU) is to raise employment rates. Recent demographic developments, the resulting financial problems of the welfare state, increasing competition with other economic areas, as well as the attempt to create equal opportunities for men and women, certainly call for a higher level of participation in the labour market. But this does not automatically lead to more gender equality or social cohesion. On the contrary, in most EU member countries, an increase of employment frequently goes hand in hand with an increase in atypical employment, with different kinds of jobs that in many cases do not meet the requirements of standard employment.1

An important instrument in this context is active labour market policy, which, however, contributes to an increasing polarisation of labour markets. This article, therefore, focuses on the development and effects of active labour market policy in Austria as well as the changes that occurred after Austria joined the EU.2 Taking the situation in Austria as an example, it will become obvious that not all groups have benefited to the same extent from the expansion of active labour market policy, which was initiated in the 1990s by the EU. Instead, we can observe various creaming effects, meaning that existing inequalities are maintained or even enforced in spite of higher level of activation.
Experiences of Participation Citizenship: A Bottom-up Analysis of the Social Rights and Obligations of Work-Disabled Employees in Denmark and the Netherlands
Authors: Hohnen Pernille
Published: March 2017

This article analyses the integration of labour market policy and social security in terms of the new kinds of citizenship regimes that it epitomizes. By means of a qualitative bottom-up analysis focusing on the experiences of re-integrated partially work-disabled employees in Denmark and the Netherlands, the article reveals significant differences in the experiences of social rights relating to labour market participation in the two countries.
Illegal Labour Migrants and Access to Social Protection
Authors: Schoukens Paul , Pieters Danny
Published: March 2017

This article looks at the possibilities and limitations of providing illegal labour migrants with access to social protection benefits. First of all we define the main components of the group of persons we are interested in as: ‘non-nationals who are working in a country without being allowed to stay in the country and/or without being allowed to work in the country’. We do not discuss all possible categories of illegal migrants. We then develop the discussion around three issues. We look first of all at the major international social security instruments to see what they tell us about illegal labour migrants. We then examine some national approaches, which provide illustrations of access to social protection in three fields: access to health care, social assistance and (work-related) social protection. Finally, we develop some general ideas on these matters and try to come up with some possible approaches. One of the outcomes of the article is that, in the quest for guaranteeing proper access to social protection, it is sometimes helpful (e.g. for social insurances) to compare the situation of the illegal labour migrant with that of nationals working in the ‘informal economy’. The eventual protection that is guaranteed will depend heavily upon the category to which the (illegal labour) migrant belongs. Hence, more effort should go into a further classification of illegal (labour) migrants and into the development of their corresponding social rights.
The Thorny Path to Implementation: Bismarckian Social Insurance in Hungary in the Late 19th Century
Authors: Szikra Dorottya
Published: March 2017

This article analyses the first Hungarian social insurance law, enacted in 1891, which made health insurance compulsory for all industrial employees (including commercial clerks) in Hungary. Its timing and content suggest that it was modelled on German and Austrian legislation. But, in contrast to Germany and Austria (where the implementation of the legislation was quite successful), implementation of the legislation in Hungary encountered several difficulties. This is the reason why the proportion of de facto insured individuals in Hungary was much less than in Austria and Germany.

The article attempts, first, to fit Hungarian social insurance legislation into the wider context of European welfare development. It gives a precise definition of de jure insured persons with particular reference to the situation of day labourers. It then analyses some organisational issues, e.g. the funding of the ‘district insurance offices’, and the crucial problem of establishing an effective procedure for collecting contributions.

The failure of the latter and the shortage of doctors led to failures in implementation. By the turn of the century, the majority of the de jure insured had not become de facto insured and many of those who were insured did not get sufficient health provision. The first problem was a long lasting one: if one compares the proportion of insured persons in Austria and Hungary over time, the difference actually widens in the period before World War II.
Legal Changes in Social Security in the Nordic Countries in the Period 1950–2000 from the Perspective of Subsidiarity and Solidarity
Authors: Westerhäll Lotta Vahlne
Published: March 2017

The focus of this article is how the basic knowledge that is used to determine legal changes in the area of social security changed between 1950 and 2000 in Nordic social security systems, especially in Sweden. It also examines whether trust in the ability of the state to govern has declined, and if so, what has replaced it. The article evaluates legal changes regarding the shaping of social rights and their administration, using the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity as tools. The idea that the welfare of the individual must always be balanced against the welfare of society as a whole means that power must sometimes be relocated upwards to the level where it will do most good for ‘the benefit of everyone’. Hence, the principle of subsidiarity must be supplemented by the principle of solidarity, which entails a collective responsibility for everyone's good and thus contributes to the realisation of the common good. Individual and collective responsibility must be balanced in order for the good of the individual and the common good to be fulfilled from the point of view of the prevailing values of justice and effectiveness. The article concludes that, for demographic, financial, legal, and above all, ethical reasons a reconstruction of the social project is needed.
The Court Helps Those Who Help Themselves … The Legal Status of Migrant Work-Seekers under Community Law in the Light of the Collins Judgment
Authors: Dougan Michael
Published: March 2017

This article considers the rights to free movement and equal treatment enjoyed by migrant work-seekers, in their capacity as Union citizens, in the light of the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Collins. The Court's approach now focuses upon the right of such lawfully resident Community nationals to challenge discriminatory restrictions on subsistence benefits under Article 39 EC as reinterpreted in light of Article 12 EC; and the potential for the Member States nevertheless to justify such restrictions by reference to their legitimate desire to ensure a ‘real link’ between economically inactive migrants and the domestic welfare systems. The article further addresses the impact of the Collins ruling upon legislative choices made by the Community's political institutions about the mutual allocation between Member States of financial responsibilities for economically inactive persons (including migrant work-seekers), in particular, as contained in Directive 2004/38 on free movement for Union citizens and their family members, and Regulations 1408/71 and 883/2004 on the co-ordination of national social security systems.
Pension Design and Gender
Authors: Ståhlberg Ann-Charlotte , Kruse Agneta , Sundén Annika
Published: March 2017

Pension systems and their reforms may have a different impact on men and women because of their different employment histories and demographic characteristics. This paper examines the design of pension systems from a gender perspective. We describe the features of systems and analyse their expected effects on incentives, pension benefits and income distribution for men and women. Empirical results show estimates of the outcomes for men and women in the new Swedish pension system.
What Do Parties Want? An Analysis of Programmatic Social Policy AIMS in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands
Authors: Seeleib-Kaiser Martin , van Dyk Silke , Roggenkamp Martin
Published: March 2017

Comparative welfare state research has argued for some time that whether Social Democrats or Christian Democrats are in government makes a difference with regard to specific welfare state design. The theory is based on the fact that, historically, the social policy aims of Social Democrats and Christian Democrats have differed. Can these policy differences still be assumed after almost three decades, which have been characterised by a discourse about ‘necessary’ welfare state retrenchment, adaptation, and modification? Based on an in-depth analysis of the social policy aims of the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands since 1975, we argue that, the differences between the two welfare state parties in formerly conservative welfare states have largely faded away.
Legal Aspects of Cross-Border Rehabilitation to Work
Authors: Erhag Thomas
Published: March 2017

This paper describes the legal situation of European migrant workers who are in need of rehabilitation. For the sick or disabled migrant worker, living in one country and having his/her workplace in another, rehabilitation often raises complicated issues which have to be solved by an equally complex framework of legal rules. In this article, Sweden-Norway is used as a cross-border example to illustrate the problems faced by an insured person and by the social security administration during rehabilitation. The legal problems are basically attributable to differences between social security systems within the EU.

Rehabilitation cases are complicated by the fact that the support an individual needs is often not a single benefit. Instead rehabilitation involves a variety of different benefits regulated by different legal instruments. EC Reg. 1408/71 aims to co-ordinate and safeguard the social security rights of migrant workers. However, legal rehabilitation tools, such as sickness and health care benefits, are co-ordinated according to different criteria and special rules covering rehabilitation are not found in the regulation. This leads to a situation where a migrant worker can have the right to cash benefits from one country and health care benefits from another. The result is sometimes confusing, both for the individual and for the administration. The article explores and analyses this confusing situation, paying special attention to the question of legal certainty for the migrant worker.
Financial Aspects of Life Cycle Arrangements from a Long-Term Point of View: ‘Social Risks’ and Social Security in Old Age
Authors: Schmähl Winfried
Published: March 2017

Growing insecurity over the life course and an increasing demand for more individual flexibility are a challenge for adequate social security, for example in old age. This paper outlines how ‘social risks’ are taken into account in public as well as (subsidised) private pension schemes (including occupational schemes), such as those in Germany. This becomes more important because in many countries the role of the state as provider of social security benefits is being scaled down. Starting from objectives and concepts for designing social security for old age, the major focus of the paper is the effects of different types of public as well as private pension schemes on income in old age in relation to different social risks, such as loss of income in case of unemployment, illness, caring for children and by using different instruments (among other things, time saving accounts). Finally, the shift of risks and responsibility in the (at least partial) privatisation of social security – from state to private households, from employers to employees – is discussed. If private schemes become mandatory, they may become an instrument of (public) social policy and have to cover some of the social risks that public schemes have in the past.
Adjustment of Social Security to Life Course Needs
Authors: Klammer Ute
Published: March 2017

While many of the current debates on flexible work contracts and new risks for individuals refer to findings from cross-sectional data, this paper is based on the hypothesis that only a longitudinal perspective can give us adequate information about the distribution and eventual cumulation of risks, e.g. among men and women, among different qualification levels or specific sub-groups of the workforce. In the first part of the paper this is elaborated by a discussion of empirical findings concerning the work biographies and the lifetime earnings of men and women in Germany and in selected other European countries. Although the differences between the two genders are diminishing, they are still considerable and country-specific features are obvious. The second half of the paper deals with the question of how social security systems should be adapted to better meet old and new life-course needs. The paper discusses policy measures to support continuity and upward mobility, measures that allow employees to adjust their work to changing lifecycle needs, policy measures that support transitions in working life, as well as questions concerning basic social security schemes and collectively financed financial support for discontinuities in life.
Life Courses, Diversity and the Reform of the Unemployment Insurance Act
Authors: Koopmans Ivy , Plantenga Janneke , Vlasblom Jan Dirk
Published: March 2017

The understanding of diversity in life courses is an important stimulus for redesigning and modernising social security systems. A number of measures, such as leave arrangements, have been introduced in the past. These measures allow employees to make combinations and transitions and enable them to deal with the risks associated with these transitions, for example, a reduction in income or a loss of social security entitlements. However, there has been little empirical analysis of the effectiveness of these arrangements from a life course perspective.

This paper examines one specific arrangement, namely the facility of care credits (in Dutch: ‘verzorgingsforfait’) in unemployment insurance. The aim of this provision is to amend the entitlement conditions for unemployment insurance benefit for people who have not worked for some time due to caring for young children. With these credits the period interrupted for care of children is equated with a period of actual work. The care credits were introduced in 1987, but partially abolished in 2004. The main argument for abolition was a change in women's labour market participation behaviour; women no longer interrupt their careers following childbirth, they adjust their working hours. For this reason, it is argued that the need for care credits no longer exists. This conclusion, however, has not been corroborated by empirical evidence.

To fill this gap, we present an empirical analysis of the effectiveness of care credits. We use panel data of the Institute of Labour Studies (OSA), for the period 1990–2002. The results show that the importance of this arrangement has in fact not declined for women. Furthermore, from the data we can conclude that these care credits are particularly important for women with low educational qualifications and women with two or more children.
Life Cycle Arrangements and the Concept of Employment
Authors: Knegt Robert
Published: March 2017

Discussions about life cycle arrangements tend to focus on issues of policy and of social security, more than on questions of regulation and employment law. The way in which life cycle policies can be laid down, formalized into legal rules and integrated into labour law should not, however, be considered as merely a ‘technical’ matter to be solved afterwards. On the contrary, the question may be raised as to what extent current legal concepts are (in)adequate to such arrangements. Are we deemed to mould arrangements in the forms of ‘subjective rights’ or ‘private financial savings’? Is the ‘property of one's labour capacity’ still an adequate conceptual basis for transactions between employers and employees?

After a brief account of what may be seen as ‘life cycle’ arrangements in the past, I turn to an analysis of the employment contract as an exclusionary device. Employment contracts, which currently regulate the time frame and the types of work carried out, may have to be extended to provide for adequate arrangements. In light of this, I review proposals made by Supiot (‘social drawing rights’) and Schmid (‘opportunity structures’ compensating for ‘social risks’) and argue that a revision of the property concept in relation to labour may be required.
Pension Privatisation in the Baltic States: Expectations and Early Experiences
Authors: Fultz Elaine
Published: March 2017

Just after the turn of the 20th century, the three Baltic governments acted in close sequence to partially privatise their national pension schemes – Latvia adopted this change in 2000, Estonia, in 2001, and Lithuania in 2002. These reforms may be considered a ‘second generation’ of pension privatisation in Central Europe, following similar actions by the regional leaders, Hungary (1998) and Poland (1999). This article examines the Baltic countries' early experience with privatisation, by comparing them with each other and with the Hungarian and Polish experience. In doing so, it pays particular attention to the challenges of establishing the new second pillars, to the impact of the new privately-managed individual savings schemes on the pre-existing public pay-as-you-go pension systems, and to updated projections of the effect of the reforms on future benefit adequacy. The final section situates the Baltic reforms in the context of an evolving general understanding of the economic impacts of pension privatisation, especially on aging populations, and offers recommendations for ensuring that pension levels in the Baltic states meet a basic minimum level of adequacy, as set out in the social security standards of the ILO and Council of Europe.
What Works? Preventing and Reducing Child Poverty in Europe
Authors: Hoelscher Petra
Published: March 2017

In most EU Member States children are at an above-average risk of living in poverty. Financial poverty is often only one aspect of a complex disadvantaged life situation that impacts on the development of children and limits their chances for participation. A growing number of EU Member States now recognise child poverty as a fundamental social problem and try to reduce high levels of child poverty. The European Commission explicitly supports and coordinates these efforts within the Open Method of Coordination. The examples of countries that are successful in either reducing high levels (like the UK) or in maintaining low levels of child poverty (like Sweden) show that the reduction of child poverty is not just a by-product of general anti-poverty policies but demands an explicit, multi-dimensional and integrated strategy. This should be based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. As the fullest international expression of children's fundamental rights it offers a framework for the development, implementation and monitoring of child-related policies across Europe. The analysis of child- and family related policies in six EU Member States and the United States shows considerable diversity across these countries. Different welfare traditions have led to different strengths and weaknesses in addressing poverty and social exclusion among children, so they require different policy bundles to tackle child poverty and promote child well-being.
On Mixed Systems of Public and Private Administration of Social Insurance
Authors: Koning Pierre
Published: March 2017

As in many other countries, the administration of disability and unemployment insurance in the Netherlands is carried out by both public and private organisations. In this article, we sketch the major dilemmas in the (mixed) provision of social insurance and discuss the various types of arrangements that prevail. In doing so, we particularly focus on current administrative arrangements in the Netherlands. We also raise a number of research questions that are relevant for policy but are as yet unexplored, particularly with respect to mixed systems.
Preventing Poverty in the European Union
Authors: Sinfield Adrian
Published: March 2017

Preventive policies have to be an integral part of any strategy to bring about a significant and lasting reduction in poverty. Of course, lifting people out of poverty is also essential, but this can only be a part of the plan. Preventing poverty in the first place and then preventing its recurrence must form a clear and specific part of the strategy.

This article begins by examining prevention within the anti-poverty strategies promoted by the European Commission through the objectives set out in its Reports on Social Inclusion. It also considers preventive measures presented in countries' National Action Plans on Social Inclusion and the Commission's responses to these. The second part of the article discusses why prevention has been given less priority than the Commission's specific objectives would seem to require. The paper concludes with an exploration of the issue of poverty prevention at a broader, structural level and suggests key elements for such a strategy.

Preventing poverty requires more attention to the underlying causes of poverty and the wider, structural factors that help to perpetuate it if a successful attack on the problem is to be sustained over time. This includes better linking of social and economic policy and closer attention to the ways in which widening and persistent inequalities handicap anti-poverty policies and undermine government effort – especially when they are combined with declining mobility.
Bridging and Bonding Social Capital: Which is More Prevalent in Europe?
Authors: Wallace Claire , Pichler Florian
Published: March 2017

There are a variety of ways of measuring social capital, including social trust, social networks, social support and participation in organisations. In this paper we use cluster analysis to show patterns of social capital or ‘social capital regimes' across Europe, where the different elements are combined in various ways. The paper then goes on to look at how this differentiates European societies. Using the Eurobarometer 62.2, which covers a representative sample of 27 countries, the analysis found that European countries can be clustered according to the extent to which they have high or low levels of bridging and bonding social capital as developed in the theories of Michael Woolcock and David Halpern. The paper provides empirical challenges to previous studies that have shown that social capital reflects mainly welfare regimes and other studies that have tried to differentiate societies according to bridging and bonding social capital on a purely speculative basis by providing an exploratory “bottom up” classification based upon cluster analysis.
Personal Return to Work Budgets for Persons with Disabilities: Demand-Based Delivery of Re-Integration Services in the Netherlands
Authors: Bosselaar Hans , Prins Rienk
Published: March 2017

The Dutch have implemented a new strategy – demand-based delivery of rehabilitation and employment services – in order to improve the return to the workforce of public benefits recipients. People with disabilities who need to leave the benefit rolls may apply for a voucher known as a “personal labour re-integration budget”. This programme provides the responsibility, tools and budget to carry out a custom-made plan to acquire services for empowerment and return to the labour market.

The background of the Dutch approach, initial implementation problems, favourable outcomes and subsequent nationwide application, which is now also available for the unemployed and persons on social assistance, are reported.
The New EU Coordination System for Workers Who Become Unemployed
Authors: Cornelissen Rob
Published: March 2017

The aim of this article is to discuss the chapter on unemployment benefits in Regulation (EC) 883/04 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security schemes. This regulation is part of the ongoing simplification and modernisation of the coordination of Member States' social security schemes and will probably become applicable in 2009. The article illustrates the principal differences between the unemployment chapter of this new regulation and the existing provisions in Regulation 1408/71, and explains some of the difficulties encountered in the attempt to modernise and simplify these rules. It also shows why the extensive case-law of the Court on the provisions in the unemployment chapter of Regulation 1408/71 continues to be useful in the interpretation of the unemployment chapter of the new Regulation 883/04, since this chapter is, to a large extent, based on the provisions of the first Regulation.
Social Security and the European Convention on Human Rights: How an Odd Couple Has Become Presentable
Authors: Kapuy Klaus
Published: March 2017

For more than twenty years now, the European Convention on Human Rights has been used to solve disputes in social security. This is peculiar since the Convention itself and its Protocols primarily comprise civil and political rights and do not include a right to social security. This article analyses the supervisory bodies' case law to establish how national disputes over contributions or cash-benefits under statutory social insurance and social assistance scheme have attracted the protection of the Convention. It also provides an overview of the types of social security cases which today fall within the ambit of particular rights guaranteed by the Convention. It concludes that the right to a fair trial (Article 6(1)) and the protection of property (Article 1 of the First Protocol to the Convention) are, as a general rule, applicable in the field of social security. By contrast, the protection of family life and the protection of private life (Article 8) have, in social security matters only, only been accepted as applicable in the context of particular branches of social security or in relation to particular groups of beneficiaries.