Maria Jepsen

The European Social Model: an exercise in deconstruction

One of the fastest growing European catchwords at the present time - the ‘European Social Model’ (ESM) - is used to describe the European experience of simultaneously promoting sustainable economic growth and social cohesion. The use of the concept of ESM in academic and political debate is characterized by two main and interconnected features: on the one hand, the usually taken-for-granted assumption of the reality of the concept (the reality called ‘Europe’ becomes a naturally occurring phenomenon); on the other hand, the highly ambiguous and polysemic nature of this concept. A clear definition of what constitutes its essence seems to be lacking in most documents on the subject, while a review of some of the most important of these documents reveals that, insofar as definitions are to be found, they do not necessarily converge. This article aims to discuss the concept of the ESM. It analyses and deconstructs the concept in order to identify the main understandings and the various dimensions of the model. It classifies and discusses the ways in which the ESM is most frequently construed and proposes a new approach to understanding this polysemy. We argue that the different dimensions of the concept can be seen as rhetorical resources intended to legitimize the politically constructed and identity-building project of the EU institutions.

What future for social security

• To maximize service sector growth and job creation potential, occupational and geographical mobility are essential and should be encouraged by improving information, providing cash mobility grants and moving-cost assistance. • Job creation in the new economy requires an increase in the supply of knowledge workers and flexible internal workplace structures that make the best use of knowledge workers. This presupposes access to education and training in generic and transferable skills that should be based on lifelong and work-based learning. • Industrial and regional policy plays a key role in creating service jobs, as does the investment in infrastructure for modern communication and information networks. • There is scope for public-private partnership in the development of regional networks. • Networks alone are not enough. They must be complemented by conventional strategies of economic policy, such as setting proper market frameworks and correcting obvious market failures and social policy − notably frameworks for social security and equal opportunity policies. • The promotion of labour-intensive personal services require a reduction of labour costs by means of wage subsidies, income policy, tax differentiation or reductions in VAT. Indeed, to stimulate both supply and demand of personal services it is necessary to reduce the cost for providing such services, to extend basic income support persons with low earning capacity and to professionalise householdrelated services. • Part of the job-performance gap between Europe and the US is related to the lower female employment rate which is ascribed to shortages of household-related services in Europe. The policy response therefore is to foster an expansion of household-related and social (care) services and to promote equal opportunity between the sexes.

What do we know about the link between low pay, gender and part-time work?

The interest in the nature and consequence of low pay has steadily increased during recent years. This interest is a result of the fact that certain countries in the European Union have seen an expansion of low-wage employment as a response to the increase in unemployment. Although various aspects have been identified and measured with regard to low pay, there has been little consideration of the impact of part-time work on low wages, and of the main reasons for the much higher rate of low-wage-earners among women than men. This article brings together the available information on the link between low pay, the much higher rate of low pay among women than men, and the interaction between low pay and part-time employment. Section 2 reviews the knowledge on gender differences with regard to low pay; section 3 focuses on the link between low pay and part-time work; earnings mobility being an important part of the puzzle, the existing evidence is reviewed in section 4; section 5 gathers together the information on living standards; conclusions are presented in section 6.

Some reflections on a gender analysis of flexicurity

issue of TRANSFER all point to issues and problems that are of particular importance for women, they do not specifically assess the outcome of these policy mixes on men and on women. The articles do, however, demonstrate the wide range of combinations of security and flexibility that have been adopted in the EU Member States. Consideration of gender is of importance when discussing flexicurity, because women form a majority of the workers found in flexible work forms and women are to some extent more vulnerable than men as far as the security aspect of flexicurity is concerned. This is due to their weaker link with the labour market. Broadly speaking, there are four issues that justify a gender approach to flexicurity. Women make up the greater part of employees in social services delivered by the welfare state (childcare and care for the elderly, health, education, etc.), they are unpaid providers of welfare, they usually have relationships with the welfare state that are more complicated than those of men (Lewis 2003) and, finally, they are more often affected by ‘bad’ flexibility than men1.

L’économie digitale et ses implications pour le monde du travail. Problématique 1: l’économie de plate-forme

[La révolution cybernétique] entraı̂ne un système de capacité de production presque illimitée qui requiert progressivement de moins en moins de travail humain. Cette révolution est déjà en train de réorganiser le système économique et social pour répondre à ses propres besoins. [ . . . ] Il est essentiel de reconnaı̂tre que le lien traditionnel entre l’emploi et le revenu est en train de se rompre. (Ad Hoc Committee on the Triple Revolution, 1964: 5)

Die digitale Ökonomie und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Arbeitswelt. 1. Die Plattform-Ökonomie:

[Die Revolution der Kybernetik] führt zu einem Wirtschaftssystem fast unbegrenzter Produktion durch Maschinen, in der nur noch wenige menschliche Mitarbeiter erforderlich sind. Die Kybernetisierung ist bereits dabei, das Wirtschaftsund Sozialsystem nach ihren eigenen Bedürfnissen umzugestalten. [ . . . ] Es ist wichtig zu erkennen, dass der traditionelle Zusammenhang zwischen Arbeitsplatz und Einkommen so nicht mehr existiert. (Ad Hoc Committee on the Triple Revolution, 1964: 5)

Inequality as a central component in the redefinition of security: The case of gender

In recent years, the concept of flexicurity has come to occupy a central place in political and academic debates regarding employment and social policy. It fosters a view in which the need for continuously increasing flexibility is the basic assumption, and the understanding of security increasingly moves from social protection to self-insurance or individual adaptability. Moreover, it rejects the traditional contradictions between flexibility and security, blending the two into a single notion and thus depoliticizing the relationships between capital and labour. This volume provides a critical discussion of the flexicurity concept, the theories upon which it is built and the ideas that it transmits about work, unemployment and social justice. It shows that flexicurity fosters the further individualization of social protection, an increase in precariousness and the further weakening of labour in relation to capital. The authors present a series of alternative theoretical, normative and policy approaches that provide due attention to the collective and political dimension of vulnerability and allow for the development of new societal projects based on alternative values and assumptions.

The Green Paper on pensions: technocratic exercise or redesigning the European social model?

When it comes to defining pension policies in the EU, the EU as such has no basis in the Lisbon Treaty to be involved in these domains which thus remain the responsibility of the Member States. Nevertheless, the EU does actually act in several domains when it comes to the organization and provision of pensions. First, European regulations (883/2004 and 987/2009) lay down the rules for the coordination of social security for EU citizens who move between Member States. Secondly, internal market rules have laid down a set of directives that set out the basic standards for funded pension schemes with regard to solvency and supervision. In addition to this, the EU has over the past 10 years contributed with surveillance, coordination and mutual learning via the open method of coordination (OMC) and the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). The OMC has led to a common approach with regard to objectives of pension systems, indicators to monitor them, peer reviews and sharing of practice. In addition to these soft and hard laws, the SGP has also had an impact on pension policies via its constant monitoring and assessment of public finances. Last but not least, the gender equality directives and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) have influenced and modified both public and private pension provision in several countries. Hence, despite the limited competence given by the EU Treaties to the European Union with regard to pensions, rather encompassing actions are taking place at the European level with regard to pension provisions and policies. On 7 July 2010 the European Commission issued a Green Paper on the future of pensions in Europe, the consultation period for which ended on 15 November 2010. According to the European Commission, the rationale for issuing a Green Paper is the need to address common themes ‘ . . . in a coordinated way such as the functioning of the internal market, requirements of the Stability and Growth Pact, or ensuring that the pension reforms [on a national level] are consistent with the Europe 2020 strategy [higher employment rates and lower poverty rates]’. It insists on the fact that it does not question the prerogatives of Member States nor the role of social partners, but that it is launching an early consultation on key challenges facing pension systems in order to identify how the EU can support Member States’ efforts to deliver adequate and sustainable pensions. Interestingly enough this Green Paper has been prepared by three Directorates General, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (EMPL), DG Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN) and DG Internal Market and Services (MARKT), hence bringing together

La longue marche vers l'Europe social

This book builds on 20 years of experience and lessons learnt from comparative research on social protection systems in Europe. The main question the book aims to answer is ‘why we are progressing so slowly towards a genuinely social and solidaristic Europe’. The author states that by applying sociological surveys combined with rigorously defined concepts one can find an answer to this question. The main issue is to incorporate cultural diversity as a key element in research, rather than to try to neglect or diminish its importance. By carefully constructing the concept of political culture and using this approach in analysing the development of national social protection systems as well as the development of Social Europe, this book adds a new and rather neglected dimension to the growing literature on these issues. The author is convinced that more solidarity and more European Union is the right way forward and this guides the suggestions resulting from his analysis.

Are local employment initiatives able to generate quality employment? The impact on the female labour force

This article aims at analysing the quality of the potential employment created by local employment initiatives and more specifically the impact on the female labour force. The discussion on gender and the quality of created employment seems to be of importance as most European Union Member States are promoting job creation linked to local initiatives in typical female work areas such as caring and domestic work. The second section outlines important elements for the development of local initiatives, while the third section estimates the potential employment which is likely to be occupied by women. In section four an analysis of the quality of the created employment and the impact on the male and female labour force can be found. Section five briefly summarises the employment policies put forward in the European Union and section six shows real-life examples of local initiatives. Conclusions can be found in section seven.