Tuesday, October 31, 2006
[IWS] HBS: EUROPEAN FLEXICURITY: CONCEPTS, METHODOLOGY, & POLICIES [October 2006]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Note: The following paper was presented at the Expert meeting on flexicurity strategies and the implications of their adoption at the European level, Lisbon, September 25, 2006. With the occasion
of the coming German-Portugal-Slovenian presidentship in the EU, it may be important to review.
Hans Boeckler Stiftung (HBS)
Tangian A.S. (2006)
European flexicurity: concepts (operational definitions), methodology (monitoring instruments), and policies (consistent implementations).
WSI Diskussionspapier 148, Hans Böckler Foundation, Düsseldorf, 60 pp.
http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_wsi_diskp_148_e.pdf
[full-text, 60 pages]
Abstract:
http://www.boeckler.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-3D0AB75D-54D005A6/hbs/hs.xsl/show_product_wsi.html?productfile=HBS-003699.xml
The notion of flexicurity promotes the idea of compensation of labour market deregulation (= flexibilization) with advantages in employment and social security. The paper contains a brief history of the concept and its operational definition. To monitor effects of flexicurity policies in Europe, flexicurity indicators are constructed. The European flexicurity polices are analyzed in the neo-liberal perspective, from the trade-unionist viewpoint, and within the conception of European welfare state. The empirical investigation shows that, contrary to political promises and theoretical considerations, the deregulation of European labour markets is absolutely predominating. A contradiction between several European employment policies is suggested to surmount by introducing a so called flexinsurance, meaning that the employer's contribution to social security should be proportional to the flexibility of the contract/risk of becoming unemployed in conjunction with elements of the basic minimum income model. Constraining the openness of financial markets is also required, otherwise labour markets cannot be kept under control.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Note: The following paper was presented at the Expert meeting on flexicurity strategies and the implications of their adoption at the European level, Lisbon, September 25, 2006. With the occasion
of the coming German-Portugal-Slovenian presidentship in the EU, it may be important to review.
Hans Boeckler Stiftung (HBS)
Tangian A.S. (2006)
European flexicurity: concepts (operational definitions), methodology (monitoring instruments), and policies (consistent implementations).
WSI Diskussionspapier 148, Hans Böckler Foundation, Düsseldorf, 60 pp.
http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_wsi_diskp_148_e.pdf
[full-text, 60 pages]
Abstract:
http://www.boeckler.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-3D0AB75D-54D005A6/hbs/hs.xsl/show_product_wsi.html?productfile=HBS-003699.xml
The notion of flexicurity promotes the idea of compensation of labour market deregulation (= flexibilization) with advantages in employment and social security. The paper contains a brief history of the concept and its operational definition. To monitor effects of flexicurity policies in Europe, flexicurity indicators are constructed. The European flexicurity polices are analyzed in the neo-liberal perspective, from the trade-unionist viewpoint, and within the conception of European welfare state. The empirical investigation shows that, contrary to political promises and theoretical considerations, the deregulation of European labour markets is absolutely predominating. A contradiction between several European employment policies is suggested to surmount by introducing a so called flexinsurance, meaning that the employer's contribution to social security should be proportional to the flexibility of the contract/risk of becoming unemployed in conjunction with elements of the basic minimum income model. Constraining the openness of financial markets is also required, otherwise labour markets cannot be kept under control.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 1:05 AM
