Behind the myth of European union : prospects for cohesion

The vision of the original arhitects of the European Community was to create a Europe of economic prosperity and social harmony. Economic integration has come ever closer, but sustained growth and a reduction in social disparities seen as far away as ever. This book examines the prospects for the real cohesion in Europe and find that, far from promroting it, many of the Community's current policies are divisive. The neo-liberal philosophy at the moment is producing policies which favour relatively wealthy regions and major corporations at the expense of less favoured regions and peoples. Despite the rhetoric of 'integration' and a 'single Europe', Europe is marked by sharp social and regional disparities. More acutely than ever, Europe faces the dual problem of how to ensure sustained growth and how to combine it with social equity. 'Cohesion' is the term coined by the European Union for its aim of reducing the social and regional gap in Europe. This book explores the real prospects for cohesion in Europe. It assesses the difficulties facing Less Favoured Regions in the context of the EU's policies on economic integration and social cohesion, and the wider processes of industrial change in Europe. It argues that current measures which purport to facilitate cohesion will not be adequate. Most of the chapters argue that the EU's measures for promoting growth and productivity are biased towards the interests of the advanced regions and the major corporations. At its core lies a critique of the prevailing neo-liberal growth philosophy which decouples the link between economic efficiency and social equity. . The book concludes by making a case for putting cohesion measures at the centre of economic policy, rather than making them an adjunct to attempts to make Europe more 'competitive'. In doing so it defends a growth philosophy based on expansionist macro-economic policies, active industrial intervention, protection of worker rights and active supply-side growth measures in the regions. Without such measures the pursuit of cohesion will remain an elusive goal. Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Figures......Page 7 Tables......Page 9 The Contributores......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Introduction Conflict and Cohesion in the Single European Market......Page 13 1 The Challenge of Cohesion......Page 21 Part I Macro-Economic Change......Page 54 2 Core Vs. Periphery......Page 55 3 Unemployment in Europe......Page 84 4 Threats to Cohesion......Page 107 5 Cohesion, Growth and Inequality in the European Union......Page 120 Part II Social Cohesion......Page 138 6 Europe of the Regions and the Future of Naitonal Systems of Industrial Relations......Page 139 7 LE DEFI EUROPEEN......Page 161 Part III Corporate Restructuring......Page 183 11 Attracting, Managing and Developing Inward Investment in the Single Market......Page 255 10 Restructuring of Scotland's Information Technology Industries......Page 238 9 The Impact of Post-Fordist Corporate Restructuring in a Peripheral Region......Page 202 8 The Regional Development Potential of Inward Investment in the Less Favoured Regions of the The European Community......Page 184 Part IV Towards Cohesion......Page 277 12 A Framework for Cohesion......Page 278 Index......Page 292 Economic integration within the European community has come ever closer, but a reduction in social disparities are as far away as ever. The current neo-liberal policies favour the relatively wealthy regions at the expense of less favoured regions Social and economic policies within nation states have a variety of objectives, most of which can only be approached, not attained. Edited By Ash Amin And John Tomaney. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.