European employment models in flux : a comparison of institutional change in nine European countries

a New Contribution To The Debate On The Evolution Of European Employment And Social Models. These Models Need To Adjust To Meet New Challenges, Including Globalization, Ageing Societies, And New Governance Approaches At National, Eu And International Level. This Book Explores These Issues Through The Experiences Of Nine Eu Countries. Front Matter....Pages i-xv European Employment Models in Flux:Pressures for Change and Prospects for Survival and Revitalization....Pages 1-56 Revisiting the UK Model: From Basket Case to Success Story and Back Again?....Pages 57-80 The Swedish Model: Revival after the Turbulent 1990s?....Pages 81-104 From the’ sick Man’to the ‘Overhauled Engine’ of Europe? Upheaval in the German Model....Pages 105-130 Is Institutional Continuity Masking a Creeping Paradigm Shift in the Austrian Social Model?....Pages 131-154 Crisis of the Post-Transition Hungarian Model....Pages 155-177 Capitalizing on Variety: Risks and Opportunities in a New French Social Model....Pages 178-200 Continuity and Change in the Italian Model....Pages 201-222 From a State-Led Familistic to a Liberal, Partly De-familialized Capitalism: The Difficult Transition of the Greek Model....Pages 223-246 The Transformation of the Employment System in Spain: Towards a Mediterranean Neoliberalism?....Pages 247-269 Back Matter....Pages 270-284 European employment models are under pressure to meet new external challenges and changing internal needs. Nine country chapters, covering the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Spain, Hungary and Austria, reveal that institutional change in production, employment and welfare regimes is producing uneven outcomes. These outcomes are found to depend not only upon the variety of capitalism or welfare regime but also on actors' political will, at national and European level, and the model's specific architecture. Although examples of revitalization affirm the potential for institutional renewal, the prevalence of partial and incoherent reforms is eroding European employment standards. What is at stake here is the future of the European social model. The problem here is not so much the EU social and employment reform agenda but its influence on the organization of product markets and macro economic management where its policies are constraining options for social innovation European employment models are under pressure to meet new external challenges and changing internal needs. Nine country chapters, covering the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Spain, Hungary and Austria, reveal that institutional change in production, employment and welfare regimes is producing uneven outcomes. These outcomes are found to depend not only upon the variety of capitalism or welfare regime but also on actors2 political will, at national and European level, and the model2s specific architecture. Although examples of revitalization affirm the potential for institutional renewal, the prevalence of partial and incoherent reforms is eroding European employment standards. What is at stake here is the future of the European social model. The problem here is not so much the EU social and employment reform agenda but its influence on the organization of product markets and macro economic management where its policies are constraining options for social innovation This text presents a new contribution to the debate on the evolution of European employment and social models. The models need to adjust to meet new challenges, including globalization, ageing societies, and new governance approaches at national, EU and international level