Labor Market Reforms and the Great Recession

13 January, 2014

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Zimmermann, Kl., (2013), “Labor Market Reforms and the Great Recession”, IZA Policy Paper, N. 75. Germany can be regarded as a showcase for labor market reforms. Moreover, its labor market responded only mildly to the Great Recession. This paper assesses the role of the labor market reforms for the latter development. Against this background, general lessons are drawn from the German experience that include, for example, placing a greater emphasis …Read More

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What use is ‘social investment’?

7 January, 2014

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Nolan, Brian, (2013), “What use is ‘social investment’?”, Journal of European Social Policy, Vol. 23, N. 5, pp. 459-468. The notion of ‘social investment’ has come to play a major part in debates about the role of social spending and the future of welfare states in Europe. This paper argues that social investment can be seen as a more or less detailed orientation or paradigm for social policies and spending …Read More

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Assessing the economic and budgetary impact of linking retirement ages and pension benefits to increases in longevity

7 January, 2014

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Schwan, Alexander, Sail, Etienne, (2013), “Assessing the economic and budgetary impact of linking retirement ages and pension benefits to increases in longevity” , European Economy, Economic Papers, N. 512. This paper focuses on potential public pension expenditure, pension adequacy and fiscal sustainability effects when linking retirement ages and pension benefits with future increases in longevity. Simulation results show that the expected increases in public pension expenditures as a share of GDP …Read More

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Standard Eurobarometer 80

30 December, 2013

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European Commission, (2013), Standard Eurobarometer 80, European Commission / Directorate-General for Communication, December. This report presents the first results of the Standard Eurobarometer 80 survey, which was carried out between 2 and 17 November 2013 in 34 countries or territories: the 28 European Union Member States, the five candidate countries (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Iceland, Montenegro and Serbia), and the Turkish Cypriot Community in the part of …Read More

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The Social Market Economy: What does it really mean?

19 December, 2013

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Franke, S. and Gregosz, D., (2013), The Social Market Economy: What does it really mean?, Tokyo: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. The Social Market Economy is a proven economic and social model that not only provided Germany with its economic miracle after the Second World War, but that also brought the country many years of stability and prosperity. But despite its merits, many people find it difficult to describe what is really meant by …Read More

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Hollowing out and the future of the labour market – the myth

18 December, 2013

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Butcher, B., (2013), “Hollowing out and the future of the labour market – the myth”, VoxEU, 17 December. The labour market ‘hollowing out’ thesis suggests that there are far fewer intermediate-level jobs and far more low- and high-level jobs than two or three decades ago, primarily due to technological advancement. This column reviews recent research that finds little evidence in support of this conclusion. Though the composition of intermediate-level jobs …Read More

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Sustainable development in the European Union

12 December, 2013

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Eurostat, (2013), Sustainable development in the European Union: 2013 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy, European Union and Eurostat: Luxembourg. Of the more than 100 indicators presented in this report, 12 have been identified as headline indicators. They are intended to give an overall picture of whether the EU has achieved progress towards sustainable development in terms of the objectives and targets defined in the EU Sustainable Development …Read More

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Fostering a European identity is unlikely to be a successful method for increasing citizens’ trust in the EU

27 November, 2013

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Harteveld, E., (2013), “Fostering a European identity is unlikely to be a successful method for increasing citizens’ trust in the EU”, LSE European Politics and Policy Blog, 27 November. The financial crisis has rekindled debates about the legitimacy of the European Union and, in particular, whether citizens trust the EU. Using Eurobarometer data, Eelco Harteveld analyses three possible sources for trust in the EU: rational evaluation, identity and projection. He …Read More

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Health at a Glance 2013

22 November, 2013

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OECD, (2013), Health at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators, Paris: OECD. This seventh edition of Health at a Glance provides the latest comparable data on different aspects of the performance of health systems in OECD countries. It provides striking evidence of large variations across countries in the costs, activities and results of health systems. Key indicators provide information on health status, the determinants of health, health care activities and health …Read More

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Trade unions in Europe: Dinosaurs on the verge of extinction?

18 November, 2013

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Schnabel, C., (2013), “Trade unions in Europe: Dinosaurs on the verge of extinction?”, VoxEU, 18 November. Though trade union density and its trends vary considerably across Western European countries, in most of them the current density has fallen down in comparison to 30 years ago. This column reviews some explanations for the decline of unionisation and discusses some of the challenges unions need to face. Union membership could still be …Read More

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