1,721,195 research outputs found
The role of the Internet in customer-supplier relationships: the markets – vertical alliances divergence and the emergence of Collaborative Markets
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Social minimum in the new welfare state: minimum income protection in Slovenia
Full text linkNotwithstanding the shift towards a social investment welfare state advocated by the EU and detected by a number of theoretical studies, the guarantee of an adequate social minimum on which the frame of the new welfare should be based is often lacking, largely sidelined by prevailing drives for retrenchment. This paper aims at assessing the validity of this claim, using minimum income protection as yardstick. We start with a glance at the current state of minimum income schemes across EU Member States and then move to an in-depth case study: Slovenia. Relying on the benchmarks recently suggested by the European Parliament, we assess the efficacy and efficiency of the Slovenian minimum income scheme (Financial Social Assistance) after the latest “activation reforms”. The interplay of social assistance with the traditional unemployment insurance scheme is also examined: as a conse- quence of a gradual erosion of the latter, in Slovenia targeted minimum income protection has de facto become the main shock absorber for a considerable number of unemployed. This expansion of social assistance reinforces the need to rise the adequacy of minimum income protection in the whole EU in order not to neglect the social minima that should serve as essential basis for the development of a truly inclusive new welfare paradigm
The Social Investment Welfare Expenditure data set (SIWE): a new methodology for measuring the progress of social investment in EU welfare state budgets
Full text linkThe social investment perspective has become a reference framework for comparative welfare state analysis, and a powerful idea influencing the European social dimension since the Lisbon Strategy. A number of empirical studies in the field have focused on the budgetary side of welfare state change, tracking the dynamics of “new” social investment versus “old” social protection spending. Still, many data limitations (e.g. scarce country/years coverage) and the prevailing use of rough spending-over-the-GDP indicators have hindered the progress of our empirical knowledge over social investment in Europe. This working paper presents a new data set and methodology for the comparative analysis of welfare state budgets from the perspective of social investment. Based on various Eurostat data sources, the Social Investment Welfare Expenditure data set (SIWE) includes social spending data finely disaggregated into welfare functions for 29 countries (EU-28 less Croatia, plus Norway and Switzerland), and covers years from 1995 to 2013. Building on previous contributions, I develop a new methodology for measuring “budgetary welfare effort” (BWE), that is, the effort effectively put by governments on selected welfare programmes, net of the interferences due to economic and demographic oscillations. I also construct two composite BWE indices that allow to directly compare the whole social investment and social protection dimensions of welfare state budgets, in a way more accurate than what done so far. This provides researchers with a fresh tool for empirical analyses of the dynamics, causes and consequences of welfare state change from the perspective of social investment. The SIWE data set can be requested from the author’s web page
Non è un Paese per investimenti sociali? Una reinterpretazione della traiettoria di riforma del welfare e della politics del social investment in Italia = No country for social investment? Reinterpreting the welfare reform trajectory and the politics of social investment in Italy
No full textQuesto articolo inquadra le principali riforme del welfare italiano dagli anni ‘90 ad oggi nella prospettiva del SI, e propone un’interpretazione dei fattori di politics che hanno determinato la traiettoria sui generis dell’Italia rispetto alla mancata (o parziale) svolta verso l’investimento sociale. A seguito della Grande recessione, l’Italia ha affiancato alla flessibilizzazione del mercato del lavoro un’espansione in senso universale dei buffer, estendendo la copertura dei sussidi di disoccupazione, introducendo uno schema nazionale di reddito minimo garantito (fortemente ridimensionato dal governo Meloni) e un assegno unico universale per le famiglie con figli. Non sono invece stati fatti passi avanti significativi rispetto al potenziamento dei servizi per migliorare i flussi nel mercato del lavoro e nel ciclo di vita, specie nell’ambito della cura e della conciliazione lavoro-famiglia, e lo stock di capitale umano (istruzione e formazione continua). Oltre alle specificità del contesto economico ed istituzionale, lo sviluppo degli investimenti pubblici in capitale umano e servizi sociali è stato ostacolato da dinamiche che, in ambiti fortemente politicizzati, hanno favorito policy orientate al ‘consumo’ piuttosto che all’investimento, mentre in ambiti meno controversi la spinta verso il SI da parte degli interessi organizzati si è tradotta in piccoli avanzamenti incrementali.This article re-examines the main welfare reforms in Italy from the 1990s to the present through the lens of social investment (SI), and proposes an interpretation of the political factors that have shaped Italy’s sui generis trajectory, characterized by a lack of (or partial) shift towards SI. Following the Great Recession, Italy combined labour market
flexibilization with an expansion of income protection buffers, including the extension of unemployment benefit coverage, the introduction of a national minimum income scheme (significantly curtailed by the Meloni government) and of a universal child allowance for families. However, no significant progress has been made in enhancing services aimed
at improving labour market and life-course flows (particularly in the areas of care and work-family reconciliation) and human capital stock development (education and lifelong learning). Beyond the specificities of the economic and institutional context, in highly politicized policy areas, the development of public investment in human capital and social
services has been hindered by political dynamics that have prioritized consumption-oriented policies over investment. Conversely, in less contentious policy areas, pressure toward SI from organized interests has resulted in small incremental advancements
The middle-class base of European integration? New class divides and attitudes towards market integration in ten EU countries
No full textHighly educated ‘new’ middle classes have been identified as a fundamental constituency that, by supporting technological innovation and liberalisation, bolsters the stability of advanced capitalism. By contrast, less educated production workers are usually described as opponents of such policies. This article investigates the extent to which these class divides translate into different positions on support for EU integration, a key process in the liberalisation of European political economy. In addition to class-based positions, we take into consideration how the subjective perceptions of situations such as unemployment, income loss and job insecurity affect support for EU integration. By relying on an original 2019 survey conducted in ten member states, the analysis confirms that high-skilled middle classes overwhelmingly support European market integration, while ‘old’ middle classes appear more concerned about the welfare losses that integration could imply. Low-skilled service workers emerge as a critical cross-pressured group, taking a mid position between ‘old’ and ‘new’ middle classes
The Politics of the European Minimum Wage: Overcoming Ideological, Territorial and Institutional Conflicts in the EU Multi-level Arena
Full text linkUntil recently, the idea of a European minimum wage (EMW) policy had never taken concrete shape, due to the heterogeneity of national wage-setting and collective bargaining institutions, uncertain EU competence on the matter, and widespread scepticism amongst political actors. In 2022, however, the EU adopted a directive on adequate minimum wages. How did this make it to the EU agenda, despite the many political, territorial and institutional tensions? What coalitions supported and opposed it? Based on a reconstruction of the policy process substantiated by an analysis of news media data and 14 interviews, this article investigates the multi-level politics of the EMW. It shows that, despite enduring ‘euro-social scepticism’ in northern Europe, the emergence of pro-minimum wage coalitions in key member states and the increase of party-competition dynamics at the EU level were crucial in overcoming the lines of conflict that had long hindered EU initiatives on minimum wage co-ordination
The Puzzle of Expansionary Welfare Reforms under Harsh Austerity: Explaining the Italian Case
No full textAlthough austerity carried the day in crisis-ridden Southern Europe, expansionary welfare measures also emerged alongside retrenchment in countries where left-leaning coalitions were in government and anti-establishment parties on the rise. By focusing on the case of Italy (2013–2018), this article investigates the political dynamics that favoured expansionary welfare measures under austerity. We triangulate qualitative and quantitative evidence and show that, constrained by EU conditionality abroad, the reform agenda of the Italian centre-left first sought the support of middle- and upper-class constituencies at home. However, the deteriorating social situation, the divide that emerged within the centre-left under the leadership of Matteo Renzi, and the rise of the pro-welfare Five Star Movement reshuffled the social policy priorities of the centre-left
Reddito minimo garantito: il dibattito europeo tra schemi nazionali e linee guida comunitarie = Guaranteed minimum income: the european debate between national schemes and Eu guidelines
No full textQuesto articolo contestualizza il dibattito italiano sul Reddito di inclusione (Rei) e sul suo successore Reddito di cittadinanza (Rdc - ancora in discussione al momento della stesura del presente testo) nel quadro generale delle politiche di reddito minimo nell’Unione Europea. A tal fine vengono analizzati due aspetti principali. A seguito di un dovuto chiarimento sulle definizioni di “reddito minimo garantito” (il caso sia del Rei che del Rdc) e “di cittadinanza”, si presentano l’evoluzione storica ed i tratti fondamentali degli schemi di reddito minimo nei Paesi membri. Inoltre, si esamina il ruolo delle politiche di contrasto alla povertà nel dibattito europeo, ritracciando il percorso delle politiche di reddito minimo nelle fonti del diritto europeo (di hard e soft law). Alla luce dei principi idealmente indicati dall’Unione Europea dagli anni novanta ad oggi, l’articolo offre infine una breve comparazione degli schemi esistenti ad oggi nei Paesi membri in termini di generosità del trasferimento, evidenziando il ritardo dell’Italia ed altri aspetti critici.This article puts the Italian debate over the Inclusion Income (Reddito di inclusione - REI) and its successor Citizens’ Income (Reddito di cittadinanza, RDC – still being debated at the moment of writing) into context, by providing an overview of minimum income policies in the European Union. To this end, two main aspects are analyzed. Firstly, after a due clarification of the definition of “guaranteed minimum income” (the case of both REI and RDC) and “basic income”, the article examines the historical development and the key features of minimum income schemes in the member states. Secondly, it presents the role of policies to fight poverty in the European debate, by retracing the development of minimum income policies in European Union (hard and soft) laws. In light of the principles indicated by the European Union from the nineties to the present, the article finally provides a comparative state-of-the-art overview of the schemes in place in the member states in terms of benefit generosity, and draws attention to the delay of Italy and to other critical issues
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