Through the new use of new empirical evidence derived from analysing employment services, gender equality policies and flexicurity in Greece and Portugal, this book provides compelling new insights into how European Employment Strategy (EES) can influence the domestic employment policy of European Union member states.
The thesis investigates under what conditions the European Employment Strategy (EES) can influence the domestic employment policy of European Union member states. It aims to answer the question by examining two critical or 'least likely' cases: Greece and Portugal by focusing on three key areas of employment policy: public employment services, gender equality policies (mainstreaming, reconciliation and pay gaps) and 'flexicurity'. The thesis employs the 'Europeanization' approach and tests the hypothesis that 'if the EES altered Greek and Portuguese employment policy at all, it did so through one of three main Europeanization pathways: (i) policy learning; (ii) the domestic empowerment of policy entrepreneurs; (iii) financial conditionality.' In examining the domestic impact of the EES the thesis does not presume an Europeanization effect a priori. Rather, the research begins from the domestic level (in a process-tracing method) and investigates whether, how and to what extent the EES had a role in the Greek and Portuguese domestic policy. The possibility of other variables, either external or internal, being pre-eminent is examined. The empirical study sought to triangulate a wide range of methods and sources. Although Greece and Portugal share a number of characteristics that may inhibit Europeanization in this type of area, empirical evidence largely supported the research hypothesis and suggested that two key conditions were conducive to the EES having a domestic impact in these cases: the existence of successful policy entrepreneurs who would actively use the EES as a policy window to promote their agenda and -when these were absent or lacked access to power and resources- the existence of the European Social Fund financial conditionality. Thus, soft power can be wielded in the world of neglect without policy learning which is considered the main 'soft' mechanism of domestic change in the literature.
The Europeanization literature has extensively examined the influence of the European employment strategy (EES) on Member States' employment policies. However, two least-likely cases - Greece and Portugal - have been neglected in the literature. This article focuses on the activation of public employment services (PES), which has been one of the key elements of the EES. Based on a sample of 44 semi-structured interviews and primary and secondary document research on seven reform episodes during 1995-2009, it finds that the EES altered Greek and Portuguese employment policies by empowering policy entrepreneurs and, when the latter were absent, through European Social Fund financial conditionality. While the literature considers policy learning as the chief EES-Europeanization mechanism, little evidence is found herein to support such an explanation. The findings may be relevant for a number of EU policies based on voluntarism and EU funds, such as the new flagship EU initiative Europe 2020.
In recent years there has been much debate surrounding the future of the welfare state in Europe, the complex factors influencing reform, and the extent to which responses to pressures on welfare could lead to irreversible systemic changes in social policy. By providing an in-depth analysis of social policy developments in Greece, this work furthers understanding of welfare reform trajectories in Europe. The authors thoroughly examine aspects of structural change, challenges and responses in major policy areas of employment, social security, family and gender, health and social care, and migration. Research issues central to the debate on 'recasting European welfare states', such as structural adjustments with regard to the production, organization and delivery of welfare, significant changes in the financial side of social protection, the role of political parties, the social partners and other major social actors in influencing (or resisting) policy reform, are at the forefront of the contributions to this volume. from the supranational level and the challenges linked to European integration and economic and monetary union are also of crucial importance in the analyses undertaken.
The creation of jobs across Europe remains a key economic and social challenge for the EU. Given the negative impact of the financial crisis on European citizens, the EU’s ability to promote effective job creation policies will be viewed as a major success of the wider integration process. In this context, a new approach is required to provide a growth-based strategy for creating employment across Europe. What is required is an achievable strategy based on the realities of modern EU labour markets. This research, based on an analysis of six member states, provides a set of recommendations designed to reflect the current characteristics of the EU labour market. This research concludes that (1) EU employment policies should be simplified and better co-ordinated; (2) Clearly defined action s should be introduced to further improve labour mobility; (3) The focus of policymaking should be switched from combatting unemployment to creating jobs; and (4) It is possible to finance the recovery by bridging the gap between investment and reform.
Recoge: 1.Integration of young people into the labour market -- 2.Attacking long-term unemployment-analysis and policies -- 3.The promotion of equal opportunities for women and men and the reduction of women's unemployment.
"It will be of particular interest to researchers and policy makers working in the fields of competitiveness and growth in the context of economic and monetary integration as well as to academics of European studies in general."--BOOK JACKET.
