Search

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the existence of convergence in non-monetary working conditions in Europe resorting to widely used definitions of this phenomenon and composite indexes of job quality. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis relies on composite indexes, widely used in previous literature, for 207 regions in six different areas of job quality drawing on the microdata of the European Working Conditions Survey from 1995 to 2015. This study assesses the occurrence of convergence both in terms of dispersion of job quality outcomes (sigma-convergence) and, especially, regarding the existence of a catch-up process (beta-convergence). Findings: This study finds evidence of both types of convergences in all the domains, with the exception of skills and discretion and prospects dimensions according to the sigma-convergence approach. The results do not suggest substantial differences between the 15 European Union countries before the 2004 enlargement and the new Member States and are robust to a wide range of changes in the sample and different econometric specifications. Originality/value: Tot he best of the authors' knowledge, this paper represents the first rigorous and systematic attempt of addressing the existence of convergence in non-monetary working conditions, applying formal and widely accepted definitions of this phenomenon. It contributes to our knowledge on this topic providing strong evidence of convergence in job quality. Those results can be of interest for scholars in Economics and other Social Sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, Europe was stricken by two outstanding heatwaves, the 2003 event in Western Europe and the recent 2010 episode over Russia. Both extreme events were characterised by record-breaking temperatures, and widespread socio-economic impacts, including significant increments on mortality rates, decreases in crop production and in hydroelectric production. This work aims to assess the influence of both mega-heatwaves on vegetation carbon uptake, using yearly Net Primary Production (NPP) and monthly Net Photosynthesis (PsN) data derived from satellite imagery obtained from MODIS for the period 2000-2011. In 2010, markedly low productivity was observed over a very large area in Russia, at monthly, seasonal and yearly scales, falling below 50% of average NPP. This decrease in NPP in 2010 was far more intense than the one affecting Western Europe in 2003, which corresponded to 20-30% of the average, and affected a much larger extent. Total NPP anomalies reached -19 TgC for the selected regions in France during 2003 and -94 TgC for western Russia in 2010, which corresponds almost to the magnitude of total NPP anomaly during 2010 for the whole Europe. Overall, the widespread negative PsN anomalies in both regions match the patterns of very high temperature values preceded by a long period of below-average precipitation, leading to strong soil moisture deficits, stressing the role of soil-atmosphere coupling. In the case of 2003 heatwave, results indicate a strong influence of moisture deficits coupled with high temperatures in the response of vegetation, while for the 2010 event very high temperatures appear to be the main driver of very low NPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to reveal and summarize the latest visions and opinions published in articles and academic papers on the evaluation, institutional factors and the future of the European Cohesion Policy. The literature on the economic, territorial and social integration is vast and great emphasize has been put into the techniques, policies and instruments used in achieving these goals. The paper identifies some of the currents of opinion starting from cohesion evaluation methods and heading towards methods, techniques and policies for intervention without claiming to be an exhaustive endeavour. The article concludes with the summarising of the main opinions on the trends, directions and future of the European Cohesion Policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of the public interest has often been revisited within theoretical debates related to the fields of politics, decision making, and planning. While it has been claimed that the public interest should serve as one of the main pillars for decision-making, various authors reject the possibility of its operationalization, describing it as a vague criterion for any empirical analysis. With that in mind, the main aim of this paper is to present the role of the public interest and its long lasting tradition in Serbian planning practice from socialism until today, as well as its operational dimensions in relation to the specific post-socialist planning context. This paper will first briefly discuss the nature of the public interest concept in relation to planning. It will go on to present some of the socio-economic aspects of Serbian socialist and post-socialist planning practice, so as to better understand the local context in which the public interest is framed. Finally, it will propose the dimensions of planning practice in which the public interest is articulated. The findings were derived from the analysis of the role of the public interest in planning theory, planning practice, and the Serbian legal planning framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union Regions of Development are characterized by substantial social, economic, and territorial disparities. There also recorded large economic disparities between rural and urban areas. The Romanian rural areas includes: 2860 communes, 12,956 villages, representing around 90% of the Romanian territory and 45 % of its population. It has the main agricultural and forestry resources and over 9.6 million inhabitants. Of these, 506 communes and 2414 villages are located in the 6 counties of The North East Region of Development, one of the poorest regions of development within European Union. This paper is focused on the regional development issues in the rural areas of this region and is aimed to evaluate the resources that haven't been enough capitalized in this region and to indentify solutions to improve the socio- economic situation in the next years, through a balanced development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to challenge the idea of the immobile immigrant worker, trapped in the bottom segments of the labour market, by exploring how immigrants and their descendants (sometimes designated second generation immigrants) develop re-emigration strategies in their first country of settlement in Europe when faced with structural or conjunctural barriers to the advancement of their socio-economic situation. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical evidence was collected through structured interviews aimed at capturing labour market and residential trajectories of workers of African origin and their descendants in Portugal, with a particular emphasis on the period between 1998 and 2006. Findings – Findings suggest that in some cases, immigrants draw on social networks available to them to engage in processes of continued intra-European mobility. International re-emigration emerges as a work-space mobility strategy for migrant workers and their descendants when there was no significant social mobility in the first destination. Similarly, international geographical mobility may constitute a self-perpetuating strategy across generations to escape structural immobility faced by certain immigrant groups in destination contexts. Research limitations/implications – Experiences reported are situated, so cannot be taken to represent those of all workers of African origin in Portugal. Social implications – Findings presented in the paper highlight potential consequences of perpetuating geographical mobility throughout time, namely in terms of labour market conditions and family dynamics. They also highlight the need to look at socio-economic mobility trajectories within Europe as integrated space and not just within national borders. Originality/value – The paper proposes an encompassing view of migrants' (im)mobilities over time, to include the conditions of their labour market incorporation and its links to further spatial, international, mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at exploring how the university understands, manages and improves the quality culture related to the national and European/international principles of quality assurance, based on interviews having as subject academic staff, students and partners/employers. After a brief introduction and the presentation of the scope and methodology of the research the paper relates some issues of quality culture in the higher education to the literature, followed by a briefing presentation of the results. The main findings are discussed in correlation with the questions used with the interviews: the presence of the university in the social-economical life, the continuing improvement of the quality of teaching-learning process, the satisfaction of participation/collaboration on research projects, the students' involvement in the university governance and life and the role of quality culture system in assuring the university beneficiaries expectations. Finally, a quality culture system and some reflective views are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerning the relationship between sustainability and economic performance, this paper examines the effect of environmental and social performance on the stock performance of European stock corporations. Stock performance is measured as the average monthly stock return for the period 1996-2001. The sustainability performance is measured both by an evaluation of the environ mental or social risks of the industry to which a company belongs and by an evaluation of the environmental or social activities of a company relative to the industrial average. We apply two-stage econometric approaches, which include recent insights from empirical finance. The most important result is that a higher environmental sector performance has a significantly positive influence on the stock performance. In contrast, a higher social sector performance has a negative influence. This effect is somewhat less significant The variables of corporate environmental and/or social activities relative to the industry average have no significant effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the ethical principle of equality of opportunity, this paper presents a measure of the welfare loss that is caused by an unfair distribution of a particular outcome (income, health, education, etc). The key idea is that a fair society should produce outcomes that depend on individuals' effort and not on their external circumstances such as gender, socioeconomic background, etc. We propose measuring inequality of opportunity as the welfare loss attributed to the outcome differences among individuals who exert a similar level of effort. Our results are in line with those aspects of fairness literature that give priority to the ex post compensation approach to equality of opportunity. Finally, we present an empirical application for the measurement of the welfare loss in the income distribution in Europe. We have observed a high degree of heterogeneity among European countries. The welfare loss due to inequality of opportunity ranges in those, from basically zero to almost one fifth of their potential welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The percentage of elderly people in European countries is increasing. Such conjuncture affects socio-economic structures and creates demands for resourceful solutions, such as Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), which is a possible methodology to foster health care for elderly people. In this context, sensor-based devices play a leading role in surveying, e.g., health conditions of elderly people, to alert care personnel in case of an incident. However, the adoption of such devices strongly depends on the comfort of wearing the devices. In most cases, the bottleneck is the battery lifetime, which impacts the effectiveness of the system. In this paper we propose an approach to reduce the energy consumption of sensors' by use of local sensors' intelligence. By increasing the intelligence of the sensor node, a substantial decrease in the necessary communication payload can be achieved. The results show a significant potential to preserve energy and decrease the actual size of the sensor device units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romanian areas have suffered of an intense out emigration from rural areas. In order to reduce the socio-economic marginalization the European Union by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has supported more initiatives aimed at implementing the diversification in rural areas. The aim of this paper was to assess by a quantitative approach in Romanian farms belonging to the FADN dataset some relationships among the financial subsidies allocated by the CAP and the level of wealth in rural areas. It has used in this research a dual and different methodology of investigation. It has employed in the first phase the multiple regression model and in the further step the Structural Equation Modeling aimed at estimating the cause effect relationships between all investigated variables over the time 2007-2015. Findings have pointed out as the level of wealth in rural areas has been influenced by the financial subsidies allocated by the Common Agricultural Policy and a positive impact has been also assessed focusing the attention on the total CAP payments towards the level of farmer's net income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper analyses the nature and details of the association that the integration of social and environmental considerations with corporate strategy has for different competitive advantages and innovation activities at the firm level. Its objective is to answer the question as to whether a positive link exists between integration and the effects of environmental and social performance on these different dimensions of economic performance. The question of the specific form of this relationship is also raised. These questions are analysed using cluster analysis and regression models. Results are presented for four different dimensions of competitive advantage, and for two types of innovation activity. These raise the possibility that the process of integration is more important for bringing about a positive link than a resulting integration type. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the second half of the 1990s, cross-sectoral, sectoral and company-level bargaining has developed into a key movement in transnational industrial relations in the European Union. Originally stimulated by EU institutions, these forms of bargaining have since progressed autonomously. At present, it is difficult to say exactly what effect, if any, they can have on individual working conditions. Based on a 2005 report to the European Commission, this paper argues for EU legislative action to create an optional framework for transnational collective bargaining, in the form of a Council regulation to be adopted under the social and economic cohesion chapters of the EU Treaty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in many countries has confirmed that teenage mothers and their families are often at a disadvantage compared with those whose children are born in their 20s or 30s. There has, however, never been an opportunity for a systematic comparison between countries, based on a common data source. This paper analyses the current positions of women whose first child was born when they were teenagers across 13 countries in the European Union, based upon the European Community Household Panel Survey. Outcomes considered are mother's employment, family employment, family structure, and household income. The severity of disadvantage on outcome measures varied substantially by country. The findings also enable us to consider the theoretical value of attempts to classify countries according to the nature of their family formation norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper combines two documents on employment flexibility and security prepared in the context of the research project Social Quality and the Policy Domain of Employment, undertaken by the European Foundation on Social Quality. The first document relates to work time in Europe, its social distribution and its evolution. The second document integrated in this paper starts from the fundamental point that, out of the sphere of work, the main time-constraining parameter in the quality of life of people is care. Indeed, availability of time and opportunities for organizing one's time for looking after a relative like children, a spouse, an elderly parent or any other related person, is one of the main elements that make work possible. When it comes to raising the adaptability and flexibility of economic performance, arrangements around employee working times are an issue in many European countries. New competitive demands mean that industrial and service companies are forced to enhance labor efficiency and organize the labor process to ensure just-in-time production and distribution, or non-stop production. This creates pressure to extend hours beyond the standard working day, by introducing or increasing different forms of irregular and flexible work arrangements, such as call-up work, overtime, evening or night work, shift work and weekend work.

This article examines alternative explanations of the greater generosity of social welfare systems in Europe than in the U.S. European governments redistribute income among their citizens on a much larger scale than does the U.S. government. European social programs are more generous and reach a larger share of citizens. European tax systems are more progressive. European regulations designed to protect the poor are more intrusive. Economic, political, and behavioral explanations for the differences between the U.S. and Europe are considered. Economic explanations focus on the variance of income and the skewness of the income distribution before taxes and transfers, the social costs of taxation, the volatility of income, and expected changes in income for the median voter. The paper concludes that most of these theories cannot explain the observed differences. Political explanations for the observed level of redistribution focus on institutions that prevent minorities from gaining political power or that strictly protect individuals' private property. Finally, reciprocal altruism is discussed as a possible behavioral explanation for redistribution. Reciprocal altruism implies that voters will dislike giving money to the poor if, as in the U.S., the poor are perceived as lazy.

In Ireland there is a widespread belief that the country is moving towards a 'European model' of industrial relations. One claim is that the industrial relations system can be now described as social corporatist. Advocates of this view invariably point to the substance and the durability of the latest round of centralized wage agreements in support of this claim. This paper assesses the validity of the argument. Because discussions about social corporatism are so diffuse, the first part of the paper develops a framework that sheds light on what the concept means in economic and institutional terms. In the second part of the paper this framework is used to assess the functioning of the recent national pay deals. The conclusion is that these agreements should not be regarded as social corporatist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive layoffs caused by the global economic crisis required the evaluation of the effectiveness of active measures to promote employability. The strategy "Europe 2020 for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth" became the expression of common European efforts to ensure jobs and reducing unemployment. In this context, there was an increased interest in the social economy, due to both the recognition of the limitations of traditional public and private sectors to meet the current challenges in the labor market and the quality and quantity of services of collective interest. In this paper, we propose an analysis at European level, of the inclusive effects of the support and development of social economy entities, the impact of support policies on the integration on the labor market of the persons considered socially vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Management (1429-9321) is the property of University of Zielona Gora and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the urban context the quest to enhance economic growth and social well-being is challenged by the need to protect and manage natural resources. In order to promote sustainable urban planning, sustainability objectives are commonly embedded into planning policies, and the associated indicators used to evaluate planning interventions and monitor implementation of such objectives. The applicability of indicators is commonly tied in to their ability to address context-specific issues and monitor progress towards definite goals set at the local level. This paper presents the findings of a participative methodology applied in five European cities to develop a set of sustainability indicators with the aim of optimising their applicability for assessing planning alternatives affecting urban metabolism (i.e. the exchange of materials and energy within cities). The results indicate that engagement of researchers and practitioners through Communities of Practice (CoP) helped bridge the gap between science and practice, and facilitated the selection of consistent and meaningful indicators to be used as a tool for decision-making. However, the results also revealed that planning priorities can significantly shape the extent and scope of sustainability indicators, and that a CoP approach may not always be sufficient to guarantee continuity of collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The recent shift in flood risk management concedes that floods cannot be prevented but the impacts on and vulnerability of the risk prone communities can be reduced. Beyond mere structural defence, an integrated risk management approach deploys a diversified set of measures that moderate the economic and social drivers of risk and improve risk governance. In this context, the concept of resilience gains on importance despite the many challenges that obstruct its implementation in management practice. This paper contributes to tackling these challenges and elaborates on opportunities and bottlenecks to bring resilience into practice based on a review of the flood risk management in three case studies in Europe: Flanders (Belgium), Niedersachsen (Germany) and Calabria (Italy). The paper summarizes insights gained on three components of resilience being – institutional interplay, flood management tools and risk communication. The work that has lead to this paper is done under the FREEMAN project (flood resilience enhancement and management), funded under the 2nd CRUE ERA-Net Funding Initiative. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Instead of essentializing and defining what CSR “is”, we analyze CSR as a political discourse in which different actors struggle to fill the empty shell of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with a legitimate interpretation. In this paper we take the current debate on CSR in Austria as an example to demonstrate how this debate is shaped by changes in the greater socio-economic environment. We suggest that this debate might be paradigmatic for the development of CSR in the European/International context. We argue that the debate and the political moves concerning an implicit or an explicit concept of CSR are rooted in a more fundamental question: the societal (re-)embedding or disembedding of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of the European Journal of Social Quality, which gathers a number of papers produced in the context of a research project conducted by the European Foundation on Social Quality, is again devoted to the crucial policy-field of employment. Indeed, at national and European Union levels, employment continues to be the most difficult and conflict-ridden part of the social and economic policy agenda, as it has for the best part of the last three decades. There has been very limited policy success in this field, and this is clearly illustrated by the fact that the most intractable problem, that of mass unemployment, has not been solved to any significant extent. In this context, the idea of the conjunction of various forms of flexibility and security in an employment paradigm, for which the neologism of flexicurity has been coined, is being used by an increasing number of research and policy-making institutions. Flexicurity, insofar as it would help to reduce unemployment risks and improve the quality of life of people at work, as well as contribute to the adaptability of labor within businesses, appears to be a worthy aim for employment policies. This issue examines how flexicurity may be a useful way of exploring the present situation and tracing new avenues in policy-making in Europe.

The use of formal and informal care for the elderly depends on many factors: income, urban-rural environment, educational attainment, family composition (singles/multi-member family), age and severity of health complications. For this analysis, a pro-rich poverty model is used based on data from the latest (8th) edition of SHARE (Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe) to examine the impact of socioeconomic inequalities among older people in the use of home care in European Union. The main results indicate that the pro-poor distribution of long-term care prevails in most of the studied countries. At the same time, health variables contribute to pro-poor inequality in the use of long-term care, mainly in informal care. When it comes to formal care, most countries have pro-poor contributions. Formal care inequalities disappeared when adjusted for need factors, while informal care inequalities remained in most countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, flood defense has historically formed the core of flood risk management but this strategy is now evolving with the changing approach to risk management. This paper focuses on the neglected analysis of institutional changes within the flood defense strategies formulated and implemented in six European countries (Belgium, England, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden). The evolutions within the defense strategy over the last 30 years have been analyzed with the help of three mainstream institutional theories: a policy dynamics-oriented framework, a structure-oriented institutional theory on path dependency, and a policy actors-oriented analysis called the advocacy coalitions framework. We characterize the stability and evolution of the trends that affect the defense strategy in the six countries through four dimensions of a policy arrangement approach: actors, rules, resources, and discourses. We ask whether the strategy itself is changing radically, i.e., toward a discontinuous situation, and whether the processes of change are more incremental or radical. Our findings indicate that in the European countries studied, the position of defense strategy is continuous, as the classical role of flood defense remains dominant. With changing approaches to risk, integrated risk management, climate change, urban growth, participation in governance, and socioeconomic challenges, the flood defense strategy is increasingly under pressure to change. However, these changes can be defined as part of an adaptation of the defense strategy rather than as a real change in the nature of flood risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability and accessibility of natural resources are fundamental for human well-being and the functioning of global economies. International policies have been developed with the aim to ensure resource efficiency and to respond to environmental and socio-economic concerns towards the sustainable management of natural resources. In fact, building effective resource policies requires solid methodologies and indicators for monitoring resource extraction and consumption by the economies as well as all its related environmental impacts. The present study focuses on the European context, assessing current methodologies for resources analysis towards identifying their strengths and weaknesses in supporting policies. The study analyses trends in material resource extraction within Europe and imports over the past 10 years. Three approaches are compared: (i) “mass”-based accounting (i.e. material flow analysis); (ii) “impact assessment”-based, founded on the life cycle assessment methodology, and (iii) “resource criticality”-based, building on assessment of critical raw materials for EU economy. The paper shows through some examples that this methodological choice has relevant repercussions in terms of resource prioritization. Hence, the choice of the accounting methodology and the setting of targets should be guided by the policy objective(s) (i.e. dematerialization, environmental impact reduction and security of resource supply), possibly complementing the different insights coming from the three approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to estimate the associations between the prevalence of asthma symptoms in schoolchildren and meteorological variables in west European countries that participated in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC), Phase III 1997-2003. An ecologic study was carried out. The prevalence of asthma was obtained from this study from 48 centers in 14 countries, and meteorological variables from those stations closest to ISAAC centers, together with other socioeconomic and health care variables. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models were used. For schoolchildren aged 6-7 years, the prevalence rate of asthma decreased with an increase in mean annual sunshine hours, showed a positive association with rainy weather, and warm temperature, and a negative one with relative humidity and physician density (PD). Current wheeze prevalence was stronger in autumn/winter seasons and decreased with increasing PD. Severe current wheeze decreased with PD. For schoolchildren aged 13-14 years, the prevalence rates of asthma and current wheeze increased with rainy weather, and these rates decreased with increased PD. Current wheeze, as measured by a video questionnaire, was inversely associated with sunny weather, and nurse density. Severe current wheeze prevalence was stronger during autumn/winter seasons, decreased with PD, and indoor chlorinated public swimming pool density, and increased with rainy weather. Meteorological factors, including sunny and rainy weather, and PD may have some effect on the prevalence rates of asthma symptoms in children from west European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lifecourse perspective examines individual life histories in order to understand how prior events, social and economic conditions, and individual characteristics influence decisions and events over time. The lifecourse approach emphasizes the connection between individuals and the historical context in which their lives take place. This approach has its origins in Thomas and Znaniecki's pioneering studies (1918-1920) of the migration and adaptation of Polish peasants in Europe and the United States (Thomas and Znaniecki 1958). Their work examined how the lives of Polish peasants changed over time within social, economic, and cultural contexts. In recent years, the lifecourse perspective has been used to study how events earlier in life -- such as schooling or teenage experiences -- affect later decisions and events, such as childbearing marriage and divorce, and retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microfinance in general and the microcredit especially has a major role in the economic growth of a country and an important social impact, supporting the social inclusion. Moreover, its role becomes more vital, if we take into account the major negative effects of the recent financial crisis, because it can significantly contribute to the creation of new jobs and new added-value generating activities. Such considerations make the development of the microfinance sector to be a priority on the working agenda of the European decision makers. On this background our research aims at underlining and discusses the recent evolutions but also the major characteristics of the European microfinance landscape. Through its content, our research seeks to highlight the vital necessity for supporting the development of the microfinance sector in the EU member countries for the recovery of the national economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Smart specialization, a relatively new concept, has been actively promoted as an important tool for the Europe 2020 Strategy. It stands as a key solution for avoiding dissipation of the EU research funds and for focusing the research, innovation, human and financial resources on those innovative sectors which are highly performant, socio-economically important or attractive for investors. Given the novelty and complexity of this concept, more theoretical and methodological consideration should be given to further concept clarification, for the use of policy makers and for its effective implementation in various countries, each of them with its R&D and innovation background and economic context. This paper aims to survey the literature of the field in order to relieve theoretical and methodologic elements addressing their application in Romanian context, with an assessment of implementation opportunities and of necessary instruments, according to Innovation Union objectives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the effect that gender-based earnings discrimination has on self-employment dynamics among females, with a focus on four countries in Western Europe. Using data from the European Community Household Panel in the 1999–2001 time period, we test the hypothesis that the probability of moving into self-employment is positively related to prior earnings discrimination, as measured by unexplained deviations from expected (male) earnings. Our findings suggest that women who have lower than expected wage sector earnings are more likely to leave wage employment in the following year. The results with respect to discrimination, per se, however, are mixed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Marginalised Roma communities in European countries live in substandard housing conditions the improvement of which has been one of the major issues of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, the ongoing intergovernmental European Roma programme. The paper presents EU-funded health impact assessments of national Roma housing policies and programmes in 3 Central and Eastern European countries in light of the evaluation of a completed local project in a fourth CEE country so as to compare predicted effects to observed ones. Housing was predicted to have beneficial health effects by improving indoor and outdoor conditions, access to services, and socioeconomic conditions. Negative impacts were predicted only in terms of maintenance expenses and housing tenure. However, observed impacts of the completed local project did not fully support predictions especially in terms of social networks, satisfaction with housing and neighbourhood, and inhabitant safety. In order to improve the predictive value of HIA, more evidence should be produced by the careful evaluation of locally implemented housing projects. In addition, current evidence is in favour of planning Roma housing projects at the local rather than at the national level in alignment with the principle of subsidiarity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACT Aim This paper identifies socio-economic driving forces of biodiversity change and analyses their political and economic dynamics by modelling socio-economic parts of three scenario storylines developed for the ALARM (assessing large-scale risks for biodiversity with tested methods) project. In the BAMBU (business-as-might-be-usual) scenario policy decisions already made in the European Union (EU) are implemented and enforced, but no additional measures are introduced. The GRAS (growth applied strategy) scenario describes a future world orientated towards economic growth and complete deregulation. And finally, SEDG (sustainable European development goal) is a normative scenario focusing on the achievement of sustainable development. Methods The GINFORS (global inter-industry forecasting system) model is applied to quantify the effects of different sets of policy measures representing the three scenarios. It allows investigation of the inter-relations between socio-economic driving forces and the state of the environment. Results The presented results for the 25 EU countries focus on the following variables: unemployment, material extraction, energy supply and CO2 emissions. The lowest amount of unemployment is in the SEDG scenario, where it steadily decreases from 2005 to 2020. In BAMBU it falls to a level that is also below that of 2005. In GRAS, the number of unemployed people in 2020 is clearly over the value of 2005. The development of total material extraction from 2005 to 2020 is nearly stable in BAMBU, while it clearly increases in GRAS. Only in SEDG is there a reduction in resource use. None of the scenarios achieves a substantial reduction in energy use. However, the development of CO2 emissions shows a decoupling from energy supply. For BAMBU there is a slight decline in CO2 emissions over time, for GRAS they increase but with a slightly smaller growth rate than energy supply. In SEDG the emissions are reduced. The decoupling trends can be explained by a shift to more renewable energy sources in all scenarios, with the highest share in SEDG. Main conclusions The results indicate that a growth-oriented policy design, such as presented in the GRAS scenario, is not compatible with the conservation of biodiversity. Only in the SEDG scenario do the policy measures support the idea of a sustainable development, but in some respects they are still not ambitious enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the context of urban flood management, resilience is equal to resisting, recovering, reflecting and responding. The variety of causes of flooding and their consequences underpin the need for increased and internationally coordinated efforts to enhance technologies and policies for dealing with floods. This paper addresses this issue and presents some novel research ideas related to resilience to flooding in urban areas, which are under development within the EU FP7 project ‘Collaborative research on flood resilience in urban areas’ (CORFU). The approach adopted in this project aims to quantify the cost-effectiveness of resilience measures and integrative and adaptable flood management plans for different scenarios of relevant drivers: urban development, socio-economic trends and climate changes. It is believed that the way in which the different models are being put together, combined with the variability of conditions in case study areas in Asia and in Europe, will ultimately enable more scientifically sound policies for the management of the consequences of urban flooding. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Several regions of the world have developed capability in providing services on climate information for risk management, but there are still gaps in service delivery due to inadequate information regarding the needs within the regions. This paper highlights the role of Regional Climate Outlook Forums, assesses the needs for some regions and extracts examples of how regional associations could benefit through the provision of better climate services. Problems are given for Africa, South-East Asia, South America, the Pacific and Europe. Different geographical climate features lead to different climate phenomena and in turn determine the type of climate delivery needs for risk management. Short discussions of regional socio-economic factors that shape the needs for climate information provide further context for the unique character of delivery services. Recommendations and future plans follow this assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A priority in trust research is to deepen our understanding of trust processes: how does trust develop and break down? This requires further understanding of what actions have what effects on trust in interpersonal interactions. The literature offers a range of actions that have effects on trust, but gives little explanation of why they do so, and how the actions “hang together” in their effects on trust. The question is what different classes of trust building actions there may be. Using a “relational signalling” perspective, we propose hypotheses for classes of action that trigger the attribution of mental frames (by the trustor to the trustee), and trigger the adoption of those frames by the trustor. A survey-based empirical test of trust building actions among 449 managers in 14 European countries confirms the hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the interaction between the labour market, social standards and the European Social model on the one hand, and the freedom to provide services on the other. First, the authors analyse whether the Viking and Laval judgements define fundamental human rights as directly opposing fundamental economic freedoms in the internal market. Second, in the context of globalisation. EU enlargement, and the development of the so-called flexicurity model, they gauge to what extent the process of establishing social standards conflicts with employment strategy. The authors further concentrate on the function and legitimacy of the right to collective action in the light of tile open methods of coordination. They seek to provide an answer to whether the Viking and Laval cases represent another step towards the erosion of the European Social Model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revival of ethnic/regional/language minorities within European national states, one of the components of the oppositional ‘identity movements’ of the sixties and seventies, has attracted wide attention from several disciplinary quarters: political science ( e.g. A. Smith,) sociology (A. Touraine), sociology of language (J. Fishman) and others. More recently, it has been linked to the theory of globalization (‘glocalism’). In Italy, for a number of reasons, regional/ethnic issues have long been neglected by ‘mainstream’ sociology, and considered only as a peculiarity of some remote Alpine border areas. However, in 1999, a national bill (n. 482) was passed in the national parliament, recognizing the existence throughout Italy of 12 ‘historical language minorities’ (Albanians, Catalans, Croats, Greeks, Occitans, Franco-Provencals, and others) beside the ones already constitutionally recognized (French, Germans, Slovenes) and granting them some rights, guarantees, and token financial support. By far the largest groups are the Sardinians ( pop. 1.650. and the Friulians (pop. 900.000). After a general-theoretical introduction, the paper briefly sketches the history of ethnic/regional/linguistic/ minority movements in Italy, the history and structure of Law 482/99, and finally focuses on the case of Friuli, where since the early seventies a tradition of sociological studies on these matters have been established, and many empirical surveys have been carried out, making this by far the best researched language minority in Italy. In the conclusion, the results of such research are put in the context of the ‘reversing language shift’ theory advanced by Joshua Fishman, and questions are raised on the possibility to save Friulian, as many hundreds or perhaps thousands other threatened minor languages, by legal decrees, in the face of the powerful socio-economic and cultural forces (nationalisation, globalization ‘homologation’) pushing them toward extinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the mid-1770s onwards there was a clear shift in perspective in the way European commentators looked at China, a subject that, especially in an era defined by Paul Hazard as the crisis of European consciousness, had long appealed to Western culture as both a cognitive and more generally an intellectual challenge. The contrast between sinophilic and sinophobic attitudes, which often characterized the evolution, even temporal, of the eighteenth-century perception of Chinese reality, cannot alone explain the shifts in interest and changes of opinion that occurred towards the end of the eighteenth century. What this contribution aims to highlight is how, in some key observers of and commentators on China between the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century - from Adam Smith, Abbé Raynal and Denis Diderot, to Lord Macartney and John Barrow - one can detect perspectives and reflections that cannot be due to a simple descriptive register or to attempts at apologia or devaluation, but rather to approaches tending to include China in global comparative historical or socio-economic reasoning. And how, with that reasoning, the assumption of the superiority of the European model leads to China being seen no longer as a mere object of admiration or a source of inspiration, but as a new actor with a new role in global history. The discourse thus tends to take on, in various ways, prescriptive overtones, aimed at identifying the internal and external changes necessary for the part that, from a Western perspective, China could play in a connected world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The years 1914-18 form what is, in some respects, the "dark ages" of British historical demography. Studies of European population movements in this century have either ignored the war or have dismissed it as unimportant in the long term. The reticence of historical demographers about the war is surely related to the statistical confusion which plagues studies of the 1914-18 conflict In the aftermath of the war, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace sponsored a series of books on the economic and social history of the war. Most military and naval reports are also afflicted with substantial inaccuracies. Every combatant nation published several sets of statistics relating to its own losses. Unfortunately, no two sets are identical. The only alternative to using these general estimates is to trace the war losses of each of the three armed forces. What we need are sources which distinguish between the military effort of Britain and that of other Allied countries. If they record the incidence of casualties over time, and if they distribute British casualties by theatre of operation, by branch of service, and by rank, the reliability of the total can be checked against other records.

Recent studies by Adelman and by Friedlander and Silver, which have investigated whether regression equations derived from cross-section data can be used to predict the impact of socioeconomic development on changing levels of fertility, are reviewed critically. Regression analyses based on data for 57 countries c. 1960 show that fertility (gross reproduction rate) varies cross-sectionally with region as well as with level of development (as measured by per capita income, percent labor force in primary sector, expectation of life, illiteracy rate). Using equations derived from the cross-section study and time-series data for five European countries during the period that their fertility rates fell, it is shown that predictions about past fertility changes are in error. The results suggest caution in the use of cross-section relations to predict the course of fertility in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American sociology is distinguished from British and continental European sociology by, among other things, a lack of interest in identifying and measuring social class, as distinct from social status. Indices of occupational prestige ratings have served as indices of social status. This article explicates the most popular American scale of occupational prestige ratings, and concludes that this index is not a plausible index either of the relative prestige of occupations or of social status, and furthermore, that such an index in principle is not obtainable. The errors of proponents of the scale lie in an idealistic theory of the social order and repetition of the classic mistake once committed, but now long avoided, by economists: aggregation of subjective evaluations. A well-known characteristic feature of American sociology, in contrast to British and continental European sociology, has been the absence of serious attempts to establish numerical indices of social class. Yet there have been a number of attempts to establish indices of what is variously known as social status or socio-economic status, mainly by means of polled verbal evaluations of occupations.

Copyright of European Countryside is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Several health researchers have emphasised the effects of socio-economic factors on population health outcomes. Many studies have been demonstrating the relationship between socio-economic conditions and individual health, as they have stated that deprived population are more likely to have a higher rate of morbidity and mortality due to different diseases. This study examines the association between socioeconomic deprivation and health outcomes among the population from urban and rural communities in Ialomiţa County (Romania). The research is based on statistical and spatial analysis, using indicators related to socio-economic deprivation (economic status index, housing endowment index, education level index and) and indicators related to health outcomes. Preliminary results showed the expansion of deprived areas, overlapping areas with precarious population health, generally areas with high incidence of respiratory and digestive diseases, high mortality due to infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Modifiable health-related behaviours tend to cluster among most vulnerable sectors of the population, particularly those at the bottom of the social hierarchy. This study aimed to identify the clusters of health-related behaviours in 27 European countries and to examine the socioeconomic inequalities in these clusters.Methods: Data were from Eurobarometer 72.3-2009, a cross-sectional survey of 27 European countries. The analyses were conducted in 2016. The main sections of the survey included questions pertaining to sociodemographic factors, health-related behaviours, and use of services. In this study, those aged 18 years and older were included. We selected five health-related behaviours, namely smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, frequent fresh fruit consumption, physical activity and dental check-ups. Socioeconomic position was indicated by education, subjective social status and difficulty in paying bills. Latent class analysis was conducted to explore the clusters of these five behaviours. Multinomial logistic regression model was used to examine the relationships between the clusters and socioeconomic positions adjusting for age, gender, marital status and urbanisation.Results: The eligible total population was 23,842. Latent class analysis identified three clusters; healthy, moderate and risky clusters in this European population. Individuals with the lowest socioeconomic position were more likely to have risky and moderate clusters than healthy cluster compared to those with the highest socioeconomic position.Conclusions: There were clear socioeconomic gradients in clusters of health-related behaviours. The findings highlight the importance of adopting interventions that address multiple health risk behaviours and policies that tackle the social determinants of health-related behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medieval European urbanization presents a line of continuity between earlier cities and modern European urban systems. Yet, many of the spatial, political and economic features of medieval European cities were particular to the Middle Ages, and subsequently changed over the Early Modern Period and Industrial Revolution. There is a long tradition of demographic studies estimating the population sizes of medieval European cities, and comparative analyses of these data have shed much light on the long-term evolution of urban systems. However, the next step—to systematically relate the population size of these cities to their spatial and socioeconomic characteristics—has seldom been taken. This raises a series of interesting questions, as both modern and ancient cities have been observed to obey area-population relationships predicted by settlement scaling theory. To address these questions, we analyze a new dataset for the settled area and population of 173 European cities from the early fourteenth century to determine the relationship between population and settled area. To interpret this data, we develop two related models that lead to differing predictions regarding the quantitative form of the population-area relationship, depending on the level of social mixing present in these cities. Our empirical estimates of model parameters show a strong densification of cities with city population size, consistent with patterns in contemporary cities. Although social life in medieval Europe was orchestrated by hierarchical institutions (e.g., guilds, church, municipal organizations), our results show no statistically significant influence of these institutions on agglomeration effects. The similarities between the empirical patterns of settlement relating area to population observed here support the hypothesis that cities throughout history share common principles of organization that self-consistently relate their socioeconomic networks to structured urban spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of a European social economic model becomes impetuous necessary because in the recent years the middle class of society was eroded significantly. Now more than ever, the authorities need to develop a viable strategy to contain structural and functional elements of a European social economic model. Based on the four models we have foreshadowed in our research the socio-economic policy mix that can build a strong and sustainable economy, which meet the requirements of the European social model. Information extracted from the article is useful because it indicates the direction to be taken into account to optimize the "welfare state" of the other European social models. In this regard it should be considered efficient labor market, develop social protection only for deprived people and nominal wage growth, and hence the real one. Only this way can lead to a social welfare state sustainable in all the evolution stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tackling inequalities in overweight, obesity and related determinants has become a top priority for the European research and policy agendas. Although it has been established that such inequalities accumulate from early childhood onward, they have not been studied extensively in children. The current article discusses the results of an explorative analysis for the identification of inequalities in behaviours and their determinants between groups with high and low socio-economic status.Methods: This study is part of the Epode for the Promotion of Health Equity (EPHE) evaluation study, the overall aim of which is to assess the impact and sustainability of EPODE methodology to diminish inequalities in childhood obesity and overweight. Seven community-based programmes from different European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Portugal, Romania, The Netherlands) participate in the EPHE study. In each of the communities, children aged 6-8 years participated, resulting in a total sample of 1266 children and their families. A parental self-administrated questionnaire was disseminated in order to assess the socio-economic status of the household, selected energy balance-related behaviours (1. fruit and vegetable consumption; 2. soft drink/ fruit juices and water consumption; 3. screen time and 4. sleep duration) of the children and associated family environmental determinants. The Mann-Whitney U test and Pearson's chi-square test were used to test differences between the low and high education groups. The country-specific median was chosen as the cut-off point to determine the educational level, given the different average educational level in every country.Results: Children with mothers of relatively high educational level consumed fruits and vegetables more frequently than their peers of low socio-economic status. The latter group of children had a higher intake of fruit juices and/or soft drinks and had higher screen time. Parental rules and home availability were consistently different between the two socio-economic groups in our study in all countries. However we did not find a common pattern for all behaviours and the variability across the countries was large.Conclusions: Our findings are indicative of socio-economic inequalities in our samples, although the variability across the countries was large. The effectiveness of interventions aimed at chancing parental rules and behaviour on health inequalities should be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]