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How do unions who support universal welfare such as public employment insurance reason when they introduce private solutions such as obligatory complementary income insurance (OCII)? Unions are important actors in shaping the welfare model. Their actions and arguments tell a lot about how and why welfare state changes take place. In this paper, we seek answers to how the unions have acted and argued on OCII, how these actions and arguments have changed over time and whether there are differences across unions within the same confederation and across different confederations. The material includes congressional minutes and other internal documents for the period 2000–2020. Further, a number of newspapers and union magazines are studied. What we find and systematise is a myriad of arguments for and against OCII, some of them referring to the eroded public unemployment insurance and others pointing towards sharp competition between unions to keep or to recruit new members.

Connecting comparative political economy (CPE) approaches, as the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) theory, with post-Keynesian (PK) research on different demand and growth regimes in modern capitalism...

One of the political measures to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic of special interest due to its broad global reach and its implications for gender inequality is the closure of educational centers. From a gender perspective basis, this work analyzes the policies for the closure of educational centers as political strategies for response and prevention to the Covid-19 pandemic in Spain and Sweden. Based on Didier Fassin's conception of biopolitics articulated with Judith Butler's performative concept of gender as theoretical starting point, this research analyzed national statistics, government reports, and educational policies during the March-November 2020 period in both countries. This research shows that, despite the differences of the two selected national models, the educational centers closures has resulted in similar effects on contagion and population mortality. In both cases, the closure has contributed to the deepening of already existing gender inequalities in each society. The study demonstrates the need to develop studies on the closure of educational centers as a strategy to control the pandemic from an intersectional gender perspective.

Recently, several interesting attempts have been made at connecting comparative political economy (CPE) approaches, as the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) theory, with post-Keynesian (PK) research on different demand-led growth regimes in modern capitalism, and for the period of finance-dominated capitalism since the early 1980s in particular. However, we find several problems in the way Kaleckian and PK approaches are interpreted and integrated in modern CPE approaches. Therefore, we first clarify several ambiguities and misunderstandings of PK demand-led growth regimes and their empirical indicators in the recent CPE literature, and, following the recent PK literature, we provide a theoretically consistent and empirically applicable classification of demand and growth regimes under the conditions of finance-dominate capitalism. Second, instead of using the traditional VoC dual classification, we link and confront the PK demand and growth regimes with the recent evolution of Esping-Andersen's (1990) taxonomy which considers five welfare models. Third, we examine the relationships between demand-led growth regimes and welfare models, both before and after the 2007-9 global crisis. For this purpose, we share the qualitative taxonomy suggested by Hay and Wincott (2012), and additionally we quantitatively assess the degree of welfare of each country and its evolution by means of a "principal component analysis" (PCA), which allows us to synthesize four socio-economic indicators in a multidimensional measure of welfare.

Background: Persons with chronic diseases (PwCDs) often experience work-related problems, and innovative actions to improve their participation in the labor market are needed. In the frame of the European (EU) Pathways Project, the aim of the study is to compare existing strategies (policies, systems, and services) for professional (re-)integration of PwCDs and mental health conditions available at both European and national level between different European welfare models: Scandinavian, Continental, Anglo-Saxon, Mediterranean, and “Post-Communist”. Method: The European strategies were identified by an overview of relevant academic and grey literature searched through Medline and internet searches, while national strategies were explored through questionnaires and in-depth interviews with national relevant stakeholders. Results: The mapping of existing strategies revealed that, both at European and national level, PwCDs are often considered as part of the group of “persons with disabilities” and only in this case they can receive employment support. European countries put in place actions to support greater labor market participation, but these differ from country to country. Conclusion: Strategies targeting “persons with disabilities” do not necessarily address all the needs of persons with chronic diseases. Countries should consider the importance of employment for all to achieve smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

Background: Persons with chronic diseases (PwCDs) often experience work-related problems, and innovative actions to improve their participation in the labor market are needed. In the frame of the European (EU) Pathways Project, the aim of the study is to compare existing strategies (policies, systems, and services) for professional (re-)integration of PwCDs and mental health conditions available at both European and national level between different European welfare models: Scandinavian, Continental, Anglo-Saxon, Mediterranean, and “Post-Communist”. Method: The European strategies were identified by an overview of relevant academic and grey literature searched through Medline and internet searches, while national strategies were explored through questionnaires and in-depth interviews with national relevant stakeholders. Results: The mapping of existing strategies revealed that, both at European and national level, PwCDs are often considered as part of the group of “persons with disabilities” and only in this case they can receive employment support. European countries put in place actions to support greater labor market participation, but these differ from country to country. Conclusion: Strategies targeting “persons with disabilities” do not necessarily address all the needs of persons with chronic diseases. Countries should consider the importance of employment for all to achieve smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

This article compares the Lisbon Strategy and the EUROPE 2020 Strategy. It demonstrates while none of the two strategies are sufficient as support for the monetary integration and the Euro-collaboration.

The goal of this paper is to determine the prevalent governance model in regional social and health systems, in the Italian setting. At the end of a long period of institutional reforms, it appears indeed that a model of regulation is emerging based on networks and on the participation of the citizens. However, in analysing standard procedures, one observes the persistence of ordered hierarchies and bureaucracies, in which public institutions are at the centre of decision-making processes, whether on the local level or centralized. This is particularly visible if one analyses the management of financial resources that are meant to support policies.

Th e practice of many European Union countries shows that family policy can be served not only as an instrument to support people raising their children or coping with the consequences of demographic crisis, but also as an effi cient tool to introduce gender equality and provide an answer to the economic challenges of the modern world. It is a systematic activity guided by the pragmatic goal of investing in the development of society as a whole and building social capital. Th is kind of activity should be an indispensable element of adjusting to globalization processes. Family policy should be consistent with the aims and aspirations of diverse family models within any given society and encompass transformations of a new model of family, which becomes oft en a form of diff erent partner relationships. Arkadiusz Durasiewicz

There has been an increasing academic interest in understanding the dynamics of social policy in the Middle East and developing a conceptual ‘model’ to account for the particular characteristics of welfare arrangements in the countries of the region. While part of this framework, Turkey represents an exceptional case due to the Europeanization processes the country is undergoing in various policy areas, including social policy. The influence of the European Union on the shape of Turkish social policy, as illustrated by the government's recent reforms in the labour market and social security domains, is hereby used to outline the position of Turkey vis‐à‐vis both the Southern European welfare regime and the Middle Eastern pattern. This article seeks to assess the dynamics of Turkish social policy in light of the country's political, and socio‐economic dynamics, as well as the external influence exerted by the EU and international financial institutions. The aim is to examine Turkish welfare arrangements in a comparative manner and consider its suitability with reference to either of the two models. Looking at major trends in social security and the labour market, the article argues for a Turkish ‘hybrid’ model embodying the characteristics of both. Subject to EU explicit pressures for reform absent elsewhere in the Middle East, the data nevertheless show that Turkey has yet to make the qualitative leap forward that could place it firmly within the Southern European welfare group.

The integration of migrant women and youth into the labour market depends upon institutional ramifications (in particular the immigration regime, the welfare model and the education system), on supply factors (in particular the educational attainment level and occupational skills, language competence, ethnic origin and the proximity to the ethnic cultural identity of the host country), and demand factors (in particular the composition by economic sectors, the division of work between the household, the informal and the market sector and the economic and technological development level).

Low growth and persistently high unemployment in Europe raised the question whether it was the specific features of the European Social Model, which lead to these disappointing results. This paper defines the characteristics of the model, and the differences between submodels applied in different European countries. Then it carves out the specific characteristics of the Nordic European Model, and its changes in economic policy and strategy which made these countries successful over the past ten to fifteen years - after the same countries had experienced recurrent crises in the decades before. Specifically, we look at the role of institutions and their changing priorities for making the Scandinavian countries better able to cope with change as compared to Germany, Italy and France.

The remarkable success of Sweden over the past 15 years has come after decades of sluggish growth, during which Sweden managed to lose its substantial lead in per-capita income. This substantiates the view that welfare cost and high taxes reduce growth and endanger competitiveness. Since then, however, Sweden has engaged in a remarkable strategy of reforming the budget process, increasing the flexibility of its labour market and boosting investment in the future. Incentives have been changed to achieve greater flexibility and to adapt to changes resulting from globalisation.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ongoing changes in German family policy. It explores the issue of whether the German welfare state, in this policy field, can still be regarded as a conservative welfare model or rather approaches a more liberal or social democratic model. A qualitative method is used to analyze the material, especially from the German government, including press releases, other public documents and also articles from the political weekly magazines Der Spiegel and Die Zeit. The changes analyzed are the new parental benefit, the expansion of child care, the concept of whole-day schools and the system of joint taxation. The point of departure is Gösta Esping-Andersen’s categorization of three types of welfare states: the social democratic, the conservative and the liberal. Esping-Andersen uses two tools, decommodification and social stratification, to determine which welfare model a country is placed in. My analysis of German family policy shows that the German welfare model is going to be more towards a social democratic model than a conservative welfare model.

International audience; The terms referring to « return to work policies » vary and are not reliable. Insertion, in France, has a very broad, and vague meaning, going well beyond employment. Workfare mostly refers to American compulsory schemes, but is also used in Nordic countries. Human Resources Development stand out as far reaching Scandinavian policies based on training, but is also compulsory. The meaning of Active Labour Market Policies has often been stretched, in France, in order to include , until recent changes, early retirement, the postponement of retirement age, and the reduction of unemployment benefits. In fact, ALMPs are socially ambiguous. They can lead to a workfare state, in a context of mass unemployment, and to elaborate techniques of sustainable social control. Conversely, they can lead to significant improvement in the expertise of the population, through re-skilling strategies. However, the distinction between the employable and the unemployable sections of the population reopens the issue of the “residuum” of paupers, which the Fordist system had solved – for a time.

The article argues that welfare is satisfying human needs. It is a multidimensional Phenomenon and is constructed through gendered processes. The Finnish sociologist Erik Allardt distinguishes three dimensions of welfare: "having", which refers to basic physiological needs, "being", which refers to community, care and recognition,"being", which refers to identity building. These classic dimesnions of welfare have different meanings for women and men, because they relate differently to the family, the state and the market. Rethinking the gendered processes of welfare in a post-industrial, knowledge-based society calls for adding two new dimensions: doing, which refers to the relation between paid and unpaid work,and deciding, which refers to the ability to have a say in your own life and influence political decisions. These dimensions are illustrated by four key debates in international gender research connected to the five dimensions above. The debates are: 1) the public-private divide, 2) the distribution between care work and wage work, 3) welfare models and inequality regimes, 4) social and political citizenship. The article discusses the implications of the new challenges and dilemmas related to multiculturalism, migration and globalisation for the intersections of gender, class and ethnicity.