Unemployment benefits : discursive convergence, distant realities

Production of INCASI Project H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015 GA 691004Unemployment protection systems have certain characteristics in common in Argentina, Uruguay, Spain and Italy: they are compulsory and contributory-proportional, although in Uruguay, it also has a capitalisation supplement. Despite the similarities, they work differently because the context of informal employment chiefly, and unemployment, low salaries and precariousness differ greatly. Consequently, the unemployment protection coverage rate varies. Theories of the Active Welfare State, the Investor State and the reforms of unemployment protection systems have led to a certain modernising language being adopted in these countries: activation, employability, conditionality, lifelong learning, flexibility, which are, among others, words shared with Europe. However, the meanings of these words differ according to the institutional context of each country. In Latin America the welfare state is low institutionalised even almost non-existent, while in Europe it is a diverse institution. Despite this, the four countries share an upward trend in benefit policies, in accordance with the increase in poverty risk

Social Models for Dealing with Inequalities

Production of INCASI Project H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015 GA 691004This chapter compares social models in Europe and Latin America. The goal is to study the interaction between two institutions: on the one hand, pre-distributive (ex ante) institutions, such as the structure and coverage of collective bargaining and, on the other hand, post-distributive (ex post) institutions, such as unemployment protection and social policy. Pre-distributive institutions are important for correcting inequalities in the labour market, because they introduce guidelines for egalitarian wage structures. Post-distributive institutions help to mitigate inequalities generated in the labour market. The methodology is based on statistical analysis of a series of indicators related to pre and post-distributive policies. The results present three types of model: (1) coordinated economies, typical of neo-corporatist Scandinavian countries; (2) mixed economies, typical of Mediterranean systems, and (3) uncoordinated economies, which equate to liberalism and the Latin American 'structural heterogeneity' model. It is neo-corporatist coordinated economies that generate the most pre and post-distributive equality. In turn, uncoordinated economies, and Latin American ones in particular, generate more inequalities due to highly informal employment and the weakness of their post-distributive institutions

Tracing Palaeolithic human routes through the geochemical characterisation of chert tools from Caune de Belvis (Aude, France)

Article number: 135International audienceCaune de Belvis (Aude, France) is located in the northern slopes of the eastern Pyrenees, in south-east France. Excavations at the site during the final decades of the past century identified several human occupations from the Late Mousterian (Maroto et al. 2003) and the Magdalenian periods (Sacchi 1993). The archaeological remains are mostly composed of faunal bones and a rich bone and stone industry. In this paper, we focused on the analysis of stone remains recovered in the Magdalenian levels. The goals of this study are to determine the territorial behaviour of Magdalenian groups settled at Caune de Belvis and to identify their lithic procurement strategies. To do so, we applied a range of techniques for analysing stone remains from the Magdalenian levels and geological samples from the geological formations that may have been used. First, macroscopic studies were carried out to determine the textural and micropalaeontological content; then, geochemical analyses were conducted to quantify the elemental chemical composition. Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) was used to quantify major and minor elements and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was then used to quantify trace elements. The results show that the Magdalenian groups from Caune de Belvis exploited a range of geological formations in the northern and southern Pyrenees. They also highlight the relationship existing between the two sides of the Pyrenees during the Upper Palaeolithic and bear witness to the inhabitants’ thorough knowledge of the Pyrenean area