WP 50 - The distribution of responsibility for social security in the United Kingdom

High levels of unemployment, or high levels of social expenditures as well as the growing demand for a flexible labour force have given new impetus to the world-wide discussion on what model to use for an efficiently operating labour market and in particular on the role of institutions. Although there seems to be a growing consensus on the restricted governmental role in recent decades, this has not been translated into a unanimous appraisal of the role of intermediary organisations, such as trade unions. There is no clear view on an appropriate distribution of responsibility between government, social partners and the market. The research project ‘distribution of responsibility for social security’ aims to create a scientific basis for a clear and consistent view on the role and distribution of responsibilities between the different labour market institutions. As part of this research project, this paper provides an elaborate country study of the United Kingdom. It is shown that the domains of industrial relations, employment protection and unemployment compensation in the United Kingdom are separate and cannot be regarded as functionally complementary as in other countries. The government is anxious to retain the highly deregulated and flexible labour market and there is no institutional involvement of the social partners in policy making, either in employment law, labour market policy or unemployment insurance. Instead of established tripartite talks, both employers and employees are consulted and informed and are primarily seen as playing important roles as partners in policy implementation. National government determines the conditions for social insurance which offers minimum protection and for active labour market policies, with the New Deal programmes recently introduced. In the field of employment protection, as a ‘common law country’ the UK relies on decision-making by judges in practice rather than strong legislation. The labour market in the UK is characterised by relatively high labour participation, yet traditionally high youth unemployment and rising inactivity among prime-aged men and minimum protection during unemployment spells.

Leistungen an Familien mit Kindern im internationalen Vergleich

'Ausgehend von einer Beschreibung von Zielsetzung und Methode werden wesentliche Ergebnisse einer empirisch vergleichenden Studie über familienpolitische Fördersysteme in den Mitgliedsländern der Europäischen Gemeinschaft, Norwegen, Australien und den USA vorgestellt. Im Zentrum des Projekts stehen die Darstellung der Struktur und die Bewertung von Maßnahmen, die Familien mit Kindern direkt und indirekt unterstützen ('child support packages'). Es wurde versucht, die monetären Entlastungseffekte der einzelnen Maßnahmen, sowie deren Gesamtheit, für unterschiedliche Modellfamilien zu berechnen, um so international vergleichende Aussagen über Niveau und Umverteilungsaufwand von Familienpolitik anstellen zu können.' (Autorenreferat

Flexicurity – aktuális helyzetjelentés

A „flexicurity” elmélete azt ígéri, hogy „mindkettő legjobb tulajdonságainak megőrzésével” megszünteti a munkaerőpiaci rugalmasság és a szociális biztonság közötti ellentétet. A tanulmányban az elmúlt két évtized változó gazdasági feltételeinek fényében áttekintjük a koncepció kialakulását. Ennek során ismertetjük a flexicurity fő alkotórészeit, majd néhány európai országban bemutatjuk a „flexicurity való világait”, legfontosabb példákként Dániát és Hollandiát kiemelve. Az ezt követő részben megvizsgáljuk, hogy megvalósítható-e a flexucurity politikája és gyakorlata más országokban. Végül a flexicurityt támogató kollektív szereplőkkel foglalkozunk, majd az elmélettel kapcsolatos problémák és kritikák ismertetésével zárjuk a tanulmányt

Flexicurity – a state-of-the art review

The Working Papers on the Reconciliation of Work and Welfare in Europe are published online by the Publication, Dissemination and Dialogue Centre (PUDIAC) of RECWOWE.The notion of ‘flexicurity’ promises to overcome the tensions between labour market flexibility on the one hand and social security on the other hand by offering ‘the best of both worlds’. In this review the development of the concept will be set against the background of changed economic circumstances in the last two decades. The principal components of flexicurity are presented, followed by a review of ‘real worlds of flexicurity’ in selected European countries, with Denmark and the Netherlands as the most prominent examples. The subsequent section considers the transferability of flexicurity policies across borders. Finally, we concentrate on collective actors involved in promoting the idea of flexicurity and conclude with a discussion of some tensions within and criticisms of the concept