Flexicurity

In recent years, the concept of flexicurity has come to occupy a central place in political and academic debates regarding employment and social policy. It fosters a view in which the need for continuously increasing flexibility is the basic assumption, and the understanding of security increasingly moves from social protection to self-insurance or individual adaptability. Moreover, it rejects the traditional contradictions between flexibility and security, blending the two into a single notion and thus depoliticizing the relationships between capital and labour. This volume provides a critical discussion of the flexicurity concept, the theories upon which it is built and the ideas that it transmits about work, unemployment and social justice. It shows that flexicurity fosters the further individualization of social protection, an increase in precariousness and the further weakening of labour in relation to capital. The authors present a series of alternative theoretical, normative and policy approaches that provide due attention to the collective and political dimension of vulnerability and allow for the development of new societal projects based on alternative values and assumptions.

This book examines the relationship between job security and job flexibility. Through an innovative conceptual approach, the concept of job flexicurity is presented to highlight the labour market dynamics between job flexibility and employee security. The dynamics of labour market mechanisms are placed within ideas of rigidity, security, flexibility, and plasticity to explore the interplay between different employee considerations. Particular attention is given to the Romanian labour market with an empirical case study that expands upon the ideas discussed. This book aims to analyse how job security and flexibility impact worker well-being and happiness. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in labour economics and the job market.

A critical assessment of European social policy that suggests ways to improve coverage of fundamental labour standards in Europe.

Recoge: 1. The challenges and opportunities of globalisation and change - 2. An integrated flexicurity approach - 3. Flexicurity policies - 4. Flexicurity and social dialogue - 5. Developing common principles of flexicurity - 6. Flexicurity pathways - 7. The financial dimension of flexicurity - 8. Next steps: flexicurity and the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs - 9. Annex.

Evaluates the impact of European integration on social policy development since the launch and relaunch of the Lisbon strategy discussing the challenges posed by the still unfolding global economic crisis of 2007-2009.

The welfare state in all its many forms has had a profound role in many countries around the world since at least the Second World War. The Routledge Handbook of the Welfare State explores the classical issues around the welfare state, but also investigates its key concepts, along with how these can be used and analysed. This book provides expert analysis of the core issues related to the welfare state, including regional depictions of welfare states around the globe. The book combines essays on methodologies, core concepts and central policy areas to produce a comprehensive picture of what 'the welfare state' means around the world. In the midst of the credit crunch, this book addresses some of the many questions about the welfare state. This book is suitable for students and scholars throughout the social sciences, particularly in sociology, social policy, public policy, international relations, politics, and gender studies.