Social exclusion, social citizenship and de-commodification: An evaluation of the adequacy of support for the unemployed in the European Union

West European Politics

Volumn 20, Issue 3, 1997, Pages 1-30

  Fawcett, Helen ^a   Papadopoulos, Theodoros N ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EUROPEAN UNION; SOCIAL POLICY; WELFARE PROVISION;

EUROPE, (WEST);

EID: 0031427552     PISSN: 01402382     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/01402389708425203     Document Type: Review

References (25)

1. Cf. W. Korpi, 'Social Policy and Distributional Conflict in the Capitalist Democracies', in West European Politics, 3/3 (July 1980) pp.296-316 and G. Esping-Andersen, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (Cambridge: Polity Press 1990).
2. Cf. W. Korpi, 'Social Policy and Distributional Conflict in the Capitalist Democracies', in West European Politics, 3/3 (July 1980) pp.296-316 and G. Esping-Andersen, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (Cambridge: Polity Press 1990).
3. R.M. Titmuss, Social Policy: an Introduction (London: Unwin Hyman, 1997)
4. Ibid. p.31.
5. Esping-Andersen (note 1).
6. Ibid. p.27.
7. Ibid. p.49.
8. Commission of the European Communities, Social Protection in Europe (Luxembourg 1994) pp.47-69; OECD. Employment Outlook (Paris 1993; OECD, Labour Market Policies for the 1990s (Paris 1990). The exceptions were Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg.
9. Commission of the European Communities, Social Protection in Europe (Luxembourg 1994) pp.47-69; OECD. Employment Outlook (Paris 1993; OECD, Labour Market Policies for the 1990s (Paris 1990). The exceptions were Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg.
10. Commission of the European Communities, Social Protection in Europe (Luxembourg 1994) pp.47-69; OECD. Employment Outlook (Paris 1993; OECD, Labour Market Policies for the 1990s (Paris 1990). The exceptions were Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg.
11. Compensation for the unemployed is delivered via three different schemes, unemployment insurance, unemployment assistance and social assistance. Under an unemployment insurance scheme, benefits are linked to prior employment and are generally earningsrelated. They usually cover the short-term and medium-term unemployed. In an unemployment assistance scheme, benefits are usually flat rate and are aimed at those whose entitlement to the insurance benefits has expired. Social assistance covers a wider group of people - not just the unemployed. It is publicly funded and allocated after an assessment of means. All the EU countries have some type of unemployment insurance scheme. Germany, Spain, France, Ireland and Portugal provide both unemployment insurance and unemployment assistance. Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK provide unemployment insurance and social assistance Italy provides apart from unemployment insurance s series of other benefits which are difficult to categorise, such as the mobility benefit and local social assistance [B. Reisesert, 'National Unemployment-Support Schemes in the EC', inforMISEP. 43 (autumn 1993) p. 19].
12. OECD, Employment Outlook (July 1991) pp. 233-4.
13. Savings and unearned income were excluded from the calculation.
14. J. Ditch J., H. Barnes, J. Bradshaw, J. Commaille and T. Eardley, A Synthesis of National Family Policies 1994, European Observatory on National Family Policies, Commission of the European Communities (1996); J. Bradshaw, J. Ditch, H Holmes and P. Whiteford, Support for Children: A Comparison of Arrangements in Fifteen Countries (London: HMSO 1993); M. Einerhand, I. Eriksson, H Hansen, Unemployment Insurance in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, The Netherlands; Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment DGBZ/FEBO Research Memorandum 93/1 (1993).
15. J. Ditch J., H. Barnes, J. Bradshaw, J. Commaille and T. Eardley, A Synthesis of National Family Policies 1994, European Observatory on National Family Policies, Commission of the European Communities (1996); J. Bradshaw, J. Ditch, H Holmes and P. Whiteford, Support for Children: A Comparison of Arrangements in Fifteen Countries (London: HMSO 1993); M. Einerhand, I. Eriksson, H Hansen, Unemployment Insurance in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, The Netherlands; Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment DGBZ/FEBO Research Memorandum 93/1 (1993).
16. J. Ditch J., H. Barnes, J. Bradshaw, J. Commaille and T. Eardley, A Synthesis of National Family Policies 1994, European Observatory on National Family Policies, Commission of the European Communities (1996); J. Bradshaw, J. Ditch, H Holmes and P. Whiteford, Support for Children: A Comparison of Arrangements in Fifteen Countries (London: HMSO 1993); M. Einerhand, I. Eriksson, H Hansen, Unemployment Insurance in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, The Netherlands; Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment DGBZ/FEBO Research Memorandum 93/1 (1993).
17. Bradshaw et al. (1993) ibid. The project is a comparative analysis of the simulated impact that the child-benefit package has on the disposable income of ten model families across eight income categories, income data used in this study refers to the situation in May 1992. For a detailed description of the methodology the reader can refer to Appendix 1.
18. Different families may receive a range of benefits when the adult is in work (e.g. tax allowances and child benefits). Hence, the income package is different for every family type.
19. In some case there are extra benefits for families with children under the age of three, moreover families with children in this age group do not have costs associated with preschool and school education
20. In Belgium, unemployed lone parents constitute 8.3 per cent of households where one adult is unemployed. In Britain the figure is 7.2 per cent. The average for the 12 EU countries is 4.1 percent (calculated from Eurostat (1994 ibid. pp.244-7).
21. According to Eurostat, Family Budgets-Comparative Tables 1988, pp.82-3, the proportions of households in receipt of unemployment insurance and other social transfers living in rented accommodation was 83 per cent in Denmark, 22.6 per cent in Greece, 49.3 per cent in France,30 per cent in Ireland and 79.5 per cent in the Netherlands. There are no data available for the rest of the countries.
22. Esping-Andersen (note 1) p.54.
23. For a 35-year-old worker on average male earnings with ten years of contributions. Based on information provided by Eurostat (1994) Digest of Statistics on Social Protection in Europe, Vol. 7: Unemployment, Luxembourg.
24. For a detailed description of the scoring and weighting procedure the reader can refer to Appendix 2.
25. Esping-Andersen (note 1) p.54.