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FERNANDES, Daniel. "Governments, public opinion, and social policy : change in Western Europe." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/75046.
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Defence date: 21 November 2022Examining Board: Prof. Ellen Immergut (EUI, Supervisor); Prof. Anton Hemerijck (EUI); Prof. Christoffer Green-Pedersen (Aarhus University); Prof. Evelyne Hübscher (Central European University)
This dissertation investigates how public opinion and government partisanship affect social policy. It brings an innovative perspective that links the idea of democratic representation to debates about the welfare state. The general claim made here is that social policy is a function of public and government preferences. This claim hinges on two critical premises. The first relates to the general mechanisms that underlie government representation. Politicians have electoral incentives to align their actions with what citizens want. They may respond to public opinion indirectly by updating their party agendas, which can serve as the basis for social policy decisions in case they get elected. They may also respond directly by introducing welfare reforms that react to shifts in public opinion during their mandates. The second premise concerns how citizens and politicians structure their preferences over welfare. These preferences fall alongside two dimensions. First, general attitudes about how much should the state intervene in the economy to reduce inequality and promote economic well-being (how much policy). Second, the specific preferences about which social programmes should get better funding (what kind of policy). The empirical analysis is split into three empirical chapters. Each explores different aspects of government representation in Western European welfare states. The first empirical chapter (Chapter 4) asks how governments shape social policy when facing severe pressures to decrease spending. It argues that governments strategically reduce spending on programmes that offer less visible and indirect benefits, as they are less likely to trigger an electoral backlash. The experience of the Great Recession is consistent with this claim. Countries that faced the most challenging financial constraints cut down social investment and services. Except for Greece, they all preserved consumption schemes. The second empirical chapter (Chapter 5) explores how public opinion affects government spending priorities in different welfare programmes. It expects government responsiveness to depend on public mood for more or less government activity and the most salient social issues at the time. Empirical evidence from old-age, healthcare and education issue-policy areas supports these claims. Higher policy mood and issue saliency is positively associated with increasing spending efforts. Public opinion does not appear to affect unemployment policies. vii The third empirical chapter (Chapter 6) examines how party preferences affect spending priorities in unemployment programmes. It claims that preferences on economic intervention in the economy and welfare recalibration affect different components of unemployment policy. Evidence from the past 20 years bodes well with these expectations. The generosity of compensatory schemes depends on economic preferences. The left invests more than the right. The funding of active labour-market policies depends on both preference dimensions. Among conventional parties, their funding follows the same patterns as compensatory schemes. Among recalibration parties, parties across the economic spectrum present comparable spending patterns.
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Lalioti, Varvara. "Social assistance outcomes in Southern Europe : an actor-centred approach." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b1fecf25-27bc-4fec-9c21-b7640031962d.
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This study analyses the evolution of social assistance in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece, and closely examines the four countries’ different experiences with Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) schemes. A process-tracing methodology uses data from secondary sources, archival material, and 46 interviews to construct an actor-centred model and pursue a multiple-causality, historical approach. Outcomes are shown to result from interactions among central governments, religious organizations, secular organizations and territorial actors; and also from destabilizing forces. It is assumed that social assistance beneficiaries are forced to rely on these actors, whose attitudes are found to vary significantly due to their different interests, subjective perceptions of fairness, and preferences. Case histories of the four countries show that the periods prior to the 1970s were marked by minimal central government interest; indifferent, hostile, and/or divided secular organizations; and governmental partnerships with religious organizations. In the post-1970s periods, destabilizing forces co-occurring with centre-left governments resulted in new policies and changes, with relevant actors/organizations gradually welcoming pluralistic social assistance systems. The existence and extent of GMI schemes has been the principal factor differentiating social assistance developments among the four countries in more recent decades: Portugal is the only country with a national GMI, Italy and Spain have solely regional schemes, and Greece has no GMI at all. Because GMIs cut across traditional social assistance categories and are often linked with overall welfare system restructuring, establishment of GMIs and their subsequent maintenance require the co-occurrence of destabilizing forces and strong pro-GMI coalitions. Portugal exhibits the highest level of pro-GMI consensus nationwide, Greece the lowest,while Italy and Spain occupy intermediate positions. The institutional empowerment of territorial actors in the latter two countries was a precondition to emergence of local schemes, while destabilizing forces and strong local pro-GMI coalitions greatly increased the odds for establishing and maintaining them.
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Lorenz, Walter. "Towards a European Paradigm of Social Work: Studies in the history of modes of social work and social policy in Europe." Doctoral thesis, Technische Universität Dresden, 2004. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A24577.
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This dissertation analyses the relationship between social work and social policy in Europe from a comparative historical perspective. Central to this analysis is the dynamic interplay of forces which led to the consolidation of the European nation state as a welfare state, including the current crisis of the welfare consensus. The role of social work emerges as central to the project of national cultural integration, a perspective which frequently gets overlooked from a purely national perspective. Social works enmeshment with this nation state project is revealed in the current transformation of the welfare states in the light of neo-liberal principles and in the context of globalization. This perspective underlines the need for the development of intercultural communicative competences and in particular a consistent anti-racist approach in social work. At the same time the particular position in relation to social policy requires the development of research methods specific to the discipline in the light of its hermeneutic tasks.Die Arbeit behandelt die Beziehung zwischen Sozialer Arbeit und Sozialpolitik in Europa aus vergleichender historischer Perspektive. Untersucht wird die Dynamik des Nationalstaats und seine Konsolidierung als Wohlfahrtsstaat bis zur gegenwärtigen Krise des Wohlfahrtskonsenses. Dabei gewinnt die Rolle der Sozialen Arbeit in der Aufgabe kultureller Integration besondere Bedeutung, da dies aus rein nationaler Sicht oft nicht zu erkennen ist. Ihre Verkoppelung mit dem Nationalstaat wird besonders deutlich in der gegenwärtigen Transformation durch neo-liberale Prinzipien im Kontext der Globalisierung. Hieraus ergeben sich neue Aufgaben für die Soziale Arbeit, insbesondere in Bezug auf die Entwicklung interkultureller kommunikativer Kompetenzen und eines konsistenten antirassistischen Ansatzes. Gleichzeitig erfordert die besondere sozialpolitische Position die Entwicklung disziplinspezifischer Forschungsansätze im Lichte der hermeneutischen Bedeutung der Sozialen Arbeit.
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Armstrong, Kenneth A. "Governing social inclusion : Europeanization through policy coordination." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2010. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3109/.
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Boesenecker, Aaron P. "Defining work and welfare the politics of social policy reform in Europe /." Connect to Electronic Thesis (CONTENTdm), 2009. http://worldcat.org/oclc/461265191/viewonline.
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Cram, Laura. "The political dynamics of policymaking in the European Union : social policy and information and communications technology policy compared." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1996. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/36192/.
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The underlying theme of this thesis is that to properly understand the process of European integration it is vital to understand the dynamics of the European policymaking process and the crucial role of the European institutions within this process. In this thesis the internal dynamics of the policy-making process within the European Commission in two directorates, DGV(Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs) and DGXIII (Telecommunications, Information Industries and Innovation), are explored. It is argued that a vital characteristic of the Commission's ability to influence any policy sector is its ability to respond rapidly to any 'windows of opportunity' ripe for EU intervention or, indeed, to facilitate the appearance of these windows. Yet, the means required to achieve this end, and the degree of success they meet, vary from sector to sector. It is argued that the Commission has an important role to play in EU policy-making, and ultimately in the integration process, thus it is vital to develop a detailed understanding of the functioning of its constituent parts, of the interrelationships between them, and of the influence of their activities upon the actions of the Commission as a whole.
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Altzinger, Wilfried, Cuaresma Jesus Crespo, Bernhard Rumplmaier, Petra Sauer, and Alyssa Schneebaum. "Education and Social Mobility in Europe: Levelling the Playing Field for Europe's Children and Fuelling its Economy." European Commission, bmwfw, 2015. http://epub.wu.ac.at/4720/1/WWWforEurope_WPS_no080_MS19.pdf.
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The persistence of socioeconomic outcomes across generations acts as a barrier to a society's ability to exploit its resources efficiently. In order to derive policy measures which aim at accelerating intergenerational mobility, we review the existent body of research on the causes, effects and the measurement of intergenerational mobility. We also present recent empirical works which study intergenerational mobility in Europe, around the Globe, and its relevance for economic growth. We recommend four policy measures to reduce the negative impacts of
intergenerational persistence in economic outcomes: universal and high-quality child care and pre-school programs; later school tracking and increased access to vocational training to reduce skill mismatch and facilitate technological development; integration programs for migrants; and simultaneous investment in schooling and later social security programs.Series: WWWforEurope
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Carson, Marcus. "From common market to social Europe? : paradigm shift and institutional change in European Union policy on food, asbestos and chemicals, and gender equality /." Doctoral thesis, Stockholm : Almqvist & Wiksell, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-174.
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Naczyk, Marek P. "The financial industry and pension privatization in Europe : shareholder capitalism triumphant?" Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c867023b-1b9a-41c9-8e46-6d4ac835cc61.
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The thesis examines the political dynamics behind the contemporary trend towards pension privatization in Europe. Its aim is to develop a theoretical model that can explain not only why governments have increasingly replaced their public pay-as-you-go systems with private fully-funded schemes, but also why there is considerable diversity both in the extent and in the content of pension privatization. Private pension funds can indeed be governed by a variety of institutional arrangements and can have very different types of links with the financial system. They do not necessarily contribute to a financialization of the economy. The thesis takes issue with the idea that pension privatization would be primarily the result of a new pensions orthodoxy promoted by international organizations such as the World Bank or of an electoral strategy that consists in attracting the votes of the middle class. I argue that the driving force behind the more or less dramatic rise of funded pensions in Europe is a series of lobbying campaigns launched by the financial industry, and their varying influence. Financial firms have a vested interest in the development of a market in private pensions, which should profit them as an industry. However, pension reform is an issue that matters to voters and can therefore prove dangerous for party politicians. Moreover, it involves complex changes that directly affect key material interests of employers and workers. In this context, the success of financial firms’ campaign for pension privatization depends on their capacity to forge alliances with a variety of actors. This in turn contributes to limit the influence financiers can exert. The argument is tested using a comparative historical analysis of pension debates in the United Kingdom, France and Poland since the beginning of the 1980s.
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Thedvall, Renita. "Eurocrats at Work : Negotiating Transparency in Postnational Employment Policy." Doctoral thesis, Stockholm : Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University : Almqvist & Wiksell International [distributör], 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-810.
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Wolf, Paulo José Whitaker 1988. "Os estados de bem-estar social da Europa Ocidental : tipologias, fundamentos e evidências." [s.n.], 2015. http://repositorio.unicamp.br/jspui/handle/REPOSIP/286453.
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Orientadores: Giuliano Contento de Oliveira, Simone Silva de DeosDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T02:32:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Wolf_PauloJoseWhitaker_M.pdf: 3135442 bytes, checksum: 2a63008858676b78572ad9aaebc4a59c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015
Resumo: Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de analisar a natureza dos Estados de Bem-Estar Social, as diferenças existentes entre esses arranjos no caso da Europa Ocidental, bem como as causas e consequências mais gerais dessas diferenças. Os Estados de Bem-Estar Social devem ser entendidos como uma dentre as formas possíveis de sistemas de proteção social e que se caracteriza pelo fato de que o Estado assume um papel mais contundente no atendimento das necessidades individuais fundamentais relativamente às demais formas de provisão, como o mercado e a família. Esses arranjos se diferenciam em função do perfil das políticas públicas, em geral, e das políticas econômica e social, em particular, sendo determinados pelo processo de interação entre atores com distintos interesses e com diferentes capacidades de impor esses interesses sobre os demais em determinadas circunstâncias históricas e institucionais. Tendo-se em vista as características comuns às diferentes experiências nacionais, é possível identificar quatro modelos de Estado de Bem-Estar Social na Europa Ocidental, quais sejam, os modelos anglo-saxão, continental, escandinavo e mediterrâneo. Esses modelos apresentam diferentes graus de sofisticação, em função do comprometimento do Estado em assegurar a todos a possibilidade de contribuir e partilhar da riqueza social. Essas diferenças, por sua vez, refletem os interesses dos atores mais poderosos em cada modelo, os quais possuem uma determinada percepção a respeito das consequências prováveis da intervenção do Estado, ou, mais especificamente, sobre os seus benefícios e os seus custos. Nesse caso, arranjos mais sofisticados tendem a ser mais factíveis e resilientes em sociedades menos heterogêneas. De fato, uma vez que, nesses casos, os benefícios e custos desses arranjos se distribuem de forma menos assimétrica entre os diferentes grupos sociais, muitos deles possuem razões para considerá-los vantajosos, de modo que mudanças na estrutura de poder tendem a ocasionar, quando for o caso, ajustes apenas residuais em suas políticas. A análise de dados e indicadores selecionados realizada neste trabalho ratifica a existência de diferentes modelos de Estado de Bem-Estar Social na Europa Ocidental, o que se reflete nas condições de vida prevalecentes em cada um deles. Aqueles países cujas políticas públicas são caracterizadas por uma política social preventiva e, também por isso, produtiva, bem como por uma maior articulação com a política econômica, livre para atuar de acordo com as circunstâncias, estão mais preparados que os demais para assegurar os direitos de cidadania diante dos desafios impostos pelo capitalismo contemporâneo
Abstract: The aim of this master thesis is to analyze the nature of the welfare states, the differences that exist between these arrangements in the case of Western Europe, as well as the general causes and consequences of these differences. The welfare states should be understood as one of several possible forms of social protection systems and that is characterized by the fact that state assumes an important role in meeting individual fundamental needs compared to other forms of welfare provision, such as the market and the family. These arrangements differ according to the form of public policies, and, more specifically, of economic and social policies, which is determined by the process of interaction between actors with distinct interests and different capabilities to impose these interests over the others under certain historical and institutional circumstances. Considering the characteristics which are shared by different national experiences, it is possible to identify four welfare state models in Western Europe, namely, the Anglo-Saxon, the Continental, the Scandinavian and the Mediterranean models. These models have varied degrees of sophistication, which depends on the state commitment to assure every citizen the opportunity to contribute to and to share of social wealth. These differences, in turn, reflect the interests of the most powerful actors in each model, which have its own perceptions about the expected consequences of state intervention, or, in other words, about its benefits and costs. In this case, more sophisticated arrangements are more likely to be developed and to be maintained in less heterogeneous societies. In fact, once in such cases benefits and costs are less unevenly distributed among different social groups, the majority of them will have its own reasons to consider these arrangements advantageous, so that changes in the structure of power would only lead to residual changes in its policies. The analysis of selected data and indicators considered in this thesis confirms the existence of different welfare state models in Western Europe which is reflected in the prevailing living conditions in each of them. Those countries whose public policies are characterized by a preventive, and because of that, productive social policy, as well as by greater coordination with economic policy, which is free to act according to each circumstance, are better prepared than others to assure the rights of citizenship in face of the challenges posed by contemporary capitalism
Mestrado
Teoria Economica
Mestre em Ciências Econômicas
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Larsson, Linn. "Normative Gender Power Europe? A critical examination of the European Commission’s construction of inequality and preferred foreign policy approach." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-21489.
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Gender equality is one of the fundamental values of the European Union (EU). The EU possesses the ambition as well as the legal obligation to promote equal rights beyond its borders. Hence, it is of most importance that the EU construct gender equality policies that foster positive change, certainly due to the EU’s normative ability to influence other actors. This paper is concerned with how problems of gender inequality is constructed by the European Commission and moreover which foreign policy approach that is proposed to combat inequality. While focusing on contexts where gender is present, this study applies feminist theoretical approaches to critically examine statements given by the European Commission. The ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ approach allows the study to identify problem representations, underlying assumptions and effects. It is determined that elements from both liberal and radical feminism is evident in the European Commission’s problem representations and that the male/female dichotomy which the problematisations are based on might prevent equality between men and women. Mostly due to its focus on the differences between genders. The findings also show that the European Commission suggest to combat inequality using a multidimensional problem-solving approach where actions are executed at individual, national, international and supranational levels simultaneously. Additionally, much emphasis is put on solving issues at grass-root levels.
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Büchs, Milena. "New governance in European social policy : the open method of coordination /." Basingstoke [u.a.] : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0727/2007022506-b.html.
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Khan, Parves. "The dynamics of migration policy-making in the European Union under conditions of European integration." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/f5beaf36-8a38-41e7-8ea2-8de196ff4c75.
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Economides, Constantin 1962. "Air transport law and policy in the Europe of the EEC and ECAC : now and beyond 1992." Thesis, McGill University, 1989. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=55672.
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Lindholm, Leevi. "Human capital and labour immigration to Europe: Retrospective study of policy outcomes of the Blue Card Directive." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22580.
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This research paper focuses on the success of policy outcomes of the Directive, by illustratingthe change in the European Union’s (EU) migration statistics after the implementation in2011. This is done by implementing the concepts of knowledge based economy with thetheory of human capital. In the 21st century, the ever growing interconnectedness brings us acompetition of the skills and knowledge between countries when it comes to the labour force.The first remarkable EU directive — the Blue Card Directive — to harmonise and attractmore highly skilled labour into the EU, and its success are explored through a retrospectivepolicy analysis on the directive and its achievements. This study presents as the results thatthis directive is not as successful as the decision-makers intended to be due to its lack ofeffectiveness and the complexity of other overlapping policies within Europe. I argue that theBlue Card Directive failed because of the weak structure of the policy and the low level oninterest for it from the EU member states.
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Limoges, Ronald E. "'A new tempered spirit to comfort the twenty-first century' : individual choices, public policies, and the philanthropic experience in Western Europe /." Diss., This resource online, 1994. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-10022007-144846/.
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Zhang, Qi S. M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Analysis and calibration of social factors in a consumer acceptance and adoption model for diffusion of diesel vehicle in Europe." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/43162.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-63).
While large scale diffusion of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) is widely anticipated, the mechanisms that determine their success or failure are ill understood. Analysis of an AFV transition model developed at MIT has revealed that AFV diffusion dynamics are particularly sensitive to consumer consideration as influenced by social exposure to AFVs. While some empirical research in this area exists, uncertainty regarding these social exposure parameters remains high. Following principles of partial model testing, this research examines social exposure parameters, with a focus on empirical accounts of diffusion involving diesel passenger vehicles in Europe. The research uses the historical data of diesel sales in six European countries. To complete diffusion datasets the research generates synthetic data in early stages of diffusion. The results from the calibrations yield parameters that are in line with other marketing studies. These findings help reduce uncertainty regarding social exposure parameters in the automotive industry. Further, bootstrapping confidence intervals are conducted to test the reliability of the parameter estimate. Challenges and avenues about building confidence in parameter estimate and data analysis are discussed.
by Qi Zhang.
S.M.
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Wilkoszewski, Harald. "Germany's social policy challenge : public integenerational transfers in light of demographic change." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2011. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/886/.
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This dissertation addresses the question of to what extent growing numbers of older people who might have similar preferences regarding public intergenerational transfers (family and pension policies) will limit the scope of future social policy reforms in Germany. We are interested in to what extent the shift in the country's demography will trigger a so-called "gerontocracy." As a theoretical framework, we combine Mannheim's concept of political generations with a demographic life-course approach. According to Mannheim, growing numbers of a societal group, combine with unified preferences within the group, enhance the group's political power. To empirically test this hypothesis, we use three analytical steps: First, we analyse the future age composition of the German population, including familial characteristics, using a micro-simulation approach. The results suggest that the number of older people will grow substantially over the coming decades, particularly the share of older people who will remain childless and who will not be married. Second, we analyse preferences regarding redistributive social policies according to age, parity, and marital status, based on recent survey data. Generalised Linear Models and Generalised Additive Models are applied to examine what the effects of fdemographic indicators are on these preferences. Results show that older people are less in favour of transfers ot the younger generation than their younger counterparts. This is particularly true of childless interviewees. Third, we explore the extent to which these developments are likely to have an impact on the political sphere. How do policy makers perceive ageing and the preferences structures found? How do elderly interest groups define their roles in light of these results? In-depth interviews with these stakeholders provide a mixed picture: whereas most interviewees are convinced that older people have gained more power due to their bigger population share, there is little awareness of differences in policy preferences between various demographic groups. The biggest challenge for social policy makers is, therefore, to find ways to mediate between these two interesrs. if they fail to do so, a conflict of generations might become a realistic scenario for Germany.
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BUOSO, Stefania. "L'orario di lavoro nel quadro della politica sociale. Le regole europee su «taluni aspetti dell’organizzazione dell’orario di lavoro»." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Ferrara, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11392/2388935.
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The dissertation concerns the working time: one of the most important issues of European social law. It begins with an historical excursus, taking into consideration the evolution of the relevant secondary legislation, to arrive to an analysis of the major features of the current legal order.
The directive 2003/88/Ce is considered in all its aspects, but it is studied particularly in the light of the recent (in 2009 and in 2013) failures of the repeated review processes, the main points at stake being: the opt out from the 48 hours maximum weekly limit, the qualification as working time of the inactive periods of duty on call and the reconciliation of time of work with time of life. The case law of the European Court of Justice has always had, in this matter, a crucial role, and its systematic analysis constitutes an important section of the dissertation.
In an ideal modern society, flexibility of working time should be conceived not only in the interest of the production but also in the interest of the worker as a person, at the point that, under certain circumstances, the latter should prevail over the former (pregnancy and parenthood in general, training and retraining programs etc.).
This assumption is fundamental in the perspective of rebalancing the relationship between the employer and the employee; the principle of «the adaptation of the work to the worker» (article 13 of the WTD) should be more deeply respected and not only used «to alleviating» monotonous work or shift work. The ratio of the protection of health and safety should be as important as the aim to improve – in the text of the directive – the flexibility in favour of the worker.
The central part of the thesis is dedicated to the study of working time in connection with the so called “Fiat case”: the very disputed collective agreements have imposed a seriously “questionable” aggravation of time patterns. These agreements were negotiated by the “Italian-American” automobile company with several unions and the opposition of the most representative one. The study is carried on with an especial attention to the industrial relations context, particularly in Italy.
Keywords: working time social policy rules Europe
orario lavoro socialità regole Europa
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Radin, Dagmar. "Too Ill to Find the Cure? - Health Care Sector Success in the New Democracies of Central and Eastern Europe." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2006. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5348/.
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This study examines the factors that have contributed to the success of some Central and Eastern European countries to improve their health care sector in the post communist period, while leaving others to its demise. While most literature has been focused on the political and economic transition of Eastern Europe, very little research has been done about the welfare aspects of the transition process, especially the health care sector. While the focus on political consequences and main macroeconomic reforms has shed light on many important processes, the lack of research of health care issues has lead to consequences on our ability to understand its impact on the future of the new democracies and their sustainability. This model looks at the impact of international (World Bank) and domestic institutions, corruption and public support and how they affect the ability of some countries to improve and reform their health care sector in the post-transition period.
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Lacroix, Marie. "The road to asylum : between fortress Europe and Canadian refugee policy : the social construction of the refugee claimant subjectivity." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ64595.pdf.
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Feyertag, Joseph. "Varieties and politics of skill protection : a micro level analysis of unemployment protection systems in Europe." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c69681da-2da3-4467-985f-b644c1be6c48.
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Varieties of Capitalism theory predicts that the skill specificity of workers determines their demand for social protection. In this thesis, I test this assumption using a measure of occupational mobility between pre- and post-unemployment, which I apply to European workers in different skill groups as defined by Fleckenstein et al., (2011). Using this measure as an indicator of the portability of workers' skills, I then evaluate whether the lower marketability of human capital investments is associated with greater demand for unemployment protection. The findings demonstrate that whilst this relationship is apparent in certain countries, notably Coordinated Market Economies such as Germany, the assumptions do not apply across institutional settings. Consequently, skill specificity cannot explain variation in attitudes towards unemployment protection policies between countries.
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Ovseiko, Pavel Victor. "The politics of health care reform in Central and Eastern Europe : the case of the Czech Republic." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2009. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d8f1c4d3-9dda-4a2b-94d1-5afcb0cf5c87.
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This thesis examines the political process of health care reform between 1989 and 1998 in the most advanced sizable political economy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) – the Czech Republic. Its aim is to explain the political process bringing about post-Communist health policy change and stimulate new debates on welfare state transformation in CEE. The thesis challenges the conventional view that post-Communist health care reform in CEE was designed and implemented to improve the health status of the people, as desired by the people themselves. I suggest that this is a dangerous over-rationalisation, and argue that post-Communist health care reform in the Czech Republic was the by-product of haphazard democratic political struggle between emerging elites for power and economic resources. The thesis employs the analytical narrative method to describe and analyse the actors, institutions, ideas and history behind the health policy change. The analysis is informed by welfare state theory, elite theory, interest group politics theory, the assumptions of methodological individualism and rational choice theory, and Schumpeter’s doctrine of democracy. Its focus is on the interests of health policy actors and how they interacted within an unhinged, but fast-consolidating, institutional framework. The results demonstrate that, while historical legacies and liberal ideas featured prominently in the rhetoric accompanying health policy change, in Realpolitik, these were merely the disposable, instrumental devices of opportunistic, self-interested elites. The resultant explanation of health policy change stresses the primacy of agency over structure and formulates four important mechanisms of health policy change: opportunism, tinkering, enterprise, and elitism. In conclusion, the relevance of major welfare state theories to the given case is assessed and implications for welfare state research in CEE are drawn.
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Vasileiou, Ioannis. "The EU regional policy and its impact on two Mediterranean member states (Italy and Spain)." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1763/.
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The aim of EU Regional Policy is to intervene effectively in regions that “lag behind” in economic terms and to finance development programmes through the allocation of Structural Funds which operate in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity, additionality and partnership. This policy should allow regions to converge with EU averages in terms of income and employment. Italy and Spain provide very good examples within the EU as a whole, of significant economic disparities between regions that still appear to be present. We argue and provide substantial evidence of the fact that the persistence of such disparities is mainly due to inefficient administrative and institutional capacity at the regional level. Although some regions have brought themselves towards the average, in Italy and Spain, there is evidence that certain administrative, institutional and implementation problems have tended to appear, hampering the opportunities of regions to converge in the required way. Because of this, regional economic convergence and thereby socio-economic cohesion are still beyond reach. Two decades after the 1988 Reform of the Structural Funds, EU Regional Policy has only partially succeeded in reducing regional economic divergence within Italy and Spain, where regional economic inequalities still exist. Although we demonstrate that some regions have been able to move forward in the requisite way, it is questionable whether all of the support for these regions can actually be eliminated completely in the near future with the challenges that the EU faces, particularly in relation to the latest round of Enlargement.
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Chevalier, Tom. "L'Etat social et les jeunes en Europe : analyse comparée des politiques de citoyenneté socioéconomique des jeunes." Thesis, Paris, Institut d'études politiques, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015IEPP0040.
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Cette thèse propose une typologie rendant compte de la diversité des politiques publiques visant à promouvoir l'indépendance des jeunes, ou leur citoyenneté socioéconomique, en Europe. Elle repose sur deux dimensions. La première concerne l’action publique lorsqu’elle vise à promouvoir l’emploi des jeunes grâce à la politique d’éducation et la politique de l’emploi : c’est l’enjeu de la citoyenneté économique des jeunes. Elle peut être inclusive, lorsqu’un pays est fortement macrocorporatiste, ou sélective, lorsque le macrocorporatisme est faible, selon que cette action délivre des compétences à tous les jeunes ou à une partie seulement. La deuxième dimension renvoie à l’action publique lorsqu’elle délivre directement une aide publique aux jeunes. C’est l’enjeu de la citoyenneté sociale des jeunes. Elle peut être familialisée dans les Etats-providence de tradition Bismarckienne, lorsque les jeunes sont considérés comme des enfants, ou individualisée dans les Etats-providence de tradition Beveridgienne, quand ils sont vus comme des adultes. En croisant ces deux dimensions, on obtient quatre régimes de citoyenneté socioéconomique, avec une citoyenneté habilitante (inclusive/individualisée), une citoyenneté encadrée (inclusive/familialisée), une citoyenneté de seconde classe (sélective/individualisée), et une citoyenneté refusée (sélective/familialisée). Dans une première partie empirique, nous classons 15 pays d’Europe de l’Ouest dans cette typologie, après avoir élaboré deux indices synthétiques de citoyenneté économique et de citoyenneté sociale. Puis, dans une deuxième partie empirique, nous procédons à quatre études de cas représentatifs de chaque régime, à savoir la Suède, l’Allemagne, le Royaume-Uni et la FranceThis dissertation proposed a typology that accounts for the diversity of public policies promoting young people’s independence, i.e. what I call ‘youth welfare citizenship’, in Europe. This typology is built around two dimensions. The first dimension relates to public intervention on the school-to-work transition in order to promote the access to employment for young people, through the education policy and the employment policy: this is the issue of youth economic citizenship. It can be encompassing, when a country is strongly macrocorporatist, or selective, when it is not, according to the distribution of skills among the youth population. The second dimension has to do with public aids from the state towards young people: this is the issue of youth social citizenship. It can be familialized in Bismarckian welfare states, where young people are seen as children, or it can be individualized in Beveridgian welfare states, where young people are deemed to be adults. Combining these two dimensions, we end up with four regimes of youth welfare citizenship: an enabling citizenship (inclusive/individualized), a monitored citizenship (inclusive/familialized), a second-class citizenship (selective/individualized), and a denied citizenship (selective/familialized). In the first empirical part, I classify 15 western European countries into the typology by building two synthetic indices of youth economic citizenship and youth social citizenship. Then, in the second empirical part, I proceed to four case studies, each representing a regime of the typology: Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France
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Stefanovski, Ivan. "Raised on streets? The influence of social movements over policy outcomes in South East Europe: the cases of Macedonia, Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina." Doctoral thesis, Scuola Normale Superiore, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11384/86225.
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Palmedo, P. Christopher. "Equality, Trust and Universalism in Europe, Canada and the United States: Implications for Health Care Policy." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1929.
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A number of theoretical explanations seek to describe the factors that have led to the position of the United States as the last industrialized Western nation without a universal health care program. Theories focus on institutional arrangement, historic precedent, and the influence of the private sector and market forces. This study explores another factor: the role of underlying social values. The research examines differences in values among ten European countries, the United States and Canada, and analyzes the associations between the values that have been seen to contribute the individualism-collectivism dynamic in the United States. The hypothesis that equality and generalized trust are positively associated with universalism is only partially true. Equality is positively associated (B = .301, p < .001), while generalized trust is negatively associated with universalism (B = -.052, p < .001). Not only do Americans show lower levels of support for income equality and universalism than Europeans, but the effect of being American holds even after controlling for socio-demographic and religious variables (B = .044, p < .01). When the model tests the association of equality and trust on universalism in each region, it explains approximately 17 percent of the variance of universalism for the United States, and approximately 13 percent in Europe and Canada.
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Ilkserim, Ayselin Yildiz. "Labor Migration In Europe Within The Context Of Demographic Challenges." Master's thesis, METU, 2004. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12605341/index.pdf.
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Today, it is a very crucial problem that many European countries are encountering demographic challenges stemming from the population decline and aging and according to many studies and future projections, this demographic trend will reach more critical levels for the next 50 years. The most prominent impact of this demographic situation will be on social security systems that the functioning and sustainability of pension and health care systems will be severely damaged with regard to the rapidly increasing number of elderly and the decline in number of young labor force resulting from the low births rates all over Europe. In this context, labor migration that received significant attention, has risen up to the agenda of Europe to serve as a policy option to mitigate the adverse consequences of demographic challenges. Taking its impetus from the mentioned demographic problem, this thesis aims to analyze the discussions over labor migration as a foreseen policy option to compensate the shortage of labor force in Europe. It also intents to bring relevant data and current debates together to generate a ground in order to open this critical issue to discussion and to elaborate the feasibility of labor migration need for Europe. In this regard, the thesis scrutinizes the reactions of European states regarding their reluctance to open their borders again for &ldquomass influx&rdquo
and examines briefly the other preferred and enforced policies that exclude migration option, such as aiming to increase fertility rates, ameliorate social security systems or encourage the native labor force participation. By taking all these into account, this thesis aspires to attract attention to this urgent problem and evaluates the labor migration need in Europe by presenting the relevant reactions and appraisals shaping the migration policies both at the nation state and EU level. Finally, this thesis attempts to contribute to the literature in terms of generating a base for further intensified discussions and studies which constitutes a significant need in the context of interaction between demography and migration in Europe.
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Kozlova, Alexandra. "Family support for meeting the needs of families with children in Eastern Europe (Lithuania, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine)." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.669818.
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Chaussende, Pauline. "Sustainable Tourism and Public Policy in Europe: A Case Study of the Regional Nature Park of Auvergne Volcanoes, France." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-389438.
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European Regional Nature Parks are based in rural areas and are involved in the fields of biodiversity and sustainable development. Sustainable tourism is a highly topical issue in Europe and many countries are trying to raise the citizens’ and tourists’ awareness of sustainability issues. It is therefore natural that Regional Nature Parks have become a useful tool in this regard. Implementing the principles of sustainable tourism implies a combination of the socioeconomic goals of regional park tourism and the ecological goals of nature conservation. Nature conservation through tourism has become increasingly market-oriented and more instrumental over the years, which reflects the rise of neoliberalist politics. Accordingly, this thesis will contribute to answering the following question: how is the natural heritage of the RNP of Auvergne Volcanoes used as a tool to promote sustainable tourism on a regional scale within a European framework? The thesis focuses mainly on the Regional Nature Park of Auvergne Volcanoes as a cultural, natural and environmental heritage. It investigates whether the Park’s local landscapes are used to turn it into a saleable product within a European framework. The thesis also emphasises the governance aspects of the park through an analysis of the policies and planning documents guiding it. In this way, this thesis focuses on the role of the European Union and of national, regional and local governments in sustainable tourism. It also aims to extend our understanding of the influence of public policy upon the development of sustainable tourism.
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Fula, Filip. "Symbiosis in the making? Evaluating EU’s engagement with Civil Society Organisations in Colombia. A Civilian Power Europe perspective." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22221.
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In recent years, EU’s development policy has undergone wide-ranging reform with the leading principle of responding to the circumstances and demands of the current world, but also for the sake of alignment to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In line with the reasoning that an empowered civil society can help in the exercise of EU’s development policy and in the pursuit of development policy goals, the organisation has formed a strategy of engagement with CSOs in its external relations. This study’s focus is specifically on EU’s performance in Colombia, a Latin American country encompassed by EU’s development policy. Since Colombian CSOs still face numerous barriers hindering their work, it cannot be simply asserted that EU’s strategy has been effective. Hence, this study’s purpose is to critically evaluate EU’s engagement with Colombian CSOs, by taking into account EU’s capabilities as a civilian power to identify both the limits and potentials of the organisation’s approach. The study concludes that it is not the choice of power instruments, but the way the EU uses them that causes the strategy’s ineffectiveness. Although the Union has managed to increase Colombian CSOs’ capacity, the latter cannot be fully utilised due to the unfavourable framework for such organisations. Nevertheless, considering recent improvements made to EU’s strategy, it is argued that symbiosis between the EU and Colombian CSOs is still a realistic prospect, but one that requires increased efforts from the Union.
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Sloman, Peter Jack. "Economic thought and policy in the Liberal Party, c. 1929-1964." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c961d45b-8c97-4e4b-b91c-6d0c8c55da5b.
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This thesis examines the reception, generation, and use of economic ideas in the British Liberal Party during the period between its decline in the inter-war years and its revival under Jo Grimond. It uses archival sources, party publications, and the political press to reconstruct the Liberal Party’s internal discourse about economic policy from the 1920s to the 1960s, and sets this discourse in the context of wider economic and political developments: the ‘Keynesian revolution’ in economic theory and British public policy, recurrent political interest in economic planning, and growing concern about relative economic decline. The strength of the two-party system which developed after the First World War meant that the Liberal Party spent most of this period in opposition, and even in the coalition governments of 1931-2 and 1940-5 Liberals had limited input into economic policy-making. As historians have frequently noted, however, the party played an important role in introducing Keynesian ideas to British politics through Lloyd George’s 1929 pledge to ‘conquer unemployment’, and seemed to anticipate the post-war managed economy in important respects. At the same time, the party maintained a close relationship with the economics profession, and vocally championed free trade and competitive markets. This thesis highlights the eclecticism of the Liberal Party’s economic heritage, and its continuing ambivalence towards state intervention. Although Liberals were early and sincere supporters of Keynesian demand-management policies, and took a close interest in economic planning proposals in the 1920s, 1940s and 1960s, their interventionism was frequently constrained by their internationalism and their support for free markets. Most Liberals, then, were neither unreconstructed Gladstonians nor unequivocal supporters of Britain’s post-war settlement. Rather, successive party leaders sought to integrate new economic knowledge with traditional Liberal commitments, in order to make both a credible contribution to policy debates and a distinctive appeal to the electorate.
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Ou, Po-Hsiang. "Climate change v Eurozone crisis : social and economic views of risk in inter-expert risk communication." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f3619fc5-fd2a-483b-92b5-94aa90ce13d1.
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This DPhil thesis discusses how two divergent risk conceptions, a 'social view' and an 'economic view' of risk, are constructed through inter-expert risk communication. Different and sometimes contradictory concepts of risk are mobilised in regulatory practice, but the origins of these divergent risk conceptions are not extensively studied. This thesis seeks to unpack this divergence. Empirically, I analyse risk communication among experts in the European Union (EU) during the creation of two risk regulation standards. The two case studies, one related to the development of the two-degree target of EU climate policies (the climate case) and the other about the negotiation of the excessive deficit criteria of the Maastricht Treaty (the euro case), can shed light on the relations between risk conceptions and inter-expert risk communication. I argue that through risk communication, an initial 'view' of risk can be entrenched and developed into a paradigmatic 'risk conception'. My analysis uses historical and sociological institutionalism, by focusing on path dependence of risk communication and social construction risk conceptions among EU experts. Through the two case studies, I identify four analytical dimensions of inter-expert risk communication: networks (the institutional setting and relationships between different experts), cultures (the mentalities of experts in relation to discussing risks), dynamics (the actual processes of transmitting and receiving risk messages) and strategies (the rationales supporting the decisions of risk regulation standards). My thematic analysis reveals four key distinct 'features' of social/economic views of risk: expertise (the types of knowledge mobilised), normality (characterising risk as either 'special' or 'routine'), probability (considering risk as either uncertain or calculable) and impact (seeing risk as either negative or positive). I argue that these four features can help explain the construction of risk conceptions, and more broadly, provide an analytical framework for studying how views of risk evolve and interact over time.
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Aidukaite, Jolanta. "The Emergence of the Post-Socialist Welfare State - The Case of the Baltic States : Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania." Doctoral thesis, Huddinge : Södertörns högskola, 2004. http://www.diva-portal.org/su/theses/abstract.xsql?dbid=270.
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Filipova, Rumena Valentinova. "The differential Europeanisation of Central and Eastern Europe, 1989-2000 : a constructivist study of the foreign policy identities of Poland, Bulgaria and Russia." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2018. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:430c07fc-8979-4ce0-9340-f20ac9c3c30a.
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The thesis addresses the puzzle of the differential integration of former communist states in the Euro-Atlantic community of nations between 1989 and 2000. Notwithstanding the predominant universalist-rationalist assumption that the adoption of an institutional-administrative blueprint for reform could lead to convergence between East and West, countries such as Poland, Bulgaria and Russia did not converge similarly (or at all) on the West European normative model and framework of international relations. To account for this divergence, the thesis examines the impact of the culturally-historically informed, Polish, Bulgarian and Russian identities and conceptions of 'Europe' (as opposed to the formal-institutional transition from one system to another) on the process of foreign policy transformation. The doctoral research employs Constructivism, Social Psychological insights and an interpretivist methodology, drawing on 75 elite interviews. The main argument states that differential Europeanisation can be understood on the basis of differentiated levels of inclusion and establishment of relations of mutual recognition and belongingness - substantiated by a differentiated extent of ideational affinity (i.e., normative compatibility), which are (re)enacted in the interactive, mutually constitutive process of identification between Self and Other (i.e., between Poland, Bulgaria and Russia and (Western) Europe). Three propositions of 'thick', 'ambivalent' and 'thin' Europeanisation are derived from the argument (whereby the comparative benchmark of Europeanisation is an ideal-typical model of European-ness). Key contributions focus on the development of a refined Constructivist theory and a systematic empirical comparison of Polish, Bulgarian and Russian foreign policy identities. Also, the study's conclusions reinvigorate and reconfirm the importance of the continuity (rather than just constant flux) of culturally-historically shaped patterns of group self-understandings and sub-regional identifications as well as Constructivism's greater plausibility in accounting for the research puzzle than (Neoclassical) Realism through the stipulation of a mutually constitutive relationship between international and domestic factors and between ideational and interest-based considerations.
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Silva, Patrícia Alexandra Semedo da. "A estratégia Europa 2020 à luz da austeridade : efeito directo nas metas de pobreza e exclusão social." Master's thesis, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/11436.
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Mestrado em Economia e Políticas PúblicasAo longo do processo de construção europeia houve uma preocupação com as questões sociais, mas nunca se lhes conseguiu atribuir um papel que fosse mais do que subalterno. Apesar das várias tentativas a Política Social continua nos dias de hoje a estar subalternizada. Em 2010, foi lançada a Estratégia Europa 2020, com intuito de ajudar a Europa a sair da crise em que estava mergulhada, mas passados que estão cerca de três anos a estratégia parece estar a ser condicionada pela crise que visava ajudar a combater.
Throughout the process of European integration was a concern with social issues, but they never managed to assign a role that was more than a subordinate. Despite several attempts Social Policy continues today to be subalternized. In 2010, was launched the Europe 2020 Strategy, in order to help Europe getting out of the crisis, but past that are about three years the strategy seems to be conditioned by the crisis which aimed to help fight.
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St, John Sarah K. "The struggle for power in education : the nation-state versus the supranational in the evolution of European Union education policy, 1945-1976." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2018. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/30580/.
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European integration is a curious concept. There is stark disparity between some areas of policy that seemingly glide through the integration process, while others lag behind and despite decades of attempts, never reach the status of a fully-fledged area of European Union competence. Once such area is education. Through integration theories, political scientists have sought to explain how policies develop and are implemented at European level. This interdisciplinary study borrows the opposing theories of neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism with the aim of identifying the influence of the supranational and the strength of the state in the evolution of a European Union education policy. It seeks to pinpoint how education can be placed within the construction of Europe and the process of early European integration to determine the feasibility of these integration theories in explaining the journey of education policy in the European context. Historical methodology is adopted, based on archival research at the Historical Archives of the European Union, using documentary analysis to trace the history of activities and initiatives relating to education between 1945-1976. Collective biography methodology is adopted to give space to the role of states in driving the scope, direction and extent of integration based on domestic interests, while a case study implements methodological triangulation to stress-test the case of education. The study proposes that education is a complex case that does not slot neatly into a theory of integration. Education is multifaceted, a cultural – while at the same time – economic component: it is woven into the fabric of nation-states, it contributes to increasing global competitiveness, it diversifies across borders, and its development is attached to temporality and context. Despite suggestions that the state is diminishing in power, education serves as an example to demonstrate that the state is very much alive and at the centre of certain areas of policy development at European level.
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Deganis, Isabelle. "A dialogue across paradigms : the European Commission's autonomous power within the open method of coordination." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a7f66cca-a998-4981-8c9c-cb295c27dcd7.
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This research project seeks to gauge the autonomous power of the European Commission within the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), a new mode of governance coined at the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 and based on the principle of the voluntary cooperation of Member States. Two cases form the basis of this inquiry, namely, quality in work, a policy issue addressed under the banner of the European Employment Strategy, and child poverty and social exclusion, a key item on the agenda of the OMC for Social Inclusion. A primary impetus at the heart of this project is one of ontological pluralism. Rejecting a zero-sum interpretation of the rationalist/constructivist debate, this study constitutes a plea for a conversation across paradigms. The domain-of-application model employed here works by preserving the integrity of individual theories while specifying a particular scope condition under which constructivist and rationalist insights are likely to prevail. Selecting two cases on the basis of the critical scope condition of issue sensitivity, a central postulate informing this integrative research design is that high issue sensitivity (quality in work) invites strategic interaction among pre-constituted social actors driven by a behavioural logic of utility-maximization, while low issue sensitivity (child poverty and social exclusion) allows for a fundamentally norm-guided behaviour. Concretely, in effecting this theoretical dialogue, two sets of causal hypotheses are examined. On the one hand, rational choice institutionalism (principal-agent theory) offers a number of suppositions about the Commission’s institutional power, that is, its ability to transform the conditions of action of self-seeking national governments. On the other hand, sociological institutionalism conceptualizes the Commission’s productive power (i.e. its power to constitute the interests and identities of individual agents) through the lens of discourse analysis. Testing theoretical predictions against collected data makes plain the superior explanatory value of independent variables and causal mechanisms of rationalist lineage in capturing the essence of the Commission’s autonomous power in the case of quality in work and the congruity of sociological institutionalism’s original conjectures in the area of child poverty and social exclusion. Crucially, this strict correspondence corroborates the pertinence of the critical scope condition of issue sensitivity in delineating the explanatory ambit of both theories and attests to the co-existence of different forms of autonomous power wielded by the Commission within the framework of the OMC.
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Lorenz, Walter. "Towards a European Paradigm of Social Work." Doctoral thesis, Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2005. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:swb:14-1128344938240-55903.
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This dissertation analyses the relationship between social work and social policy in Europe from a comparative historical perspective. Central to this analysis is the dynamic interplay of forces which led to the consolidation of the European nation state as a welfare state, including the current crisis of the welfare consensus. The role of social work emerges as central to the project of national cultural integration, a perspective which frequently gets overlooked from a purely national perspective. Social works enmeshment with this nation state project is revealed in the current transformation of the welfare states in the light of neo-liberal principles and in the context of globalization. This perspective underlines the need for the development of intercultural communicative competences and in particular a consistent anti-racist approach in social work. At the same time the particular position in relation to social policy requires the development of research methods specific to the discipline in the light of its hermeneutic tasksDie Arbeit behandelt die Beziehung zwischen Sozialer Arbeit und Sozialpolitik in Europa aus vergleichender historischer Perspektive. Untersucht wird die Dynamik des Nationalstaats und seine Konsolidierung als Wohlfahrtsstaat bis zur gegenwärtigen Krise des Wohlfahrtskonsenses. Dabei gewinnt die Rolle der Sozialen Arbeit in der Aufgabe kultureller Integration besondere Bedeutung, da dies aus rein nationaler Sicht oft nicht zu erkennen ist. Ihre Verkoppelung mit dem Nationalstaat wird besonders deutlich in der gegenwärtigen Transformation durch neo-liberale Prinzipien im Kontext der Globalisierung. Hieraus ergeben sich neue Aufgaben für die Soziale Arbeit, insbesondere in Bezug auf die Entwicklung interkultureller kommunikativer Kompetenzen und eines konsistenten antirassistischen Ansatzes. Gleichzeitig erfordert die besondere sozialpolitische Position die Entwicklung disziplinspezifischer Forschungsansätze im Lichte der hermeneutischen Bedeutung der Sozialen Arbeit
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Hernández, i. Sagrera Raül. "The European Union and Eastern Europe migration policy convergence beyond Europeanisation: the cases of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/334385.
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La Unió Europea (UE) va presentar la Política Europea de Veïnatge (PEV) el 2004 per tal d'enfortir la cooperació en àrees como ara la immigració. La dimensió exterior de la política d'immigració de la UE a Europa Oriental (Associació Oriental i Rússia) ha estat molt activa i objecte de nombrosos treballs acadèmics, en gran part centrats en afirmar que la UE exporta les seves pròpies normes. Tanmateix, la teoria d'europeïtzació no té en compte els interessos i capacitats dels països d'Europa Oriental, així com les seves percepcions de legitimitat. Una dècada després de la posada en marxa de la PEV, la tesi respon a la qüestió sobre quines normes la UE i Europa Oriental adopten en la convergència normativa en matèria d'immigració. S'identifiquen tres models de convergència (envers normes de la UE, normes internacionals i normes acordades bilateralment), en funció fonamentalment de l'estructura de poder i de les percepcions de legitimitat a Europa Oriental. La convergència normativa en política d'immigració s'aplica als casos de (I) readmissió, (II) visats, (III) gestió de fronteres i (IV) immigració laboral.
La tesi doctoral conclou que la cooperació en política d'immigració entre la UE i Europa Oriental no consisteix en l'adopció sistemàtica de normes de la UE. Argumenta que la UE ha promogut fonamentalment normes de la UE en l'àmbit de seguritat (acords de readmissió i Gestió Integrada de Fronteres). Malgrat tot, a causa de la manca de poder suficient de la UE i a baixes percepcions de legitimitat de la UE entre els veïns d’Europa Oriental, la UE ha ofert incentius en l'àmbit de la mobilitat (política de visats i associacions per a la mobilitat). L'evidència empírica mostra debilitats en la convergència normativa envers normes de la UE, que consisteixen en gran part en mesures de socialització (intercanvi d'informació i formació). Uns dels resultats més significatius de la tesi és que la UE promou activament, en el marc de la liberalizació de visats, la convergència normativa cap a normes internacionals en matèria d'estat de dret. Les normes que emanen del Consell d'Europa i de Nacions Unides són de fet percebudes com a més legítimes que les normes de la UE. No obstant, aquest rol de la UE como a transmissora de normes cal matitzar-lo pel fet que la UE ha jugat ara com ara un rol limitat en promoure normes internacionals de drets dels immigrants. Finalment, la convergència envers normes acordades bilateralment ha estat el model menys predominant. La comparativa entre els països d'Europa Oriental mostra que els instruments adoptats són similars per l'objectiu de la UE de ser coherent. Tanmateix, el poder de negociació de cada país amb la UE ha donat peu a condicions més o menys favorables pel país. A més a més, les percepcions de legitimitat i la voluntat de cada país d'apropament a la UE són elements clau. En conjunt, Ucraïna, Moldàvia i Geòrgia són països favorables a l'apropament a la UE mentre que Rússia ha construït una cooperació pragmàtica en matèria d'immigració amb la UE, influint en la institucionalització de l'agenda d'immigració amb Europa Oriental. Finalment, la tesi contribueix globalment al debat sobre el soft power de la UE al veïnatge, concluent que els instruments d'immigració adoptats estan molt més orientats a promoure la seguretat que la mobilitat.La Unión Europea (UE) presentó la Política Europea de Vecindad (PEV) en 2004 para fortalecer la cooperación en áreas como la inmigración. La dimensión exterior de la política de inmigración de la UE hacia Europa Oriental (Asociación Oriental y Rusia) ha sido muy activa y objeto de numerosos trabajos académicos, en gran parte centrados en afirmar que la UE exporta sus propias normas. Sin embargo, la teoría de europeización no tiene en cuenta los intereses y capacidades de los países de Europa Oriental, así como sus percepciones de legitimidad. Una década después de la puesta en marcha de la PEV, la tesis responde a la cuestión sobre qué normas la UE y Europa Oriental adoptan en la convergencia normativa en materia de inmigración. Se identifican tres modelos de convergencia (hacia normas de la UE, normas internacionales y normas acordadas bilateralmente), en función fundamentalmente de la estructura de poder y de las percepciones de legitimidad en Europa Oriental. La convergencia normativa en política de inmigración se aplica a los casos de (I) readmisión, (II) visados, (III) gestión de fronteras e (IV) inmigración laboral. La tesis doctoral concluye que la cooperación en política de inmigración entre la UE y Europa Oriental no consiste en la adopción sistemática de normas de la UE. Argumenta que la UE ha promovido fundamentalmente normas de la UE en el ámbito de seguridad (acuerdos de readmisión y Gestión Integrada de Fronteras). Aun así, debido a la falta de poder suficiente de la Unión y a bajas percepciones de legitimidad de la Unión entre los vecinos de Europa Oriental, la UE ha ofrecido incentivos en el ámbito de la movilidad (política de visados y asociaciones para la movilidad). La evidencia empírica muestra debilidades en la convergencia normativa hacia normas de la UE, que consisten en gran parte en medidas de socialización (intercambio de información y formación). Uno de los resultados más significativos de la tesis es que la UE promueve activamente, en el marco de la liberalización de visados, la convergencia normativa hacia normas internacionales en materia de estado de derecho. Las normas que emanan del Consejo de Europa y de Naciones Unidas son de hecho percibidas como más legítimas que las normas de la UE. No obstante, este rol de la UE como transmisora de normas hay que matizarlo por el hecho de que la UE ha jugado hasta la fecha un rol limitado en promover normas internacionales de derechos de los inmigrantes. Finalmente, la convergencia hacia normas acordadas bilateralmente ha sido el modelo menos predominante. La comparativa entre los países de Europa Oriental muestra que los instrumentos adoptados son similares por el objetivo de la UE de ser coherente. Sin embargo, el poder de negociación de cada país con la UE ha dado pie a condiciones más o menos favorables para el país. Además, las percepciones de legitimidad y la voluntad de cada país de acercamiento a la UE son elementos clave. En conjunto, Ucrania, Moldavia y Georgia son países favorables al acercamiento a la UE mientras que Rusia ha construido una cooperación pragmática en materia de inmigración con la UE, influyendo en la institucionalización de la agenda de inmigración con Europa Oriental. Finalmente, la tesis contribuye globalmente al debate sobre el soft power de la UE en la vecindad, concluyendo que los instrumentos de inmigración adoptados están mucho más orientados a promover la seguridad que la movilidad.
In 2004, the European Union (EU) launched the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) to strengthen cooperation in areas such as migration. In particular, the external dimension of the EU migration policy in Eastern Europe (the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia) has been very active and under huge academic scrutiny, mostly with studies claiming that the EU exports its own norms. Yet, this Europeanisation approach does not take into account the interests and capacities of Eastern European countries, as well as their perceptions of legitimacy. A decade after the launch of the ENP, this thesis addresses the question of what norms are actually adopted in the EU-Eastern Europe migration policy convergence. Three models of policy convergence (towards EU norms, towards international norms and towards bilaterally-agreed norms) are identified, depending mainly on the structure of power and perceptions of legitimacy in Eastern Europe. Migration policy convergence is applied to the cases of (I) readmission, (II) visa, (III) border management and (IV) labour migration. The doctoral dissertation concludes that the EU-Eastern Europe migration cooperation has not consisted in the systematic adoption of EU norms. It argues that the EU primarily has promoted security-related EU norms (readmission agreements and Integrated Border Management). However, due to lack of enough EU leverage and low perceptions of EU legitimacy among the Eastern neighbours, the EU has offered incentives in the field of mobility (visa policy and mobility partnerships). Empirical evidence shows weaknesses in policy convergence to EU norms, consisting mainly in socialisation measures (information exchange and capacity-building). One of the main findings of the thesis is that the EU is actively promoting, in the framework of visa liberalisation, policy convergence towards international norms in the area of rule of law. In fact, norms emanating from the Council of Europe and the United Nations are perceived as more legitimate than EU norms. However, this EU role as norm-transmitter has to be nuanced by the fact that to date the EU has played a relatively limited role in promoting international norms in the area of migrants' rights. Finally, convergence to bilaterally-agreed norms has been the least predominant. A comparison across Eastern European countries shows that the policy instruments adopted are by and large similar for the sake of consistency. Nonetheless, the leverage of each country vis-à-vis the EU has usually shaped more or less favourable conditions for the country. In addition, the perceptions of legitimacy and willingness of each country to come closer with the EU are essential. Overall, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia are willing countries whereas Russia has built a pragmatic cooperation on migration with the EU, playing a role in the institutionalisation of the migration agenda to Eastern Europe. Finally, the thesis contributes overall to debate on the EU soft power in the Neighbourhood, concluding that the adopted migration policy instruments are much more oriented at promoting security than mobility.
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Davies, Aled Rhys. "The city of London and British social democracy, c. 1959-1979." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d45f1e5b-ca50-403d-a3d9-e802c78de9ba.
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This thesis considers the position of the British financial sector in the economic strategy of social democracy during the 1960s and 1970s. In doing so it attempts to shed light on a broader question – what caused the collapse of the postwar social democratic project in Britain during the final quarter of the twentieth century? It contends that the social democratic project faced a variety of challenges to its principles, assumptions, and practices in the two decades prior to the election of Margaret Thatcher as a result of changes to the financial system. These challenges offered opportunities for the advance of social democracy beyond the norms established following the Second World War, but the capacity to pursue these was constrained in a number of ways. The emergence of institutional investment, and the breakdown of the postwar banking settlement, undermined the social democratic methods for managing and controlling credit and investment, yet also offered the opportunity to advance the State’s capacity to intervene in the economy. However the ability of the left to renew and rebuild the social democratic economic project along more advanced, interventionist lines was limited by new material constraints which made extensive reform of the financial system and the domestic economy extremely difficult. Structural changes to the international financial system following the breakdown of the Bretton Woods settlement, combined with the severe economic crisis of the 1970s, imposed new limits on the freedom of governments to engage in domestic-focused macroeconomic management. As the methods and techniques of social democratic economic strategy became less effective, the ideal of developing an advanced industrial economy through State coordination faded. In its place a new conception of the British economy was promoted which sought to revive its historic liberal and internationalist role in which the City of London was at its heart.
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Perkins, Marianne. "Refugee Resettlement in Germany: An Analysis of Policy Learning and Support Networks." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2021. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/617.
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The resettlement of refugees and asylum seekers in Germany since reunification in 1990 has been challenged by two peaks in asylum seeker applications in 1992 and again in 2016. From the 1992 peak, which was fueled by asylum seekers fleeing the former Yugoslavia, extensive research has already been conducted over the past thirty years. These studies have demonstrated the actual outcomes of these primarily Yugoslavian asylum seekers and refugees with these findings indicating legal and economic uncertainty having a detrimental effect even years after resettlement. Using Germany as a case study, this analysis aims to survey the available information in the more recent example of asylum seekers arriving in Germany from 2014 onwards primarily from the Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Ultimately, successful resettlement equates to successful integration measures. The issues of policy legacy and learning as well as elements of the available support network for asylum seekers in housing, Integrationskurse (integration courses), and advice centers are examined to understand how each relates to successful integration and security for asylum seekers. The findings indicate that Germany has achieved successful resettlement and integration of asylum seekers through policy learning from the early 1990s onwards and a strong support network available for those seeking asylum, yet the exclusion of certain groups from integration measures unfairly leaves some behind. A continuous evaluation of these integration measures is necessary to ensure the successful resettlement of refugees and asylum seekers in Germany in anticipated future peaks in asylum seeker applications.
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Heidmann, Mickaël. "Transferts et formation des jeunes footballeurs en Europe : du " rêve sportif " à la régulation politique : une socio-ethnographie politique au coeur des institutions européennes." Phd thesis, Université de Strasbourg, 2013. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01071735.
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Qu'est-ce que l'Europe politique et l'Europe du sport peuvent faire afin de mieux former les jeunes footballeurs et de mieux les protéger au cours d'un transfert ? Cette interrogation permet aisément la lecture de ce qui est en jeu à la jonction entre le champ sportif et le champ politique. Cet espace de positions sociales que constitue le football européen voit s'affronter des acteurs du mouvement sportif d'un côté, avec d'autres agents issus des institutions européennes. Nous démontrerons comment répondre politiquement à un problème footballistique, ce qui passe par une volonté politique de haut-niveau. Ainsi, le processus de policy-making résulte d'un compromis rendu obligatoire par l'autonomie et la spécificité dont bénéficie le football. La coordination entre les autorités publiques et le mouvement sportif sera un élément prépondérant de contrôle et de régulation pour faire face aux défis actuels dans le monde du football, dans lequel les Nations conservent le véritable pouvoir.
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PORFILIO, AMELIO. "Il welfare state incontra l’Unione europea: dalla costituzione economica europea ad un modello sociale europeo." Doctoral thesis, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10280/807.
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La tesi si snoda lungo tre piani di analisi per esaminare i rapporti fra Unione europea e welfare state. Innanzitutto, essa guarda alla CEE come organizzazione sorta principalmente per perseguire l’integrazione economica degli Stati membri senza interferire sulla loro funzione di welfare. Nel ripercorrere l’evoluzione delle competenze sociali dell’Unione europea, la tesi suggerisce come i sussistenti limiti procedurali e sostanziali evidenzino quella logica.
In secondo luogo, la tesi ricorre alla categoria di costituzione economica europea al fine di spiegare la limitazione di sovranità cui gli Stati membri sono andati incontro per favorire l’attuazione del principio di libertà economica. Su questa base, vengono enucleati taluni effetti prodotti dalla costituzione economica europea sul welfare state. Un’attenzione particolare è dedicata ai riflessi della costituzione economica in materia pensionistica.
Infine, la tesi guarda alle innovazioni apportate dalla Strategia di Lisbona e dal Trattato di Lisbona, con particolare riguardo al rafforzamento del metodo aperto di coordinamento ed all’entrata in vigore della Carta dei diritti fondamentali. In questa luce, si coglie la tendenza all’edificazione di un modello sociale europeo. Avendone discusso genesi e sviluppo, vengono illustrati i suoi tratti distintivi ed i suoi riflessi sulle politiche nazionali di sicurezza sociale e del lavoro.The thesis examines the relationship between European Union and Welfare State under three different perspectives. Firstly, it looks at the EEC as an organization pursuing economic integration of Member States while not interfering with their welfare function. In tracing the evolution of the social competences of the European Union, it is highlighted how the original logic still underlies the existence of procedural and substantive limits to those competences. Second, the thesis draws on the category of European economic constitution to explain how Member States bounded their sovereignty in order to give full effect to economic freedom. On that basis, the thesis describes some of the inroads made by the European economic constitution into national welfare states, with special attention to its effects on pension systems. Finally, the thesis looks at some of the innovations introduced by the Lisbon Strategy and the Lisbon Treaty, focusing on the strengthening of the Open Method of Co-ordination and the entry into force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. In this perspective, the thesis captures the emergence of a European social model. Having discussed origins and development of the European social model, its main distinctive features and reflexes on domestic social policies are spelled out.
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PORFILIO, AMELIO. "Il welfare state incontra l’Unione europea: dalla costituzione economica europea ad un modello sociale europeo." Doctoral thesis, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10280/807.
Full textAbstract:
La tesi si snoda lungo tre piani di analisi per esaminare i rapporti fra Unione europea e welfare state. Innanzitutto, essa guarda alla CEE come organizzazione sorta principalmente per perseguire l’integrazione economica degli Stati membri senza interferire sulla loro funzione di welfare. Nel ripercorrere l’evoluzione delle competenze sociali dell’Unione europea, la tesi suggerisce come i sussistenti limiti procedurali e sostanziali evidenzino quella logica.
In secondo luogo, la tesi ricorre alla categoria di costituzione economica europea al fine di spiegare la limitazione di sovranità cui gli Stati membri sono andati incontro per favorire l’attuazione del principio di libertà economica. Su questa base, vengono enucleati taluni effetti prodotti dalla costituzione economica europea sul welfare state. Un’attenzione particolare è dedicata ai riflessi della costituzione economica in materia pensionistica.
Infine, la tesi guarda alle innovazioni apportate dalla Strategia di Lisbona e dal Trattato di Lisbona, con particolare riguardo al rafforzamento del metodo aperto di coordinamento ed all’entrata in vigore della Carta dei diritti fondamentali. In questa luce, si coglie la tendenza all’edificazione di un modello sociale europeo. Avendone discusso genesi e sviluppo, vengono illustrati i suoi tratti distintivi ed i suoi riflessi sulle politiche nazionali di sicurezza sociale e del lavoro.The thesis examines the relationship between European Union and Welfare State under three different perspectives. Firstly, it looks at the EEC as an organization pursuing economic integration of Member States while not interfering with their welfare function. In tracing the evolution of the social competences of the European Union, it is highlighted how the original logic still underlies the existence of procedural and substantive limits to those competences. Second, the thesis draws on the category of European economic constitution to explain how Member States bounded their sovereignty in order to give full effect to economic freedom. On that basis, the thesis describes some of the inroads made by the European economic constitution into national welfare states, with special attention to its effects on pension systems. Finally, the thesis looks at some of the innovations introduced by the Lisbon Strategy and the Lisbon Treaty, focusing on the strengthening of the Open Method of Co-ordination and the entry into force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. In this perspective, the thesis captures the emergence of a European social model. Having discussed origins and development of the European social model, its main distinctive features and reflexes on domestic social policies are spelled out.
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ARISI, CLAUDIA. "THE POLITICAL ORGANISATION OF BUSINESS AND WELFARE STATE RESTRUCTURING: HOW ASSOCIATIONAL FACTORS SHAPE EMPLOYERS' COOPERATION FOR SOCIAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2434/208343.
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Given that business interests have assumed ever-growing importance in welfare state restructuring, and that welfare programmes impose significant costs on firms, when and how can employers decide to actively support the development of contemporary social policy? This thesis shows that specific types of business interest organisation can favour the cooperation of employers for the establishment of new social welfare legislation by mediating between their heterogeneous economic interests and the political target structure, and by governing their collective political mobilisation. Drawing on theories of collective action and neo-corporatist models, the thesis elaborates an original typological framework and assesses it through an historical cross-national study of the role of organised business in the Austrian and Italian severance pay reforms (1990s-2000s). Detail process-tracing and systematic cross-case comparison are used to reconstruct and analyse what motivated and enabled the Austrian business community, but not the Italian one, to decisively promote the use of severance payments for the expansion of supplementary pension funds. Empirically, the thesis finds that differences in the institutional set-up of the national organisation of business interests have shaped divergent governance roles of business in the two countries by making for different organisational capacities of interest coordination and unification on the one hand, and of bargained interest accommodation, on the other. In particular, highly inclusive and cohesive organisational forms of interest representation, like the Austrian ones, have allowed employers’ representatives to contain intra-class interest conflicts and deliver unitary, politically manageable and moderate social policy demands. Moreover, rather stable participation in state regulation (in non-wage policy areas) and high sanction leverage vis-à-vis members have enabled organisational leaders to determine collective social policy goals and strategies quite independently from the short-term interests of employers, and to render organisational decisions binding also for members opposing resistance. In closing, the thesis provides evidence that, even in presence of appropriate institutional arrangements, a remarkable responsibility for building business support for social welfare initiatives rests on the government. Since the latter can bias the contingent conditions of political influence, it can dampen organisations’ cooperative efforts whenever it opts for clientelistic dynamics of policy formation instead of backing the construction of cross-class reform coalitions.
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Akyelken, Nihan. "Capital and development in social and cultural contexts : an empirical investigation on transport infrastructure development and female labour force in Turkey." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:01b1cb7a-aac9-436f-82c5-eb7ab8db138c.
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Non-economic factors like culture and politics, as well as the socio-economic background, matter significantly in directing economic development endeavours towards social wellbeing. Therefore, the current narrow definition of economic development must be extended to include overall wellbeing. As one of the primary forms of physical capital constituting a regional economy, transport investments have played a significant role in development plans. Given that accessibility to social infrastructure is a basic need, certain levels of infrastructure are essential. How these investments have an impact on different groups of individuals has kept many scholars busy for a long time. However, the economic spillover effects of these investments into female labour markets have remained largely unexplored. Situating the implications of development initiatives, including transport investments, for female labour markets in social and cultural contexts requires an integrated view of the regional economy. Although economic geography and existing development theories provide extensive conceptual models to elucidate the links between transport, labour markets and culture, the methodological implications are obscure; hence, the empirical evidence remains weak. This thesis explores the economic and non-economic dynamics of regional economies to clarify the links between transport infrastructure, labour markets, and social and cultural conditions. In particular, the association between female labour forces and development efforts, in the form of transport infrastructure development, is conceptually and empirically examined. This thesis conducts a case study on Turkey. With the extensive infrastructure investment that has been made since 2002 and the extremely low rates of female labour force participation (around 25%), compared to EU-15 and OECD averages of around 65%, Turkey serves as an illuminating case. Theoretically, the study shows that the focus of transport economics on the economic growth effect of investments is not consistent with current efforts to extend economic development objectives: transport research requires a broader view to assess its development implications. The study demonstrates how the interactions between the economic, physical, political, cultural and socio-economic attributes of regions significantly affect how individuals benefit from the investments. The overarching policy implications of the study are useful for regional development policy with a gender focus: complementary policy interventions in human capital development and the consideration of social and cultural attitudes should strengthen the positive impacts of physical investments on female labour markets.
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Brožová, Jana. "Jižní křídlo EU a regionální politika." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2012. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-199962.
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The aim of the diploma thesis is to analyse European policy of economic and social cohesion in the southern states of the European Union. The import of regional policy consists in the strengthening of cohesion through the diminution of existing differences in socioeconomic level between EU member states and theirs regions. Significantly high budget item assigned to the regional policy on the European level affirms its importance. States of the southern Europe (Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece) gained long-standing experience in the implementation of the cohesion policy, therefore they are suitable for the evaluation of the effectiveness. The thesis seeks to deliver potential recommendations for the effectiveness improvement on the national as well as on the European level.
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Menendez, Gonzalez Irene. "The politics of compensation under trade : openness, economic geography and spending." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7974d14a-b88d-46a3-99aa-553dc85a9192.
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This thesis examines the conditions under which democratically elected policymakers are more likely to provide policies that compensate individuals that lose from international trade. It develops and empirically tests a theoretical framework of compensation in open economies that accounts for differences in the degree to which governments benefit losers from trade. It first develops a theory of preference formation based on economic geography, and then argues that electoral and legislative institutions jointly condition the supply of compensation. The theoretical analysis provides three sets of observable implications evaluated using micro- and macro-level data in Europe and Latin America. First, exposure to international competition increases demand for policy that compensates for the costs of trade, but this effect is more pronounced among those individuals in economically specialised and uncompetitive contexts where reemployment in the event of a shock is difficult. Second, policymakers in proportional electoral systems face weak incentives to target trade losers in geographically concentrated and uncompetitive regions. In contrast, majoritarian institutions generate incentives to increase compensation when trade losers are geographically concentrated. Another implication is that under some conditions, the presence of a strong upper house that represents regional interests dampens the provision of compensation, and the relative effect of electoral rules. The empirical implications of the argument are tested using a multi-method research strategy that combines cross-national and case study analyses and draws on quantitative and qualitative techniques. Chapter 3 tests the micro-level implications of the model using survey data for European regions over 2002-2006. The findings indicate that regional economic specialization and regional competitiveness jointly condition the impact of trade on preferences for compensation. Chapter 4 systematically tests the extent to which the geographical concentration of trade losers conditions the effect of electoral institutions on levels of compensation. It uses panel data from 14 European countries from 1980 to 2010. The findings indicate that where trade losers are concentrated, lower district magnitude leads to more compensation. Chapters 5 and 6 conduct case studies of compensation in Spain and Argentina, both countries that underwent deep liberalisation and offer significant variation at the regional and institutional level. Chapter 5 explores preferences over compensation in selected regions in Spain and Argentina, and shows that regional specialisation and competitiveness were important in shaping levels of support for compensation. Chapter 6 examines the role of electoral institutions and legislative veto bargaining in shaping the politics of compensation in Spain and Argentina.