Enlarged Europe Research Articles

Parental leave regulations and the persistence of the male breadwinner model: Using fuzzy-set ideal type analysis to assess gender equality in an enlarged Europe

This paper uses fuzzy-set ideal type analysis to assess the conformity of European leave regulations to four theoretical ideal typical divisions of labour: male breadwinner, caregiver parity, universal breadwinner and universal caregiver. In contrast to the majority of previous studies, the focus of this analysis is on the extent to which leave regulations promote gender equality in the family and the transformation of traditional gender roles. The results of this analysis demonstrate that European countries cluster into five models that only partly coincide with countries’ geographical proximity. Second, none of the countries considered constitutes a universal caregiver model, while the male breadwinner ideal continues to provide the normative reference point for parental leave regulations in a large number of European states. Finally, we witness a growing emphasis at the national and EU levels concerning the universal breadwinner ideal, which leaves gender inequality in unpaid work unproblematized.

Labor Mobility in an Enlarged European Union

The 2004 and 2007 enlargements of the EU extended the freedom of movement to workers from the twelve new member states mainly from Central Eastern Europe. This study summarizes and comparatively evaluates what we know about mobility in an enlarged Europe to date. The pre-enlargement fears of free labor mobility proved to be unjustified. No significant detrimental effects on the receiving countries’ labor markets have been documented, nor has there been any discernible welfare shopping. Rather, there appear to have been positive effects on EU’s productivity. The sending countries face some risks of losing their young and skilled labor force, but free labor mobility has relieved them of some redundant labor and the associated fiscal burden. They have also profited from remittances. Of key importance for the sending countries is to reap the benefits from brain gain and brain circulation in an enlarged EU. For the migrants the benefits in terms of better career prospects have with little doubt exceeded any pecuniary and non-pecuniary costs of migration. In conclusion, the freedom of movement in the EU provides for a triple-win situation for the receiving and sending countries as well as for migrants themselves, provided the risks are contained and efficient brain circulation is achieved.

More than just money: Patterns of disaggregated welfare expenditure in the enlarged Europe

This article demonstrates the potential of the disaggregated expenditure approach in comparative welfare state analysis by applying it for comparing patterns of welfare spending across 28 European countries. An initial factor analysis shows that welfare states differ primarily along their emphasis either on cash transfers for the elderly or on social services and cash transfers for the working-age population. European welfare states cluster along these two spending dimensions in a way that to a great extent coincides with the well-known delineation of welfare regimes based on institutional characteristics. Furthermore, the results attest to the emergence of a variety of welfare arrangements in the post-communist region, yet with a general orientation toward a Bismarckian or conservative model. The results of this analysis demonstrate that disaggregated welfare expenditure measures retain considerable importance in elucidating the realities of contemporary welfare policy.

Entrepreneurship and the Hidden Economy: An Extended Matching Model

This paper develops a labour market matching model in order to address the problem of the persistence of the hidden sector and of its regional concentration, as in Italy and in the enlarged Europe. The main novel features of the model are that entrepreneurial ability affects job productivity, and that regular firms receive negative externalities from the hidden sector, which may capture the pressure typically exerted by corruption and organised crime, and positive externalities from the other regular firms. At least one interior equilibrium emerges, thus providing an explanation for the so-called ‘shadow puzzle’, with the possibility that tougher monitoring may reduce both the hidden sector and unemployment. If externalities are non-linear, two equilibria may emerge, thus accounting for regional dualism. The ‘better’ equilibrium is in fact characterised by a smaller hidden sector, higher levels of overall productivity, output, entrepreneurial ability used, extra-profits, relative wages, and more favourable externalities.

Planning Small Regions in a Larger Europe: Spatial Planning as a Learning Process for Sustainable Local Development

An enlarged Europe is addressing the challenge of territorial cohesion on the basis of a disciplinary and operative framework formed by a number of evolving documents and provisions to be applied and developed at different administrative and planning levels. Rapid and profound changes have occurred in previous decades as far as institutional framework, the role of actors and issues to be tackled are concerned, within a re-scaling process of territorial governance. In this context, small territories can take advantage of European funds, but experience a hard confrontation with the market economy and supra-local visions, use of resources and infrastructure projects. A decisive role, in many countries, has been gained by regional authorities, which must mediate among various territorial levels, institutions and actors involved in a multilevel governance process. The paper focuses on spatial and regional/territorial planning processes among the European dimension, Member States and regions, on the basis of a case study conducted in Northern Italy. The aim is to determine the role of European spatial planning as a “learning machine” [Faludi, A. (2008) European Territorial Cooperation and Learning, disP 172, (1/2008), pp. 3–10.] able to support processes of mutual learning and cooperation, overcoming the attitude of compliance to upper level schemes and financial programmes rather than innovating usual procedures and territorial planning.

US foreign direct investment, macro markets and labour relations: the case of enlarged Europe

ABSTRACTThe rise of macro markets such as the European Single market recalibrates the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and national locations. Previous research has ignored the impact of macro markets theoretically and empirically. The article therefore challenges conventional wisdom on the impact of national properties on FDI.

European Work Councils and their role in the context of the enlarged Europe

Le présent article s’interroge sur la place et le rôle des comités d’entreprise européens (CEE) dans le contexte de l’Europe élargie. Il s’appuie sur un travail d’enquête réalisé auprès de huit multinationales françaises appartenant à trois secteurs d’activité (automobile, énergie, agroalimentaire) implantées dans trois nouveaux États membres (Hongrie, Slovaquie, Roumanie). Accordant une attention particulière aux buts, aux motivations et aux stratégies d’acteurs parties prenantes des CEE (représentants salariés comme directions centrales), l’enquête met en lumière la diversité des usages dont font l’objet ces nouvelles structures de dialogue social transnational. A des degrés divers selon les firmes, ces dernières apparaissent comme des « structures porteuses d’intérêts politiques ». Pour les représentants salariés issus de différents territoires, les CEE peuvent servir d’appui pour revendiquer la mise en place de régulations transnationales, ou d’instrument pour rehausser les régulations locales défaillantes (notamment dans les filiales est-européennes). Pour les directions, les CEE ne sont pas moins stratégiques. Mobilisées à l’occasion comme support pour le pilotage des politiques RH à l’échelle mondiale, ces nouvelles structures jouent plus sûrement une fonction (implicite) de rénovation des modalités et finalités du dialogue social, dans un sens plus conforme aux impératifs managériaux.

Income dynamics in an enlarged Europe: the role of capital regions

This article is aimed to study, by means of both a nonparametric and a parametric approach to convergence, whether after the recent enlargements of the European Union the traditional twofold spatial regime of regional per capita income growth, envisaging a north/south and/or a cohesion/non-cohesion countries divide, should be replaced by an alternative east/west spatial pattern. A second relevant issue is whether new member regions where capital cities are located are benefiting from the same “network effect” that stimulated growth in old member capital regions during the 1980s and early 1990s. We find evidence, by means of spatial econometrics tools, of significant spatial effects in the enlarged Europe which seems to be formed by a group of old member regions, slowly becoming more homogeneous, and a newcomers group which represents a separate “convergence club” but whose capital regions are rapidly integrating into the west. The European regional policy may play a crucial role in this context.

Boom and Bust in Central and Eastern Europe: Lessons on the Sustainability of an Externally Financed Growth Model’

This commentary shows the patterns of a production model in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) that was based on a specific division of labour within the enlarged Europe. Its foundation was a newly emerged manufacturing base in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) and it was seen as a prerequisite for economic renewal in post-communist countries. This production model seems to be in danger now. The first section highlights the main elements of the process where CEE production locations became integrated into the value chains of western European manufacturing enterprises. The example of the automobile industry demonstrates the principles of this production model of with its particular pattern of division of labour between the East and west of Europe. The foundations of the past success have however proved to be fragile, as the dramatic effects of the economic crisis show us these days. The second part of the paper shows, how the particular pattern of the division of labour between East and West have become a risk factor and its sustainability is being questioned.

Transnational Xenophobia in Europe? Literary Representations of Contemporary Fears

Does an enlarged Europe harbor an enlarged fear of foreigners? Has EU expansion produced a bizarre, unintentional convergence in the xenophobic attitudes of eastern and western Europeans? What is the texture of this xenophobia in the different parts of Europe? This article is divided into three parts. First, it summarizes the contemporary European debate on fear of foreigners, antipathy towards immigrants, and the effort to enforce boundaries of national belonging. Second, it provides empirical evidence about national phobias using Germany and Poland as examples. Finally, it assays literary representations of European fears construed by select contemporary playwrights and novelists. The article proposes that the drama of European xenophobia is most effectively captured in the works of European writers, not in the discourse of EU leaders or social scientists.

Il primato delle istituzioni nella riforma della Pac

- Recent years have seen dramatic and continuous reforms of the European discipline of agriculture, both in the first and in the second pillar, in significant connection with the enlargement of the EC to new member States. The process, still far from being completed, concerns many disciplinary areas, including: economics, governance and distribution of powers, as well as relations among individuals. The result is a new model of "plural" regulation, a "flexible droit" as defined with a suggestive imagine by a French author (Carbonnier). This contributions aims to analyse: the influence of reformed Cap on the institutional framework and the governance model of an enlarged Europe in a world market. A prominent character of the reform has been the marked "renationalisation" in domestic implementation of Cap, with the introduction of several policy options having significant distributional implications. Member States have wide margins of manoeuvre to link financial support to subjective and objective prerequisites and to direct benefits towards selected beneficiaries. This flexibility determines a mise en ouvre not uniform in the Member States, with relevant differences with respect to the recent past. Subsidiarity, Complementarity, Partnership, Non-Discrimination, Fair Cooperation have an impact both on the substance of the choices as well on the distribution of competences and powers among public and private actors at national, regional, and local levels. The outcome brings forward an European discipline of agriculture, which is common for Member States but not necessarily uniform. National choices, even in a strongly decoupled frame, might affect the "equal treatment between farmers" as well as "market and competition". But what is the real economic and political meaning for "equal treatment between farmers" as well as for "market and competition"? and how such concerns are related to the specific CAP concerns within a whole objective function? Tentative answers to these questions may come from the comparative analysis, both economic and juridical, of the Institutions of European agriculture, at common, national and local level. Parole chiave: istituzioni, autonomia, diritto comune europeo, leale collaborazione, sistema di governo. Key words: institutions, autonomy, common European law, fair cooperation, governance.

The Complexity of Relocation and the Diversity of Trade Union Responses: Efficiency-oriented Foreign Direct Investment in Central Europe

Relocations within an enlarged Europe are often portrayed as an unavoidable destiny or irresistible threat for workers. The article outlines a number of contingent factors which determine how serious are the threats and how feasible is an effective union response. Such factors are then tested through in-depth case studies of 12 plants in the automotive components sector (where cross-border competition is particularly strong), showing how varied can be the scenarios for industrial relations in multinational companies.

Towards Contextual System Conceptual Designing to sustain regional Stability in enlarged Europe

The paper is concerning with some preliminary results of our investigation aiming at the new conceptual design methodology of Complex Contextual Systems (CCS). A three dimension modeling framework is proposed. The correlated information ontology involves: Socio-organizational systems (View 1) / global economic systems (View 2) and, respectively, Political / societal systems (View 3) is proposed to sustain our approach to fueling globalization through Intelligent Future Internet enabling Enterprise Systems development (FInES). An ICT-FP7 project proposal, so-called LEVERAGE is briefly presented in order to implement the primary function of governing and policy modeling within Complex Contextual Systems conceptual design.

Modelling European Regional Scenarios: Aggressive versus Defensive Competitive Strategies

The aim of the paper is to tackle the question of what the European territory will look like over the next fifteen years by providing quali–quantitative territorial scenarios for an enlarged Europe, under different assumptions about the future direction in which the driving forces affecting development will move. Based on an econometric model, called MASST, two scenarios are built on the bases of alternative strategies put in place by the EU 15, the New 12, and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries, on which alternative behavioural patterns in the driving forces of change depend. The scenarios presented are not policy scenarios: a more general approach is chosen, and more general issues of external competitiveness and global confrontation are emphasised and placed in the forefront of reflection, in an endeavour to define, through the use of the MASST simulation model, their likely impact on territorial trends, regional convergence, and general economic performance. Major determinants of territorial trends are attributed to the competitive game between the three above-mentioned blocks of countries. The model is able to provide the simulations for twenty-seven countries (the ‘Old 15’ EU members and the ‘New 12’ Eastern EU members) and for their 259 regions of GDP and population in 2015 in the two scenarios.

Corporate Financing in the New Member States: Firm-Level Evidence for Convergence and Divergence Trends

The paper presents results of an ongoing research project on corporate financing patterns in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) since 1999. It addresses three broad issues. What are the specifics of corporate financing in CEE compared to countries in Western Europe? What country institutional and company factors may explain the similarities and differences between capital structures in the EU-15 and New Member States (NMS)? What are the major convergence and divergence trends in corporate financing patterns in an enlarged Europe? The study analyses the interactions between country institutional differences, firm ownership structures, other firm-specific characteristics and corporate financial patterns in both the EU-15 and NMS. It summarises the firm-level evidence and outlines several unresolved questions and major dimensions for further research.

Are the poor socially integrated? The link between poverty and social support in different welfare regimes

Cultures of support vary across enlarged Europe. This article examines the link between poverty and social integration in countries characterized by different economic, cultural and welfare state regimes. Its object is to determine whether being materially disadvantaged increases the likelihood of social disintegration (accumulation) or whether poor people can count on receiving more support (compensation). In addition it will examine the conditions under which material and social disadvantages accumulate. The empirical analysis thus combines a micro- with a macro-sociological perspective and focuses particular attention on the context in which people are poor. Although poverty is closely connected to social disintegration, the degree of accumulation varies from one country to the next. Of decisive importance is household composition, which is strongly related to country-specific social policy design. Contextual factors such as the prevalence of poverty also play a role, as do general attitudes to religion and family solidarity.

Unravelling the services Directive

The Services Directive 2006/123 was the legislative equivalent of a hot potato. The idea behind it was simple: to reduce the volume of authorizations and other paperwork which stood in the way of freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services for out of State service providers, and to set up systems of administrative support, notably Points of Single Contact, to help these entrepreneurs navigate their way through the bureaucracy that remained. Yet this simple idea became embroiled in much large debates about the future direction of an enlarged Europe. Trade unions, in particular, were able to raise the spectre of widespread social dumping if the original draft of the Directive was adopted. The Parliament’s intervention proved crucial: its compromise text formed the basis of the final draft. This article examines the context in which the Directive was adopted, analyses the substance of its provisions and examines the impressive regulatory toolkit deployed to achieve its results.

Economic Elites in enlarged Europe

The introduction to the Special Issue on economic elites in Central Eastern Europe establishes a common understanding of elite research and the development of capitalism in Central Eastern Europe as developed during the 1990s. Since then, the composition of elites has been lost sight of by research. The article identifies areas which future research should look into and situates the German case in the broader debate.

Régionalisations et régionalismes dans une Europe élargie : les enjeux d'une comparaison Est-Ouest

Regionalization and regionalisms in a bigger Europe: The issues in an East-West comparison In recent decades, the framework for analyzing regional issues has nearly always been based on empirical cases from western Europe. Three principal patterns can be distinguished: the ethno-territorial constructivist current of thought, the multi-level governance model and neoregionalism. But can they be generalized to a EU with 27 members? Does the bigger EU imply changing our grids for interpreting regional phenomena in Europe? After testing these theoretical west European patterns by applying them to eastern Europe, a series of variables is presented for restudying regionalism and regionalization in an enlarged Europe.

Quality production and quality of the environment in the mountain pastures of an enlarged Europe

Quality production and quality of the environment in the mountain pastures of an enlarged Europe