Socio-economic Governance Research Articles

Resilient austerity? National economic discourses before the pandemic in the European Union

AbstractAfter the euro crisis, politicization patterns led the institutions of the European Union to gradually redirect the bloc's socioeconomic governance away from austerity. It is less clear whether the erosion of austerity was mirrored in national economic discourses. To fill this gap, this article provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of parliamentary budget debates in four country cases: France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Portugal, from 2014 to 2020. The results show contrasting patterns of “fiscal discipline” frame resilience in national economic discourse in ways consistent with intergovernmental bargaining around the pandemic recovery agenda. Moreover, shared preoccupations relating to investment in the economy, social inequality, and climate change emerge as major threads shaping budget making. These findings suggest an increasingly integrated multi‐level system of economic governance and call for further investigation into the links between ideas shaping EU economic governance and economic discourses in member states.Related ArticlesPi Ferrer, Laia, and Pertti Alasuutari. 2019. “The Spread and Domestication of the Term ‘Austerity:’ Evidence from the Portuguese and Spanish Parliaments.” Politics & Policy 47(6): 1039–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12331.Zamponi, Lorenzo, and Lorenzo Bosi. 2016. “Which Crisis? European Crisis and National Contexts in Public Discourse.” Politics & Policy 44(3): 400–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12156.

Pacifying the Battlefield of Industry: Warfare and Social Rights in 1848 France

Abstract This study delves into the intricate relationship between warfare and social rights during the Second French Republic. As recent scholarship suggests that the emergence of social rights in the 18th century involved a transition from Christian charity principles to secular obligations, primarily influenced by proponents of free markets, this research uncovers a distinct path during the July Monarchy. Here, socialists framed social rights using a unique language centered on warfare, which was overtly at odds with the prevailing free-market discourse. This transformation led to the concept of “guerre industrielle” or industrial warfare, portraying industrial workers as modern soldiers in the international economic competition among nations. Such a narrative significantly molded the political demands of the emerging French working class, focusing on securing decent employment and extending to workers the social provisions already granted to the military. These demands gained substantial momentum during the tumultuous 1848 Revolution, fueling a call for comprehensive societal transformation, emphasizing cooperative production and mutual assistance. Nevertheless, the rejection of these radical ideas was primarily attributed to the reluctance of moderate republicans to embrace the profound societal changes implied by such demands. By delving into the intricacies of this relationship, the article offers fresh insights into the development of social rights before the emergence of the Welfare State and their impact on the construction of tools of socioeconomic governance during the last two centuries.

Measuring and Mitigating Group Inequalities In Resource Allocation

Resource allocation, an integral part of socio-economic governance, profoundly influences individual prosperity and has the potential to mitigate or exacerbate socioeconomic disparities. This paper addresses the challenge of equitably allocating finite resources among individuals by answering two fundamental questions: (1) how to accurately measure and test group disparities and (2) how to optimally distribute resources while ensuring group fairness. We propose the Group Beneficiary Disparity (GBD) metric – an evaluation tool engineered to systematically gauge inequalities in a binary beneficiary/non-beneficiary context. The GBD provides decision-makers and planners with a powerful tool to audit social programs and optimize policies from a lens of group equality. We argue that utilitarian decision-makers cannot fully eliminate group disparities even when operating under social welfare constraints. To address this issue, we propose a new resource allocation optimization model, called A-FARM (Asymptotically Fair Allocation of Resources Model), with asymptotic group fairness guarantees. A-FARM partitions individuals into distinct, non-overlapping units and distributes resources among these units based on a utility-based allocation mechanism. Finally, we evaluate the performance of our proposed algorithm using both simulated and real-world data. Our results demonstrate that, A-FARM enables decision-makers to (1) achieve maximum efficiency under group fairness constraints and (2) perform a fairness-efficiency trade-off.

A Transdisciplinary Approach and Design Thinking Methodology: For Applications to Complex Problems and Energy Transition

In this paper, we outline a transdisciplinary approach and design thinking methodology (TADTM) to tackle complex problems. Our premise is that these problems need a fundamental understanding of technological solutions and those for human interactions, business operations, financing, socioeconomic governance, legislation, and regulations. They must be approached by different decisionmakers from different disciplines to establish seamless interactions and structured teamwork. In this regard, we emphasize the need for a transdisciplinary framework that accounts for personal preferences based on human behavior as well as the traditional interdisciplinary frameworks. To test and prove our hypothesis, three case studies are discussed. Case Study 1 is based on our studies at a major medical establishment, and Case Study 2 is about the integrated engineering and architecture approach we used at our university campus. Case Study 3 is based on an ongoing project to lead industrial corporations to change their energy policies with practical energy efficiency measures and by adapting renewable/alternative energy adaptations for their operations. Developing creative solutions and strategies to decrease atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions requires such an energy transition framework and should involve every person, company, entity, and all governments. It can only be achieved with efforts on both local and global levels, which needs to convince (a) industries to change their traditional operation modalities, (b) people to alter their consumption behaviors, and (c) governments to change their rules, regulations, and incentives. The complexity and magnitude of this enormous task demand the coordination and collaboration of all stakeholders, as well as the need for technological innovations.

Neither responsive, nor responsible? Citizens’ understandings of political actors’ responsiveness and responsibility in the socio-economic governance of the EU

ABSTRACT The implications of the dilemma attributed to Mair between the responsiveness of political actors and their responsibility is considered from the perspective of citizens. The article analyses citizens’ understandings of political actors’ responsiveness and responsibility in their discourses on the SEGEU. We provide an in-depth abductive secondary analysis of three qualitative datasets collected in Belgium and France between 2005 and 2019. Most participants frame responsibility and responsiveness in terms that are close to Mair’s definitions. However, some challenge the principle of responsibility and elaborate an alternative understanding directed towards achieving the common good. Nevertheless, as participants agree that political actors are not responsive to them, but rather to market actors, there is no evident dilemma. Our analysis shows that political actors’ capacity for agency and choice, frames participants’ understandings of responsiveness and responsibility. This result becomes the basis for a reconceptualisation of the notion of responsiveness and representation from a citizen perspective.

Socio-economic governance and economic growth in Nigeria

Purpose The study examines the impact of socio-economic governance on economic growth in Nigeria. It measures socio-economic governance from the perspective of fiscal policy, using indicators such as investment in education, research and development (R&D) and health.Design/methodology/approach This study employs the Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) Bound Testing method to achieve its objective.Findings The study finds that socio-economic policies aimed at increasing investment in education are crucial for Nigeria’s long-term economic growth. Additionally, investment in R&D positively impacts economic growth. However, the study reveals that investment in health negatively affects economic growth in Nigeria in the long run. This suggests that if a country overinvests in health, it may divert resources from other vital sectors such as education, infrastructure and R&D, which can hinder overall economic growth. The short-run parameter is, however, not statistically significant in this study.Originality/value The study’s originality lies in its exploration of the relationship between socio-economic governance and economic growth in Nigeria, specifically from a fiscal policy perspective. It highlights the importance of investing in education and R&D for long-term economic growth. Additionally, the finding that overinvestment in health may have a negative impact on long-term economic growth provides valuable insight for policymakers in Nigeria and other developing countries. Overall, this study’s findings can be beneficial for policymakers and researchers interested in the intersection between socio-economic governance and economic growth in developing countries.

Indonesia’s Renewable Natural Resource Management in the Low-Carbon Transition: A Conundrum in Changing Trajectories

A paradigm shift is required to transform current natural resource management (NRM) in Indonesia’s decision to move into low-carbon development to achieve the greenhouse gas emission target. No study has been conducted to assess whether or not the current approaches are reliable in anticipating the conundrum of the new juncture. We reviewed 10 cases of NRM practices in Indonesia from 2019–2023 collected from the Scopus dataset by integrating the prisoner’s dilemma approach into the socio-ecological framework to analyze the practices and the anticipated gaps. Our finding revealed that socio-economic governance is the dominant view in interpreting the competition between personal and collective interests in NRM. Seeing NRM as an allocation problem and the excessive use of the legal normative approach in interpreting and addressing the problem are flaws in the approach. Combining the prisoner’s dilemma approach with the socio-ecological governance framework enabled us to address the flaws. Promoting polycentric governance that accommodates social trust, reciprocities, and socio-ecological beliefs and reduces uncertainties about ownership and the resources necessary to reduce defective behavior is a solution to transform the structure of the competition. Revising the socio-economic payoff into a socio-ecological value-oriented institution is the strategy to address the conundrum.

Contributors

Contributors

EU Socio-Economic Governance in Central and Eastern Europe - The European Semester and National Employment Policies

EU Socio-Economic Governance in Central and Eastern Europe - The European Semester and National Employment Policies

EU Socio-Economic Governance in Central and Eastern Europe - The European Semester and National Employment Policies

EU Socio-Economic Governance in Central and Eastern Europe - The European Semester and National Employment Policies

Alternative Analytical Approaches to Creative Economy

The aim of the article is to propose alternative and critical analytical perspectives to study creative economy and its correlated issues, such as creative city and creative class. A neo-marxist perspective indicates that creative economy reinforced the gap among innovators, investors, and those who work for them. According to a post-structural perspective, the formulas for the development of creative economy or creative city are homogenizing and contribute to the marginalization of differences. A postcolonial perspective indicates that marginalized societies in the capitalist system were conceived as blank spaces in which socioeconomic governance recommendations applied for creative sectors in North Atlantic societies could be replicated. Feminist approaches and queer theory highlight hierarchies related to gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity in creative industries, despite the supposedly inclusive notions of creative economy and creative class.

The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility: A Next Phase in EU Socioeconomic Governance?

The European Semester (Semester) was implemented a decade ago. Ample research has addressed the Semester’s development, including some major changes in processes and content (Verdun & Zeitlin, 2018). The Covid-19 crisis seems to mark the next stage in the evolution of the Semester. It connects the Semester with the wider Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and links its country-specific recommendations to conditional financial support. Thus, the next stage of the Semester suggests a stronger and more deliberate interlinkage of different EU tools that jointly guide national socioeconomic policies. It should support both national public investment and reforms while focusing on meeting the EU priority of moving towards a climate-neutral, digitalized, and resilient Europe (De la Porte & Dagnis Jensen, 2021). This article addresses the question of what room the new-style Semester gives to the involvement of national-level actors, such as national parliaments. Therefore, it expands existing analytical frameworks in order to assess the RRF in connection to the Semester, focusing on the degree of obligation, enforcement, and centralisation. Jointly, this outlines the room the RRF gives to the participation of national actors in the Semester. The article concludes that although the national parliaments are not mentioned in the Regulation establishing the RRF, they could claim a role both in developing national plans for accessing financial support as well as in amending and approving reforms.

Challenges in strategies for socioeconomic democratization. Assessing solidarity economy policies in Barcelona

ABSTRACT To understand how policies for the social and solidarity economy can contribute to economic democratization and identify the challenges linked to this, we examined the impetus plan which Barcelona city council implemented between 2016 and 2019. Based on semi-structured interviews with policy actors, social entrepreneurs and engaged activists, and on participative observation of two city council assessment workshops, we explore the limitations of the social and solidarity sector from a political economy perspective. Barcelona's approach has previously been acknowledged as an outstanding and innovative strategy that confronts the lack of transversality across public administrations and the complexities around co-construction within the social sector itself. In this examination, we observe how sector actors address issues of cultural tensions around economic thinking and stress the need for a plural and transformative approach towards economic activity. We conclude that, to couple social and solidarity economy policies with economic democratization goals and enable tracking of changes in cities’ socioeconomic governance, it is necessary to work with an integrative perspective that takes into account other policy fields besides social entrepreneurship, and other types of actors, while also considering the connections between public bodies and the social and solidarity economy sector.

Engendering Governance After Armed Conflict: Observations From Kosovo.

This article addresses gender-responsive governance reforms in post-conflict Kosovo from two perspectives: (1) the perspective of human rights as fundamental for state-building, and (2) the resolutions of the UN Security Council regarding Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), notably the initial UNSCR 1325. Special focus is laid on women's agency in governance matters—at the level of the state and at the level of civil society. A gender approach to three dimensions of governance—political-administrative governance, security governance, and socioeconomic governance—shows successes and problems in this post-conflict society. Special attention is given to the strategies of the women's movement in reaching gender-responsive governance. Some initiatives for new masculinities address the necessity of norm change in gender governance. The analysis of the literature and documents, supplemented by interviews, reveals the transformative potential of gender governance that solidly roots in women's rights and combines a multi-actor approach at grassroots, and at national and international levels with strong alliances and very concrete actions.

Socio-economic Governance in the EU

This paper focuses on the complexity of socio-economic governance in the European Union. We define socio-economic governance as the process of governing societies in a situation where no single actor can claim absolute dominance thus socio-economic governance is the outcome of the interaction between European Union institutions (European Union decision-makers) and member states (national policy-makers). Since the onset of the global financial crisis and the euro crisis a decade ago, social issues have become substantially prominent in EU governance and policy debate. Furthermore, the Covid-19 crisis brought again social issues to the fore. There is no dedicated social governance framework in the European Union but there are several mechanisms (strategies, initiatives and regulations) through which social governance is practiced. At the same time, the framework for European economic governance has substantially been strengthened as a consequence of the global financial crisis and the euro crisis and can be characterised by a matured but incomplete framework. On the one hand, this paper aims to collect and investigate all governance tools related to economic and social issues in the European Union, and on the other hand, this research examines the impacts of those governance tools on member states.

Uneven Eufication, The Spatial Fix and the Dominance of Economic Over Social Policies

Abstract I am proposing to use the term EUfication to define the process of creating the EU as territory out of the geographical disparities (re)produced across the core and periphery of Europe. The article contends that EUfication is a manifestation of the phenomenon of spatial fix. In a first step, it describes the dynamics of territorial unevenness within the EU: on the one hand, by some relevant socio-economic cohesion data compiled from Eurostat indicators, and – on the other hand – through the diagnosis on spatial injustice in different Member States, as it was revealed by a comparative research conducted between 2017-2019. Furthermore, my analysis explains territorial unevenness by reconstructing the well-known historical formation of the union through a less acknowledged perspective, i.e., in the context of the changing regimes of capital accumulation. The article concludes that the theory of spatial fix allows us recognizing: the position and timing, from which and when different countries took part in the process of EUfication is a factor leading to the persistence of uneven territorial development among the European core and periphery. My contribution to theorizing on this process consists in bringing together the perspective of the spatial fix with the critical analysis of how is the social dimension paradigm overshadowed by the economic concern of capital accumulation in the socio-economic governance of the European Single Market, including the politics of territorial cohesion.

The EU's Socioeconomic Governance 10 Years after the Crisis: Muddling through and the Revolt against Austerity

The EU's Socioeconomic Governance 10 Years after the Crisis: Muddling through and the Revolt against Austerity

EU Socio-Economic Governance since the Crisis: The European Semester in Theory and Practice

EU Socio-Economic Governance since the Crisis: The European Semester in Theory and Practice

Approach to the assessment of teamwork in a collective socio-economic governance

Approach to the assessment of teamwork in a collective socio-economic governance

Board Governance Attributes and Organizational Characteristics of Mosque Co-Operatives in Malaysia

Performances of mosque co-operatives rely on the effectiveness of the board of governance. The board has responsibilities to determine the strategic direction of mosque co-operatives, oversight management, and ensure the integrity of members’ rights and interests. The board of governance functions is becoming more challenging since the launching of National Co-operative Policy II (2011-2020), which among another, place greater emphasis on the expansion of mosque co-operatives movement via initiative of 1 Community, 1 Co-operative. Furthermore, the board of governance of mosque co-operatives is expected to deliver not only economic performance but also socio-economic governance, especially in supporting the activism of mosque institutions. Hence, as an initial observation, this study attempts to highlight the board governance attributes and mosque co-operatives organisational characteristics. The initial findings are essential in assisting regulator and policy maker like Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operative, and Consumerism (KPDNKK), Malaysia Co-operative Societies Commission (SKM), and Malaysia National Co-operative Movement (ANGKASA) in preparing the Mosque Co-operative Strategic Plan 2017-2020, and National Co-operative Policy III (2021-2030).