Public policy and European society University of Castellanza Session #2(b) Blocked Societies? The crisis of continental corporatism and the success of the Scandinavian model 10 November 2010

Outline Euroscelorosis? Blocked societies (France, Germany, Italy) Europe has less people at work than the USA –lower employment But employment rose from late 1990s everywhere And some European societies have very high levels of employment Blocked societies (France, Germany, Italy) Low employment, inflexible labour markets, weak education, low birth rates Scandinavian success High employment, flexible labour markets, good education, moderate birth rate and high social welfare! France as new model?

Lisbon Declaration Lisbon targets ‘Arbeit macht frei?’ 70% overall employment 60% women 50% older workers ‘Arbeit macht frei?’ But many societies and groups have ‘chosen’ low employment rates, sometimes with high productivity Economic citizenship justifies employment ensures work compatible with social reproduction

Forms of women’s participation Women at work c2005 Women part time as % all female employment Hours worked: difference- households with and without children Marginal part-time as % all dependent employees France 29.4 -1 9 Germany 36.4* -3.3 18 Italy 16.9 +2 8 Sweden 33.1 +0.1 6 UK 43.9 -6 21 EU15 33.5 -3.4** 14** Low employment countries (Italy) have little part-time work Countries with high part-time rates have very different forms of participation Deregulated labour markets = ‘bad’ jobs?

Three worlds of welfare – and ‘defamiliasation’ Liberal regime Market solutions Deregulated labour market- Immigrant caring labour Part-time and temporary work for women Social democratic Extensive care services: Good low skill employment Enable women to leave home Conservative/ corporatist Subsidiarity so family important Insurance based benefits Priority of full-time work Mediterannean (?) As conservative but incomplete coverage Which countries? UK and Ireland Scandinavia France and Germany Italy, Spain, Greece… New member states? Changes?

Employment Protection Legislation – laws that make it difficult and/or expensive for employers to dismiss employees

Blocked societies Insider/outsider labour markets Low employment rates High unemployment High youth unemployment Ineffective third level education Disconnection from labour market (low returns to education) Long duration of degree Low research (few high ranked universities) Low birth rates Germany and especially Italy; not France Despite traditional pro-family policy And in Italy: Low female employment Corruption

Old Europe? Total fertility rates 1975-1992 New causes of low fertility: Low labour market participation Strong influence of traditional ideology New causes of high fertility High labour market participation Childcare (by state or market) Flexible labour markets So where women can work and have children

A new France? Nicholas Sarkozy Ségolène Royal

Scandinavian flexicurity Activation Retraining and life-long learning Protect the worker, not the job Low Employment Protection Results High employment rate High job mobility (‘flexibility’) and effective job search Firms can innovate without employment problems BUT needs high trust and is expensive!

Scandinavian successes Family and social services Extensive good quality services (especially childcare) enable women to participate in employment by moving ‘women’s jobs’ outside the home Social services provide good quality caring jobs (largely for women) Contributes to relatively high birth rate and egalitarian household division of labour BUT public sector/private sector gender divide High and continuing education High overall levels of education (no US or UK ‘tail’) The basis for innovative enterprises through links to commercial R&D Creates flexible workforce

A continental solution? New strength of ‘Continental’ ‘conservative regimes Extensive automatic stabilisers (welfare) Acceptance of state regulation and intervention