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Michael Dauderstädt

Michael Dauderstädt is a freelance consultant and writer. Until 2013, he was director of the division for economic and social policy of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

In difficult times, social cohesion has improved

Michael Dauderstädt

Inequality has been falling across Europe. But a backlash driven by fiscal ‘discipline’ and ‘competitiveness’ could reverse that.

Strengthening social cohesion amid the polycrisis

Michael Dauderstädt

Unconventional policies buttressed a decline in inequality and poverty in the EU. Renewed austerity might endanger it.

Europe-wide inequality during the pandemic

Michael Dauderstädt

The pandemic increased inequality between member states but Europe-wide inequality has continued to decline, if more slowly.

Global inequality and the pandemic: exaggerated hopes and fears?

Michael Dauderstädt

The pandemic has barely increased global income inequality—but it has made other inequalities worse.

Covid-19 and Europe-wide inequality

Michael Dauderstädt

Between 2017 and 2019, income disparities in Europe decreased. The pandemic stopped that decline.

EU-wide inequality is back to pre-crisis levels

Michael Dauderstädt

After almost a decade, EU-wide inequality finally regained its previous low of 2009 due to relatively strong growth in the poorer member states between the Baltic and the Balkans.

Inequality in Europe—wider than it looks

Michael Dauderstädt

Most discussion of inequality in Europe is confined to individual member states. Aggregating incomes across the EU, however, presents a sobering picture.

Addressing poverty and inequality in Europe

Michael Dauderstädt

Official EU statistics mask the alarming extent of poverty and inequality in Europe. Despite slight recent easing, its dangerous scale threatens Europe’s social and political cohesion.

Europe-Wide Inequality

Michael Dauderstädt

Inequality within member states has become a much debated and researched issue over the last decade (see OECD here and here). Reducing the inequality between

Reducing European Inequality: Cohesion Through Convergence

Michael Dauderstädt

When founded in 1957, the then European Economic Community comprised six relative prosperous countries, albeit including a very poor region, the Italian Mezzogiorno. With the

Inequality in Europe: complex and multidimensional

Michael Dauderstädt

Talking about inequality in Europe brings one face-to-face with a complex pattern of possible issues and dimensions, which can be measured in different ways. As

Reducing Inequality: Social Europe And Cohesion

Michael Dauderstädt

‘Social Europe’ implies for most experts the development of national welfare states and their protection against the forces of globalization and international competition as most

Eurofound advertisement

Mental Health
Eurofound Brussels Briefing on Mental Health in the EU

As part of its #BrusselsBriefings series, Eurofound is hosting an off-the-record session on 9 December dedicated to its recent research on mental health.
Eurofound expert Hans Dubois will present the latest findings drawing on comparative data, exploring how crises such as the Great Recession and COVID-19 have shaped mental-health outcomes, how different risk groups are evolving, and why social and economic conditions remain central drivers of poor mental health in EU countries.
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Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Progressive Post Issues

The Autumn-Winter issue of The Progressive Post is out!”

Among this issue’s highlights, we debate war and defence, underlining the urgent necessity of peace. We look at the European Commission's budget proposal, particularly the fate of the cohesion funds, and at the EU's international partnerships and ask whether the EU can pursue its strategic interests while simultaneously promoting its partners' genuine development. Finally, we address COP30 and the issue of fossil fuels, which was intentionally ignored during the negotiations held in Brazil.

READ NOW

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the European Minimum Wage Directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50% of the average wage.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy seeks to foster balanced development and reduce economic, social, and territorial disparities, focusing on rural areas, regions in industrial transition, and those with severe or permanent natural or demographic disadvantages, including outermost, sparsely populated, island, cross-border, and mountain regions.

READ THE PAPER HERE

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Health

🇪🇺 Building a Resilient, Equitable EU Health Union: The S&D Blueprint


From securing pharmaceutical autonomy and guaranteeing universal access to care (the European Health Guarantee) to combatting non-communicable diseases and closing the Gender Health Gap. Read the S&D Group in the European Parliament Position Paper demanding that health becomes a priority across all EU policies.

READ THE POSITION PAPER

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

Back to school with HesaMag 30: the leading European magazine on occupational safety and health explores teachers’ deteriorating working conditions. With field reporting, expert voices and trade union analysis, plus insights into EU policy shifts, discover why teachers’ health is key to our future.

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