Collective voice for platform workers: riders’ union struggles in Italy
Autonomous unions, allied with trade union confederations, have shown how collective bargaining can be won by the precariat which employers seek to fragment.
Economy
Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher driven by the core values of freedom, sustainability, and equality. These principles guide our exploration of society’s most pressing challenges. This archive page curates Social Europe articles focused on economic issues, offering a rich resource for innovative thinking and informed debate.
The first global event in the history of humankind
While some talk of ‘deglobalisation’, Branko Milanovic argues that the pandemic will push forward the globalisation of labour.
Gig-life balance?
Impossible hours carved out by apps have often been presented as if self-determined ‘flexibility’ on the part of workers.
Light in the tunnel or oncoming train?
Adam Tooze argues that the frail eurozone recovery hinges entirely on its guarantee by the European Central Bank.
Breaking the impasse on corporate taxation
As Europe’s exchequers go deep into the red due to the pandemic, a co-ordinated approach to corporate taxation is ever-more urgent.
The platform economy—time for decent ‘digiwork’
Unless the platform economy becomes embedded in social norms about decent work, it threatens to rewrite society in its own image.
Shaping the future of democracy at work
Action is needed at European level to ensure workers enjoy democracy at work, particularly in the context of digitalisation.
Tax havens: patience is running out
The OECD has proved unable to tackle tax havens, so it is up to the European Union to do so.
The transformative impact of tech firms’ technologies
The potential benefits of new technologies for workplace health and safety are being vitiated by a profit-focused approach.
A proposal to legislate for the rights of platform workers
The platform corporations have just won a battle in California over classifying their workers as ‘contractors’. An EU directive is required to take the opposite tack.
How can the EU achieve a fair distribution of the tax burden?
Falling corporate taxation has been matched by a rising contribution from labour. But there are ways to redress the balance between citizens and companies.
Joe Biden should not miss the Bretton Woods moment
Peter Bofinger argues the incoming president must abjure the mercantilist language of his predecessor in favour of a progressive response to globalisation.
The financial-transactions tax we need in the age of coronavirus
Five decades on, a ‘Tobin tax’ is no longer fit for purpose. Now what should be taxed, progressively, is all financial flows.
An effective corporation-tax system for the EU
Tax wars have so far denied the EU the unanimity required to stop the race to the bottom on corporation tax.
Consumer policy after Covid-19—fostering social cohesion
The pandemic has highlighted the need for a new EU consumer policy, fit for a more digitalised and sustainable world.
‘Veggie burger’ ban: bad for consumers and climate
The meat industry wants terms such as ‘veggie burger’ banned. This is less about confusion, more about competition.
The public’s business
‘Stakeholder capitalism’ has been promoted to balance the market and society but ultimately the only solution is to make firms more democratic.