politics, economy and employment & labour
Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher that publishes content examining issues in politics, economy, society and ecology. This archive brings together Social Europe articles on the economy.
There seems to be no end in sight for the Bitcoin bubble. This comes close to the great bubble developments that we have known in history, including the tulip bulb bubble in sixteenth century Holland, the South Sea bubble in the eighteenth century, and many others. These bubbles and today’s Bitcoin bubble are always driven […]
At least since Mary Shelley created Victor Frankenstein and his iconic monster in 1818, humans have had a morbid fascination with man-made beings that could threaten our existence. From the American television adaptation of “Westworld,” which depicts an amusement park populated by androids, to the “Terminator” films, in which super-intelligent machines aim to destroy mankind, […]
For decades, the European trade union movement has been urging EU authorities to put an end to ‘regime shopping’, which allows companies in Europe to move their headquarters to another Member State where they pay fewer taxes and lower wages, regardless of where their operations take place. Artificial commercial arrangements permitted within the single market […]
Greece’s combative former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, and his nemesis, former German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble, were at loggerheads on Greek debt throughout Varoufakis’s term in office. But they were in full agreement when it came to the central question of the eurozone’s future. Monetary union required political union. No middle way was possible. This […]
As Europe ages, it is increasingly vital to know how the demand for long-term care services is going to be met – and paid for. According to the latest Ageing in Europe report, public expenditure in long-term care will increase by 2060 to a greater extent than expenditure on pensions or healthcare. The question of […]
More than one in four working age adults in Europe are classified as economically inactive. They are not included in official employment statistics, are often economically and socially marginalised, and lack the resources to participate fully in society. This is despite the fact that most of them would like to work in some way or […]
Poverty was earlier a key (but not exclusive) issue for the international community, largely developing countries (see here) but since then the 2008 crisis has drastically affected the standard of living in the EU and raised poverty’s profile in the “rich” West. The austerity measures and the downturn in economic activity during the Great Recession […]
The future of European research and innovation policy is under discussion after the publication of the ‘Lamy Report‘. It sets out to provide the vision shaping the final years of Horizon 2020 and the program that will follow. The report contains 11 recommendations. Some rightly aim at strengthening Europe’s Research and Innovation (R&I) system, doubling […]
On November 23, Social Europe published an article by Bo Rothstein entitled ‘UBI: A bad idea for the welfare state’. It sets out from a definition of ‘Unconditional Universal Basic Income’ (UUBI) as ‘every citizen will be entitled to a basic income that frees them from the necessity of having a paid job’; and it […]
For many today, debating institutional adjustments to the European Monetary Union embodies typical Brussels solipsism. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it seems to be a reasonable point of departure, especially with economic growth slowly but steadily returning to Europe, mainly driven by private consumption. However, it is still broken when it comes to sufficiently […]
With share prices around the world setting new records almost daily, it is tempting to ask whether markets have entered a period of “irrational exuberance” and are heading for a fall. The answer is probably no. What many analysts still see as a temporary bubble, pumped up by artificial and unsustainable monetary stimulus, is maturing […]
In its admittedly noble striving for increased social justice, the political left has historically had several ideas that, one might dare claim, were not particularly well thought out. For example, the idea of the centrally planned economy, the nationalization of all the means of production, forced collectivization of agriculture and, I can add, the Swedish […]
