Social Europe articles on the economy

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.

A proposal to legislate for the rights of platform workers

by Leïla Chaibi on 16th November 2020

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.

A framework directive on minimum income: towards decent incomes for all

by Ane Aranguiz, Herwig Verschueren and Anne Van Lancker on 10th November 2020

The European Commission proposal on minimum wages does not exhaust the need to ensure minimum incomes for all.

How can the EU achieve a fair distribution of the tax burden?

by Susanne Wixforth on 10th November 2020

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

by Peter Bofinger on 9th November 2020

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

by Richard Murphy on 5th November 2020

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

by Paul Sweeney on 4th November 2020

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

by Christian Kastrop on 22nd October 2020

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

by Jytte Guteland on 20th October 2020

The meat industry wants terms such as ‘veggie burger’ banned. This is less about confusion, more about competition.

The public’s business

by Dani Rodrik on 13th October 2020

‘Stakeholder capitalism’ has been promoted to balance the market and society but ultimately the only solution is to make firms more democratic.

The ‘circular economy’—neither safe nor sustainable

by Vera Weghmann on 13th October 2020

The circular economy holds out the hope of living within the planet’s resources. Turning aspiration into action is another matter.

Avoiding a climate lockdown

by Mariana Mazzucato on 30th September 2020

The world is approaching a tipping point on climate change, when protecting the future of civilisation will require dramatic interventions.

The EU must overhaul its farming policy to save the Green Deal

by Célia Nyssens on 29th September 2020

European decision-makers are entering the final sprint of reform of the CAP. Their choices will make or break the European Green Deal.

Benchmarking Working Europe 2020

A virus is haunting Europe. This year’s 20th anniversary issue of our flagship publication Benchmarking Working Europe brings to a growing audience of trade unionists, industrial relations specialists and policy-makers a warning: besides SARS-CoV-2, ‘austerity’ is the other nefarious agent from which workers, and Europe as a whole, need to be protected in the months and years ahead. Just as the scientific community appears on the verge of producing one or more effective and affordable vaccines that could generate widespread immunity against SARS-CoV-2, however, policy-makers, at both national and European levels, are now approaching this challenging juncture in a way that departs from the austerity-driven responses deployed a decade ago, in the aftermath of the previous crisis. It is particularly apt for the 20th anniversary issue of Benchmarking, a publication that has allowed the ETUI and the ETUC to contribute to key European debates, to set out our case for a socially responsive and ecologically sustainable road out of the Covid-19 crisis.

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Industrial relations: developments 2015-2019

Eurofound has monitored and analysed developments in industrial relations systems at EU level and in EU member states for over 40 years. This new flagship report provides an overview of developments in industrial relations and social dialogue in the years immediately prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Findings are placed in the context of the key developments in EU policy affecting employment, working conditions and social policy, and linked to the work done by social partners—as well as public authorities—at European and national levels.

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Read FEPS Covid Response Papers

In this moment, more than ever, policy-making requires support and ideas to design further responses that can meet the scale of the problem. FEPS contributes to this reflection with policy ideas, analysis of the different proposals and open reflections with the new FEPS Covid Response Papers series and the FEPS Covid Response Webinars. The latest FEPS Covid Response Paper by the Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, 'Recovering from the pandemic: an appraisal of lessons learned', provides an overview of the failures and successes in dealing with Covid-19 and its economic aftermath. Among the authors: Lodewijk Asscher, László Andor, Estrella Durá, Daniela Gabor, Amandine Crespy, Alberto Botta, Francesco Corti, and many more.

The Brexit endgame is upon us: deal or no deal, the transition period will end on January 1st. With a pandemic raging, for those countries most affected by Brexit the end of the transition could not come at a worse time. Yet, might the UK's withdrawal be a blessing in disguise? With its biggest veto player gone, might the European Pillar of Social Rights take centre stage? This book brings together leading experts in European politics and policy to examine social citizenship rights across the European continent in the wake of Brexit. Will member states see an enhanced social Europe or a race to the bottom?

'This book correctly emphasises the need to place the future of social rights in Europe front and centre in the post-Brexit debate, to move on from the economistic bias that has obscured our vision of a progressive social Europe.' Michael D Higgins, president of Ireland

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The macroeconomic effects of the EU recovery and resilience facility

This policy brief analyses the macroeconomic effects of the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). We present the basics of the RRF and then use the macroeconometric multi-country model NiGEM to analyse the facility's macroeconomic effects. The simulations show, first, that if the funds are in fact used to finance additional public investment (as intended), public capital stocks throughout the EU will increase markedly during the time of the RRF. Secondly, in some especially hard-hit southern European countries, the RRF would offset a significant share of the output lost during the pandemic. Thirdly, as gains in GDP due to the RRF will be much stronger in (poorer) southern and eastern European countries, the RRF has the potential to reduce economic divergence. Finally, and in direct consequence of the increased GDP, the RRF will lead to lower public debt ratios—between 2.0 and 4.4 percentage points below baseline for southern European countries in 2023.

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