Can Macron Pull It Off?
Emmanuel Macron’s victory over Marine Le Pen was much-needed good news for anyone who favors open, liberal democratic societies over their nativist, xenophobic counterparts. But
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.
Basic Income – Tonic Catalyser
In her article ‘Unconditional Basic Income is a Dead End’, Anke Hassel rejects basic income as a threat to individual development and social integration, claiming
Getting The Robots To Pay Tax
Historically, tax systems evolve following the evolution of taxable bases (actual and potential). In other words, governments over the centuries and millennia used to “follow
We Need To Engage With Putin’s Russia
The greatest challenge facing a fragmented and divided Europe is how best to engage with Russia, with whom we share the European continent. The EU
Does Social Background Determine Life Chances In Europe?
Equality of opportunity and upward social mobility are important aspects of the European social model. Until quite recently concerns about rising inequalities were often countered
Reducing European Inequality: Cohesion Through Convergence
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
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
Trumponomics: Neocon Neoliberalism Camouflaged with Anti-Globalization Circus
A key element of Trump’s political success has been his masquerade of being pro-worker, which includes posturing as anti-globalization. However, his true economic interest is
Brexit, The UK Economy And Public Policy: Discredit Where Discredit Is Due
In the wake of the formal invoking of Article 50 by Prime Minister Theresa May, no one knows with certainty the impact on the UK
A European Treasury – One Answer To The EU’s Economic Woes
In Rome, EU leaders pledged to build a “prosperous and sustainable Europe” where “economies converge”. Fine words – but empty ones without more investment, especially
Citizen’s Income: Both Feasible And Useful
There has been much discussion recently in Social Europe posts about a Basic or Citizen’s Income: an unconditional and non-withdrawable income for every individual. My
Getting Basic Income Right
Universal basic income (UBI) schemes are getting a lot of attention these days. Of course, the idea – to provide all legal residents of a
No Need For Basic Income: Five Policies To Deal With The Threat Of Technological Unemployment
The potential threat of technological unemployment is one of the most hotly debated economic issues of our times: in boardrooms and trade union offices but
EU Income Inequality And The Great Recession
EU-wide income inequality declined notably prior to 2008, driven by a strong process of income convergence between European countries. The Great Recession broke this trend.
Citizen’s Work Or Citizen’s Income
Le Monde has good reason to claim that the idea of a “universal basic income” (UBI) or “citizen’s income”, which in these times of unrestrained
The Strange Non-Death Of Public Welfare Spending
In 2013 Colin Crouch wrote a noted book entitled The strange non-death of neoliberalism. In it he discussed why neoliberalism had managed to avoid being killed
Narrowing The Wages Gap In Europe
There are huge disparities in wage levels across the EU. As Figure 1 shows, the level in Romania in 2015 was about half that of