Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy
Over the last 10 years, to no small degree, thanks to the work of the outgoing editors Zoë Irving... more Over the last 10 years, to no small degree, thanks to the work of the outgoing editors Zoë Irving and Kevin Farnsworth, the Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy (hereafter: the Journal) has positioned itself among the leading outlets for international and comparative social policy research.
Traditionally Greece demonstrated high rates of homeownership and low levels of social rented hou... more Traditionally Greece demonstrated high rates of homeownership and low levels of social rented housing. Housing represented one of the key resources of family asset-based social security in an otherwise highly fragmented social security system. The eruption of the sovereign debt crisis led to the demise of traditional ‘middle class jobs’, growing job insecurity, and families often being in debt, predominantly on housing and personal loans, making the position of many families uncertain and at worst insecure. The article presents findings from a two-year project which explored both the immediate and longer-term outcomes for families who received support from a pilot Family Support Service, designed to prevent housing insecurity and potential homelessness. We present evidence on housing conditions, debt repayment and management, employment, poverty and well-being. We conclude with a reflection of the Greek housing and social policy responses in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisi...
This chapter studies the character of contemporary socioeconomic governance in the EU. It draws o... more This chapter studies the character of contemporary socioeconomic governance in the EU. It draws on empirical evidence capturing the type and extent of regulatory changes in the fields of industrial relations, corporate governance, and the coordination of macro-economic policy in the EU. The effects of these changes are long term, cumulative, and mutually reinforcing and should be seen as integral elements of a relatively coherent project to establish a form of transnational polity in Europe that privileges competition as its regulatory rationale. Indeed, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been institutionally prioritising market freedoms and competition over labour rights, and especially the right to collective action in an emerging transnational regulatory field in the EU. Meanwhile, the new procedures of European macro-economic coordination construe national wage setting, collective bargaining institutions, and, more generally, social policy as adjustment variables serving pr...
This thesis began by posing two sets of research questions. The first set had two main aims. The ... more This thesis began by posing two sets of research questions. The first set had two main aims. The first aim of the analysis is to uncover the role that power asymmetries play in institutional development (innovation, reproduction, change) and the second aim is to identify what accounts for institutional development, when and by whom. In order to answer these questions, I adopt a three-dimensional power perspective along with the historical analysis of ‘institutional complementarity’ domains. In regard to this question, the thesis argues that the mobilisation of power resources at all three levels can be an important indicator for understanding the process as well as the direction of institutional change. The second set of questions aims to clarify why the three national pension systems followed different trajectories, and whether these trajectories maintain their different routes or converge. The second aim is to explain why the three national pension funds followed different investm...
This chapter examines the socio-economic crisis in the Southern European periphery in the light o... more This chapter examines the socio-economic crisis in the Southern European periphery in the light of the ongoing decline of the European Social Model (ESM). The first section of the chapter explores the dynamic between democracy and market economy as well as the concept of ESM in the traditional narratives of European integration. Beginning our analysis from the premise that the relationship between the European Union (EU) and Southern European political economies is mutually constitutive we critically review the historical development of the European Social Model and its premises. In doing so, we draw on the work of Streeck (2013) on the transformation of the European State System from a system of co-ordination based on ‘tax states’ to an international regime supporting ‘consolidation states’ integrated under a new mode of European politico-economic governance. Our chapter then discusses how recent institutional innovations in European economic governance effectively constitute wage-setting and collective bargaining institutions mainly as obstacles and adjustment variables for promoting or restoring member states’ competitiveness. More importantly, we demonstrate how EU institutions are for the first time involved in policy areas previously under the jurisdiction of national governments, severely limiting the ability of member states to decide on their own wage-setting and budget-making policy. Next, we summarise the key measures that have been adopted in line with EU recommendations in Southern European countries in order to restore ‘competitiveness’ and promote exports. Finally, based on secondary analysis of data on poverty, inequality, employment, taxation and available household disposable income we argue that the conditional austerity measures have had, so far, a negative asymmetrical impact upon the political economies and societies of Southern Europe.
This paper aims to describe and discuss the significance of the social policy measures implemente... more This paper aims to describe and discuss the significance of the social policy measures implemented in Southern European countries—Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain—in response to the first wave of COVID‐19. Our analysis covers interventions from 1 March to June 30, 2020. Despite significant differences in how the COVID‐19 pandemic spread—with Italy and Spain experiencing much higher rates of infection and lethality—Southern European economies are among the most hard‐hit—and are likely to find themselves in the eye of the storm, once more. The paper shows that despite differences in how countries have countered the spread of COVID‐19, there are important commonalities in the actions governments took to counteract the economic impact of the pandemic. Foremost efforts were directed at wage subsidy schemes to contain mass job destruction, additional temporary benefits to compensate self‐employed and other non‐standard workers for the loss of earnings; the expansion of unemployment insur...
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 2010
A common focus of welfare state research is the demographic transition. European welfare states a... more A common focus of welfare state research is the demographic transition. European welfare states are at the highest levels ever in terms of life expectancy while demonstrating birth rates below replacement rate. This leads to reductions in overall population growth, and shifts the ...
ABSTRACT Resumen. El término «metarreglamentación» describe un modo de gobernanza transnacional s... more ABSTRACT Resumen. El término «metarreglamentación» describe un modo de gobernanza transnacional surgido en un intento de resolver el conflicto entre las normativas laborales y la libertad de provisión de servicios y de desplazamiento de trabajadores en toda la Unión Europea. Se sustenta en el principio de competencia, no solo entre trabajadores de diversos Estados miembros, sino también entre sus normativas laborales. Basándose en los conceptos de poder estructural y campo social, el artículo examina casos empíricos que ilustran la metarreglamentación paulatina de las relaciones laborales en la UE y demuestran que la asimetría que caracteriza las relaciones de poder entre trabajo y capital se está ampliando a favor de este último.
This paper aims to describe and discuss the significance of the social policy measures implemente... more This paper aims to describe and discuss the significance of the social policy measures implemented in Southern European countries—Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain—in response to the first wave of COVID‐19. Our analysis covers interventions from 1 March to June 30, 2020. Despite significant differences in how the COVID‐19 pandemic spread—with Italy and Spain experiencing much higher rates of infection and lethality—Southern European economies are among the most hard‐hit—and are likely to find themselves in the eye of the storm, once more. The paper shows that despite differences in how countries have countered the spread of COVID‐19, there are important commonalities in the actions governments took to counteract the economic impact of the pandemic. Foremost efforts were directed at wage subsidy schemes to contain mass job destruction, additional temporary benefits to compensate self‐employed and other non‐standard workers for the loss of earnings; the expansion of unemployment insur...
We seek to disentangle the process through which some democratic polities ‘escape’ from neolibera... more We seek to disentangle the process through which some democratic polities ‘escape’ from neoliberal rule while others do not. We understand neoliberalism as the resulting equilibrium provoked by the restoration of class power that undermined the pro-labour policies of the post-war period. Why do some democracies enter a route of political experimentation that challenges the status quo while others remain ‘trapped’ in an orthodox neoliberal settlement? Our argument is that for a democratic polity to initiate a transition from neoliberal rule, there needs to be a crisis of neoliberal rule, a compelling alternative willing to contend for state power in national elections, and a reliable democratic settlement that allows the victory of the challenger – that is, the alternative – over the neoliberal rulers. This model will be discussed by examining the following three cases: Argentina, Greece, and Mexico.
Gender critiques of comparative welfare state research have so far predominantly focused on OECD ... more Gender critiques of comparative welfare state research have so far predominantly focused on OECD countries but less so in countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Existing comparative social policy research in these regions often cites the importance of informal networks and family for social protection but less attention is paid into gender relations and their importance for the social reproduction of these welfare regimes. The article comparatively analyses gender differences in the sphere of production (captured by the gender gap in formal and informal employment) and social reproduction (captured by time spent on unpaid domestic work). The article identifies regional patterns and explores implications for women’s ability to access welfare and the labour market. Additionally, it shows that informal activities (employment, domestic work) are extensive among many African, Asian, Latin American, but also specific OECD, welfare regimes. The article contributes first by incorp...
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy
Over the last 10 years, to no small degree, thanks to the work of the outgoing editors Zoë Irving... more Over the last 10 years, to no small degree, thanks to the work of the outgoing editors Zoë Irving and Kevin Farnsworth, the Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy (hereafter: the Journal) has positioned itself among the leading outlets for international and comparative social policy research.
Traditionally Greece demonstrated high rates of homeownership and low levels of social rented hou... more Traditionally Greece demonstrated high rates of homeownership and low levels of social rented housing. Housing represented one of the key resources of family asset-based social security in an otherwise highly fragmented social security system. The eruption of the sovereign debt crisis led to the demise of traditional ‘middle class jobs’, growing job insecurity, and families often being in debt, predominantly on housing and personal loans, making the position of many families uncertain and at worst insecure. The article presents findings from a two-year project which explored both the immediate and longer-term outcomes for families who received support from a pilot Family Support Service, designed to prevent housing insecurity and potential homelessness. We present evidence on housing conditions, debt repayment and management, employment, poverty and well-being. We conclude with a reflection of the Greek housing and social policy responses in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisi...
This chapter studies the character of contemporary socioeconomic governance in the EU. It draws o... more This chapter studies the character of contemporary socioeconomic governance in the EU. It draws on empirical evidence capturing the type and extent of regulatory changes in the fields of industrial relations, corporate governance, and the coordination of macro-economic policy in the EU. The effects of these changes are long term, cumulative, and mutually reinforcing and should be seen as integral elements of a relatively coherent project to establish a form of transnational polity in Europe that privileges competition as its regulatory rationale. Indeed, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been institutionally prioritising market freedoms and competition over labour rights, and especially the right to collective action in an emerging transnational regulatory field in the EU. Meanwhile, the new procedures of European macro-economic coordination construe national wage setting, collective bargaining institutions, and, more generally, social policy as adjustment variables serving pr...
This thesis began by posing two sets of research questions. The first set had two main aims. The ... more This thesis began by posing two sets of research questions. The first set had two main aims. The first aim of the analysis is to uncover the role that power asymmetries play in institutional development (innovation, reproduction, change) and the second aim is to identify what accounts for institutional development, when and by whom. In order to answer these questions, I adopt a three-dimensional power perspective along with the historical analysis of ‘institutional complementarity’ domains. In regard to this question, the thesis argues that the mobilisation of power resources at all three levels can be an important indicator for understanding the process as well as the direction of institutional change. The second set of questions aims to clarify why the three national pension systems followed different trajectories, and whether these trajectories maintain their different routes or converge. The second aim is to explain why the three national pension funds followed different investm...
This chapter examines the socio-economic crisis in the Southern European periphery in the light o... more This chapter examines the socio-economic crisis in the Southern European periphery in the light of the ongoing decline of the European Social Model (ESM). The first section of the chapter explores the dynamic between democracy and market economy as well as the concept of ESM in the traditional narratives of European integration. Beginning our analysis from the premise that the relationship between the European Union (EU) and Southern European political economies is mutually constitutive we critically review the historical development of the European Social Model and its premises. In doing so, we draw on the work of Streeck (2013) on the transformation of the European State System from a system of co-ordination based on ‘tax states’ to an international regime supporting ‘consolidation states’ integrated under a new mode of European politico-economic governance. Our chapter then discusses how recent institutional innovations in European economic governance effectively constitute wage-setting and collective bargaining institutions mainly as obstacles and adjustment variables for promoting or restoring member states’ competitiveness. More importantly, we demonstrate how EU institutions are for the first time involved in policy areas previously under the jurisdiction of national governments, severely limiting the ability of member states to decide on their own wage-setting and budget-making policy. Next, we summarise the key measures that have been adopted in line with EU recommendations in Southern European countries in order to restore ‘competitiveness’ and promote exports. Finally, based on secondary analysis of data on poverty, inequality, employment, taxation and available household disposable income we argue that the conditional austerity measures have had, so far, a negative asymmetrical impact upon the political economies and societies of Southern Europe.
This paper aims to describe and discuss the significance of the social policy measures implemente... more This paper aims to describe and discuss the significance of the social policy measures implemented in Southern European countries—Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain—in response to the first wave of COVID‐19. Our analysis covers interventions from 1 March to June 30, 2020. Despite significant differences in how the COVID‐19 pandemic spread—with Italy and Spain experiencing much higher rates of infection and lethality—Southern European economies are among the most hard‐hit—and are likely to find themselves in the eye of the storm, once more. The paper shows that despite differences in how countries have countered the spread of COVID‐19, there are important commonalities in the actions governments took to counteract the economic impact of the pandemic. Foremost efforts were directed at wage subsidy schemes to contain mass job destruction, additional temporary benefits to compensate self‐employed and other non‐standard workers for the loss of earnings; the expansion of unemployment insur...
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 2010
A common focus of welfare state research is the demographic transition. European welfare states a... more A common focus of welfare state research is the demographic transition. European welfare states are at the highest levels ever in terms of life expectancy while demonstrating birth rates below replacement rate. This leads to reductions in overall population growth, and shifts the ...
ABSTRACT Resumen. El término «metarreglamentación» describe un modo de gobernanza transnacional s... more ABSTRACT Resumen. El término «metarreglamentación» describe un modo de gobernanza transnacional surgido en un intento de resolver el conflicto entre las normativas laborales y la libertad de provisión de servicios y de desplazamiento de trabajadores en toda la Unión Europea. Se sustenta en el principio de competencia, no solo entre trabajadores de diversos Estados miembros, sino también entre sus normativas laborales. Basándose en los conceptos de poder estructural y campo social, el artículo examina casos empíricos que ilustran la metarreglamentación paulatina de las relaciones laborales en la UE y demuestran que la asimetría que caracteriza las relaciones de poder entre trabajo y capital se está ampliando a favor de este último.
This paper aims to describe and discuss the significance of the social policy measures implemente... more This paper aims to describe and discuss the significance of the social policy measures implemented in Southern European countries—Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain—in response to the first wave of COVID‐19. Our analysis covers interventions from 1 March to June 30, 2020. Despite significant differences in how the COVID‐19 pandemic spread—with Italy and Spain experiencing much higher rates of infection and lethality—Southern European economies are among the most hard‐hit—and are likely to find themselves in the eye of the storm, once more. The paper shows that despite differences in how countries have countered the spread of COVID‐19, there are important commonalities in the actions governments took to counteract the economic impact of the pandemic. Foremost efforts were directed at wage subsidy schemes to contain mass job destruction, additional temporary benefits to compensate self‐employed and other non‐standard workers for the loss of earnings; the expansion of unemployment insur...
We seek to disentangle the process through which some democratic polities ‘escape’ from neolibera... more We seek to disentangle the process through which some democratic polities ‘escape’ from neoliberal rule while others do not. We understand neoliberalism as the resulting equilibrium provoked by the restoration of class power that undermined the pro-labour policies of the post-war period. Why do some democracies enter a route of political experimentation that challenges the status quo while others remain ‘trapped’ in an orthodox neoliberal settlement? Our argument is that for a democratic polity to initiate a transition from neoliberal rule, there needs to be a crisis of neoliberal rule, a compelling alternative willing to contend for state power in national elections, and a reliable democratic settlement that allows the victory of the challenger – that is, the alternative – over the neoliberal rulers. This model will be discussed by examining the following three cases: Argentina, Greece, and Mexico.
Gender critiques of comparative welfare state research have so far predominantly focused on OECD ... more Gender critiques of comparative welfare state research have so far predominantly focused on OECD countries but less so in countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Existing comparative social policy research in these regions often cites the importance of informal networks and family for social protection but less attention is paid into gender relations and their importance for the social reproduction of these welfare regimes. The article comparatively analyses gender differences in the sphere of production (captured by the gender gap in formal and informal employment) and social reproduction (captured by time spent on unpaid domestic work). The article identifies regional patterns and explores implications for women’s ability to access welfare and the labour market. Additionally, it shows that informal activities (employment, domestic work) are extensive among many African, Asian, Latin American, but also specific OECD, welfare regimes. The article contributes first by incorp...
Uploads
Papers by Antonios Roumpakis