This innovative study reviews the remarkable economic and labor market recovery made by four small European countries: Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands. It analyzes their success and highlights the specific factors responsible, in particular the promotion of social dialogue and the institution of critical macroeconomic and labor market policies. While assessing the progress and examining the remaining problems in these four countries, the book compares their progress with that of other European Union countries and examines how similar policies and action could help combat unemployment and make progress towards full employment. The study presents a detailed comparative analysis of the labor markets of the four countries. It analyzes employment and unemployment developments in detail, covering gender gaps, the sectoral distribution of employment, and the shares of people which are dependent on social transfers. It shows the employment intensity of economic growth and gives readers a substantial, broad overview of the economic and labor market situation in each country. Finally, the book makes relevant policy recommendations for promoting further growth and social progress in these countries, as well as others across Europe.

Published in 1999, Working Europe: Reshaping European employment systems offers a fresh analysis of recent changes in labour markets and the restructuring of welfare states. The analyzes presented in the articles not only focus on labour market changes, but take up the important issues of: * How labour markets have been regulated and directed * How the various social security systems offered by the welfare state are related to the questions of labour markets and employment systems * How efficient labour market policies are in reducing unemployment * How employment is locally created and initiated * How the gender system is related to employment systems. This book is the first to offer a full picture of the restructuring of the employment systems and the complex relationship between employment, the welfare state and concepts of work.

A new contribution to the debate on the evolution of European employment and social models. These models need to adjust to meet new challenges, including globalization, ageing societies, and new governance approaches at national, EU and international level. This book explores these issues through the experiences of nine EU countries.

Recent years have witnessed major changes to the workplace across Europe. The speed of these changes requires constant monitoring and reappraisal. In this book, recent trends are analyzed and their consequences discussed, within a socio-historical context which also reveals underlying patterns of continuity. The trends analyzed include: the presence of high rates of endemic unemployment and underemployment, particularly amongst the young the growth of insecure and precarious employment sweeping changes to the regulation of and organization of work the diminution in the availability of manual work and the growth of white-collar service-sector jobs the growing participation of women in paid employment the introduction of new organizational forms and new forms of management the accelerating use of IT the growth in demand for educational and vocational qualifications by employers the increasing influence of European legislation on work, retirement, health, safety, etc the growing importance of voluntary-sector work The contributors to the volume present both primary research and a wide-ranging survey and analysis of recent major contributions in the field. Detailed empirical material is included from Belgium, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the EU more generally. Thus, the book aims to provide a current overview of the nature of work from a pan-European perspective, illuminated by up-to-the-minute field research.