FlexicurityandtheEuropeanEmploymentStrategy.docVIP

Flexicurity and the European Employment Strategy By Per Kongsh?j Madsen Centre for Labour Market Research Aalborg University Denmark www.carma.aau.dk Paper presented at the session on ”Worlds of Work and Welfare in Europe” Annual conference of the American Sociological Association Boston, August 1-4, 2008 Abstract The interplay between labour markets and welfare states is at the core of the debates about the new Europe, which will be shaped as the result of the Lisbon process. Recently the concept of “flexicurity” has moved into the centre of the debate. Can interfaces between welfare states and labour markets be developed, where flexibility and security come together having “flexicurity” as the outcome? How can flexicurity develop within different national employment systems? Can the design and implementation of flexicurity arrangements be guided by a set of common principles on flexicurity? Table of contents: 1. The concept of flexicurity 2. The historical background of the concept 3. Flexicurity as a strategy, a state of affairs or an analytical tool 4. Forms of flexicurity 5. Level, regulation and national forms of flexicurity arrangements 6. The Danish case as a hybrid 7. Learning from the neighbours? 8. Or from Denmark? 9. Towards a set of common principles? 10. Contours of “common principles” 11. Where is the European Union actually moving? 12. Summing up – Why did flexicurity succeed so far? Annex: Overview of “common principles” References 1. The concept of flexicurity The fundamental idea behind the concept of flexicurity is that flexibility and security are not contradictory to one another, but in many situations can mutually supportive. Flexibility is not the monopoly of the employers, just as security is not the monopoly of the employees. In modern labour markets, many employers are beginning to realise that they might have an interest in stable employment relations and in retaining employees who are loyal and well qualified. On their part,