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Book Social Policy  Poverty  and Inequality in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

Download or read book Social Policy Poverty and Inequality in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union written by Esuna Dugarova and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes stock of the diverse and divergent welfare trajectories of postsocialist countries across central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Authors from different disciplines address key aspects of social protection including health care, poverty reduction measures, labor market policies, pension systems, and child welfare.

Book Labour and Social Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe

Download or read book Labour and Social Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe written by Violaine Delteil and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-07-22 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over a quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 10 years after their accession to the European Union (EU), Central and Eastern Europe Countries (CEECs) still show marked differences with the rest of Europe in the fields of labour, work and industrial relations. This book presents a detailed and original analysis of labour and social transformations in the CEECs. By examining a wide range of countries in Central Europe, Labour and Social Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe offers a comprehensive and contrasting view of labour developments in Central and Eastern Europe. Chapters explore three related issues. The first deals with the understanding of the complex process of Europeanization applied in the sphere of labour, employment and industrial relations. The second issue refers to the attempt to link the Europeanization approach with an analysis mobilizing the theoretical concept of "dependent capitalism(s)". The third issue refers to the cumulative trends of labour weakening and labour awakening that has emerged, in particular in the aftermath of the crisis beginning in 2007-2008. This book will be of interest to academics, policy makers and stakeholders at European and national level in the EU member states.

Book Skills  Not Just Diplomas

Download or read book Skills Not Just Diplomas written by Lars Sondergaard and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Future growth in the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) will increasingly depend on innovation. And innovation requires skills. This makes it important, as countries plan for recovery, to undertake reforms to reduce the skills shortages that the previous growth episode exposed. Education systems have a very important role to play in creating the right skills. But education systems in the region fall short of the demands of their economies in two major ways. The first is that despite high levels of enrollment they do not produce enough graduates with the right skills. Students graduate with diplomas, not with skills, because the quality of the education for many students is poor. In large part this is because education systems remain focused on providing an excellent education to a few at the expense of improving the quality of learning for the majority. Moreover, the systems are still making the transition from teaching the basics to inculcating higher order skills such as critical-thinking and problem solving. The second way in which education systems fall short is that outside of a few countries in the EU there are few opportunities for adults to retrain, or acquire new skills. This book argues that generating more of the right skills requires a fundamental change of approach in the education systems in the region so that they aim for, and deliver, higher quality education for the vast majority of students (“not just diplomas but skills”). To start with, education systems need to “turn the lights on” and take seriously the measurement of what students actually learn as opposed to measurement of the inputs into the education process on the implicit assumption that learning follows. Policy makers also need to move away from the focus on inputs and processes and increase the emphasis on incentives.

Book Labor Markets and Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe

Download or read book Labor Markets and Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe written by N. A. Barr and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Labor Markets and Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe' summarises social policy reform during the transition and EU accession and analyses the social policy challenges which continue to face both old and new member states. Specifically, the book amplifies two sets of arguments. First, social policy under communism was in important respects well-suited to the old order and—precisely for that reason—was systematically badly-suited to a market economy. Strategic reform directions thus followed from the nature of the transition process and from constraints imposed by EU accession. Secondly, successful accession is not the end of the story: economic and social trends over the past 50 years are creating strains for social policy which all countries—old and new members—will have to face.This book will be of interest to readers interested in social policy, particularly those with an interest in the process of post-communist transition, in EU accession, and in future social policy challenges for the wider Europe. It should be of interest to academics in departments of economics, social policy and political science, and to policy makers, including government advisers and civil servants.

Book EU Socio Economic Governance in Central and Eastern Europe

Download or read book EU Socio Economic Governance in Central and Eastern Europe written by Mario Munta and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-04-20 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates to what extent and how the European Semester impacts on national employment policy in four EU member states of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Using an original theoretical and methodological framework, and based on empirical evidence from extensive interviews with experts in the field, this book examines the relation between EU preferences, exemplified by the yearly list of country-specific recommendations, and national policy responses to EU suggestions, tracing the extent to which policy change can be attributed to the influence of the European Semester. It extracts three potential mechanisms of European Semester influence on policy change: External pressure, mutual learning and creative appropriation and identifies key contributing and inhibiting factors. The book provides several policy recommendations regarding the organisation and workings of the European Semester process. This text will be of key interest to students, academics and practitioners in European and EU politics, EU socio-economic governance, EU social policy, European integration, soft Europeanization and the Europeanization of Central and Eastern Europe.

Book Moving for Prosperity

Download or read book Moving for Prosperity written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2018-06-14 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Migration presents a stark policy dilemma. Research repeatedly confirms that migrants, their families back home, and the countries that welcome them experience large economic and social gains. Easing immigration restrictions is one of the most effective tools for ending poverty and sharing prosperity across the globe. Yet, we see widespread opposition in destination countries, where migrants are depicted as the primary cause of many of their economic problems, from high unemployment to declining social services. Moving for Prosperity: Global Migration and Labor Markets addresses this dilemma. In addition to providing comprehensive data and empirical analysis of migration patterns and their impact, the report argues for a series of policies that work with, rather than against, labor market forces. Policy makers should aim to ease short-run dislocations and adjustment costs so that the substantial long-term benefits are shared more evenly. Only then can we avoid draconian migration restrictions that will hurt everybody. Moving for Prosperity aims to inform and stimulate policy debate, facilitate further research, and identify prominent knowledge gaps. It demonstrates why existing income gaps, demographic differences, and rapidly declining transportation costs mean that global mobility will continue to be a key feature of our lives for generations to come. Its audience includes anyone interested in one of the most controversial policy debates of our time.

Book Post Communist Welfare Pathways

Download or read book Post Communist Welfare Pathways written by Alfio Cerami and published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book was released on 2009-10-29 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book adopts novel theoretical approaches to study the diverse welfare pathways that have evolved across Central and Eastern Europe since the end of communism. It highlights the role of explanatory factors such as micro-causal mechanisms, power politics, path departure, and elite strategies.

Book What We Owe Each Other

Download or read book What We Owe Each Other written by Minouche Shafik and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-08-23 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of the leading policy experts of our time, an urgent rethinking of how we can better support each other to thrive Whether we realize it or not, all of us participate in the social contract every day through mutual obligations among our family, community, place of work, and fellow citizens. Caring for others, paying taxes, and benefiting from public services define the social contract that supports and binds us together as a society. Today, however, our social contract has been broken by changing gender roles, technology, new models of work, aging, and the perils of climate change. Minouche Shafik takes us through stages of life we all experience—raising children, getting educated, falling ill, working, growing old—and shows how a reordering of our societies is possible. Drawing on evidence and examples from around the world, she shows how every country can provide citizens with the basics to have a decent life and be able to contribute to society. But we owe each other more than this. A more generous and inclusive society would also share more risks collectively and ask everyone to contribute for as long as they can so that everyone can fulfill their potential. What We Owe Each Other identifies the key elements of a better social contract that recognizes our interdependencies, supports and invests more in each other, and expects more of individuals in return. Powerful, hopeful, and thought-provoking, What We Owe Each Other provides practical solutions to current challenges and demonstrates how we can build a better society—together.

Book Globalization and the State in Central and Eastern Europe

Download or read book Globalization and the State in Central and Eastern Europe written by Jan Drahokoupil and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the transformation of the state in Central and Eastern Europe since the end of communism and adoption of market oriented reform in the early 1990s, exploring the impact of globalization and economic liberalization on the region’s states, societies and political economy. It compares the different policies and national strategies adopted by key Central and Eastern European states, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, showing how initial internally oriented strategies of market reform, privileging domestic sources of investment, had by the late 1990s given way to externally oriented strategies emphasising the promotion of competitiveness by attracting foreign investment. It explores the reasons behind this convergence, considering the influence of internal and external forces, and the roles of interests, institutions and ideas. It argues that internationalization of the state is forged in the processes through which domestic groups linked to transnational capital attain domestic influence necessary to shape state policy and strategy. These groups — the comprador service sector in particular — constitute and organize political, social and institutional support of the competition state in the region. Overall, this book not only provides a detailed account of the political economy of post-communist transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, but also the processes by which states adapt to the forces of globalization.

Book A Continent Moving West

Download or read book A Continent Moving West written by Richard Black and published by Amsterdam University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dit boek beschrijft de toename van migratie uit Oost-europese landen in de periode van 2004-2007, na toetreding tot de EU. Het bevat nieuwe empirische 'casestudies' van migratiepatronen, zowel gebaseerd op veldwerk als op de analyse van bestaande statistieken.

Book Welfare States and Gender Inequality in Central and Eastern Europe

Download or read book Welfare States and Gender Inequality in Central and Eastern Europe written by Christina Klenner and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on developments in the welfare states of the ten Central and Eastern European EU member states in the transformation process some 20 years after the end of state socialism. It also explores the shifts in gender relationships and inequalities, and tries to depict the interdependencies between these two processes. The contributors to this volume tackle the following main questions: how far are welfare states and gender regimes in these countries comparable with the types found in Western and Southern Europe? To what extend were traditional institutions and practices preserved under the new circumstances resulting from the system change? How have gender relations been affected by EU accession and welfare state change through the transformation process?

Book Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe

Download or read book Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe written by Alfio Cerami and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on 2006 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By explaining the path of extrication from state socialism, this book clarifies the patterns of the welfare state's transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. It identifies the emergence of a peculiar Eastern European welfare regime through the fusionof pre-communist, communist and post-communist features.

Book Social and Economic Development in Central and Eastern Europe

Download or read book Social and Economic Development in Central and Eastern Europe written by Grzegorz Gorzelak and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-08-13 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The integration of post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe into the EU is one of the success stories of European development. The region has seen significant economic convergence, dramatic changes in socio-economic indicators and improvements in the natural environment. However, some challenges remain, such as political divergence, public governance issues and population demographics. This book identifies and analyses the key post-1990 developments across the New Member States at the sub-national and national levels, with frequent country-level and regional comparisons. Careful attention is paid to drawing out commonalities in development trajectories while appreciating each country’s unique context. Drawing on the academic literature and illuminating empirical material, the broad range of topics discussed in the book paints a detailed picture of both change and stability in Central and Eastern Europe. It will be valuable reading for advanced students, researchers and policymakers in regional studies, European studies, human geography, political economy and transition economics.

Book The European Social Model in Crisis

Download or read book The European Social Model in Crisis written by Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2015-04-30 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book to provide a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the impact of the crisis and austerity policies on all elements of the European Social Model. This book assesses the situation in each individual EU member state on the basi

Book Capitalist Diversity on Europe s Periphery

Download or read book Capitalist Diversity on Europe s Periphery written by Dorothee Bohle and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2012-08-15 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the collapse of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in 1991, the Eastern European nations of the former socialist bloc had to figure out their newly capitalist future. Capitalism, they found, was not a single set of political-economic relations. Rather, they each had to decide what sort of capitalist nation to become. In Capitalist Diversity on Europe's Periphery, Dorothee Bohle and Béla Geskovits trace the form that capitalism took in each country, the assets and liabilities left behind by socialism, the transformational strategies embraced by political and technocratic elites, and the influence of transnational actors and institutions. They also evaluate the impact of three regional shocks: the recession of the early 1990s, the rolling global financial crisis that started in July 1997, and the political shocks that attended EU enlargement in 2004.Bohle and Greskovits show that the postsocialist states have established three basic variants of capitalist political economy: neoliberal, embedded neoliberal, and neocorporatist. The Baltic states followed a neoliberal prescription: low controls on capital, open markets, reduced provisions for social welfare. The larger states of central and eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, and the Czech and Slovak republics) have used foreign investment to stimulate export industries but retained social welfare regimes and substantial government power to enforce industrial policy. Slovenia has proved to be an outlier, successfully mixing competitive industries and neocorporatist social inclusion. Bohle and Greskovits also describe the political contention over such arrangements in Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia. A highly original and theoretically sophisticated typology of capitalism in postsocialist Europe, this book is unique in the breadth and depth of its conceptually coherent and empirically rich comparative analysis.

Book Financial Sustainability of Pension Systems

Download or read book Financial Sustainability of Pension Systems written by Stefania Amalia Jimon and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-05-31 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sustainability of public pension systems has become an important aspect for governments and institutions worldwide. This book addresses the multiple elements that influence the sustainability of pension systems with a special focus on central and eastern European countries. Supported by the results of econometric empirical studies, the authors discuss and analyse areas like social economy versus capitalist economy, globalization versus glocalization, population aging versus birth and fertility, emigration versus immigration, early retirement versus prolongation versus professional activity, the sustainability of public pension systems versus the adequacy of benefits provided, public pension systems compared to private pension funds and taxation of salary incomes versus subsidization of state social insurance.

Book The Welfare State as Piggy Bank

Download or read book The Welfare State as Piggy Bank written by Nicholas Barr and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2001-05-10 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of the many functions of the welfare state, two are particularly prominent: the 'Robin Hood' function - the provision of poverty relief, the redistribution of income and wealth, and the reduction of social exclusion; and the 'piggy bank' function - ensuring mechanisms for insurance and for redistribution over the life cycle. The piggy-bank function, unlike the redistributive purpose of the welfare state, has received relatively little attention, and is not widely understood. This book redresses the balance. Nicholas Barr's central contention is that—-contrary to popular opinion—-the welfare state exists for reasons additional to poverty relief. These reasons - encapsulated by the piggy-bank function - arise out of pervasive problems of imperfect information, risk, and uncertainty. Even if all poverty and social exclusion could be eradicated, people would still need to insure themselves and to redistribute over the life cycle. As a result, Barr argues, the welfare state is here to stay, since twenty-first century developments do nothing to undermine these reasons. He also explores ways in which the welfare state can and will adapt to economic and social change, including specific, and sometimes novel, solutions. The analysis in "The Welfare State as Piggy Bank" is international, applying to advanced industrial countries, as well as addressing post-communist countries, and touching upon middle-income developing countries. Barr's approach is contemporary and forward-thinking. His discussion ranges over a number of topics of central relevance to life in the twenty-first century, including genetic screening and its impact on insurance; the convergence of private and social insurance; how to finance long-term care; pension reform in the light of fluid family structures and a mobile workforce; loans for financing investment in human capital; and new ways of involving private finance in tertiary education.