Household Employment and the Crisis in Europe

an article by Núria Sánchez-Mira (University of Lausanne, Switzerland) and Jacqueline O’Reilly (University of Sussex, UK) published in Work, Employment and Society Volume 33 Issue 3 (June 2019)

Abstract

The 2008 crisis had a significant impact on household employment in some European countries. An analysis of the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions generated a new cross-national typology of household employment structures and showed how these changed during the crisis and austerity period, capturing the experiences of high and low qualified households.

Findings indicate that dual earning households are not always a consequence of gender equality but result from economic necessity or employment opportunities.

The re-emergence of traditional male breadwinner households is often the result of female unemployment, especially for lower educated women. An increase in female single earners and workless households is evident in countries hit hardest by the employment crisis.

The value of this cross-national typology, rooted in the interaction of educational effects and employment opportunities, is allowing comparison both within and between European countries, going beyond established typologies based on policy frameworks or gender cultures.

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The economic crisis and changes in work–family arrangements in six European countries

an article by Giulia Maria Dotti Sani (Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy) published in Journal of European Social Policy Volume 28 Issue 2 (May 2018)

Abstract

Over the past decades, there has been a substantial increase in female labour force participation, and the number of dual-earner and female-earner households has risen throughout western countries. However, the recent economic crisis has caused large losses in employment for both women and men, potentially yielding unexpected consequences for the evolution of work–family arrangements.

This article carries out a comparative analysis of the relationship between the 2008/2009 economic crisis and work–family arrangements in Europe. Using data for six countries from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, this article fills a gap in the literature by addressing three issues:

1. whether work–family arrangements have changed from before to after the beginning of the economic downturn in countries with different gender and welfare regimes (Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom),
2. whether changes in work–family arrangements have occurred at different levels of the social strata and
3. whether couples have moved from dual-earner to male- or female-breadwinner.

The results indicate changes in work–family arrangements in those countries worst hit by the economic crisis, Greece and Spain, where dual-earner and male-breadwinner households have decreased and no-earner and female-main-earner households have increased.

Moreover, the results show that in these two countries, all social strata – proxied through women’s level of education – have been affected by the crisis. In contrast, only moderate changes in work–family arrangements among all women can be observed in countries less hit by the economic downturn.

The findings for the two southern European countries are troubling, as the increases in no-earner and female-breadwinner households point to worsening economic conditions throughout the population and to a halt in the process that for several decades had been leading to more equality in the distribution of employment between genders.

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Shifts in the realized retirement age: Europe in times of pension reform and economic crisis

an article by Kathrin Komp (University of Helsinki, Finland) published in Journal of European Social Policy Volume 28 Issue 2 (May 2018)

Abstract

Many recent policy reforms aimed to delay retirement. Such a delay seems important because population ageing makes it a necessity for financially sound pension schemes and a sufficiently large workforce.

However, pension reforms do not only affect when people retire, they likewise affect what influences the realized retirement age. Moreover, the 2008 economic crisis restructured labour markets, thereby affecting retirement.

This article investigates recent shifts in the realized retirement age and influences on it. It does this through multilevel analyses of international data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. It compares individuals who retired in 2005/2006 to those who retired in 2012/2013, thereby identifying changes over time.

Findings show that the realized retirement age increased. Simultaneously, inequalities in the realized retirement age decreased within and between countries. Thus, while the economic crisis reshaped social inequalities, pension reforms constrained the options for retirement.

Consequently, policymakers need not worry about the economic crisis defeating the goals pursued with pension reforms. However, policymakers and researchers do need to consider new inequalities in life courses and the meaning of retirement. Also, researchers need to consider how social change may have altered social mechanisms when conducting literature reviews on retirement.

Full text (PDF 13pp)

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Working whilst studying in higher education: The impact of the economic crisis on academic and labour market success

Albert Sanchez-Gelabert (Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain and University of Barcelona (UB), Spain), Mijail Figueroa (Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain) and Marina Elias (University of Barcelona (UB), Spain) published in European Journal of Education Volume 52 Issue 2 (June 2017)

Abstract

An analysis of the phenomenon of combining work and study amongst university students is made using data obtained from surveys of graduates carried out four years after finishing their degrees.

First, the article reviews the evolution of the phenomenon over the last ten years, taking into account the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU) labour market insertion surveys for 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2014. Second, the 2008 and 2014 waves are compared to analyse the impact of the economic crisis.

In this case, how combining work and study affects academic results and labour market insertion is studied, in addition to whether or not differences occur according to the family's educational background. A random stratified two-stage sampling is used to obtain the results; descriptive and ANOVA analyses with different factors are performed.

The evolution shows how the numbers of students who combine work and study has increased, especially among those whose parents have little education.

Furthermore, this means that lower marks are obtained and that there is a greater degree of inequality in labour market insertion, depending on the educational background of the family of origin.

In general, the relationship between the different variables shows how combining work and study has negative effects on marks but positive effects on labour market insertion, especially if the work experience whilst at university is related to the studies.

Full text (HTML)

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Out of the crisis: an empirical investigation of place-specific determinants of economic resilience

Silvia Rita Sedita (University of Padova, Italy) and Ivan De Noni and Luciano Pilotti (University of Milan, Milano, Italy) published in European Planning Studies Volume 25 Issue 2 (2017)

Abstract

This article attempts to isolate the structural characteristics that affect the resilience of a regional economy. It focuses on the role played by related/unrelated variety and differentiated knowledge bases as drivers for regional resilience and originally explores their interdependences.

Italy is the empirical setting, and Italian local labour systems the unit of analysis. Regional resilience is measured as growth of the employment rate after the Great Recession that began in 2008. Results confirm the importance of related variety and of differentiated knowledge bases as drivers for regional resilience.

We found support of the creative capacity of culture argument, providing evidence that a moderate concentration in symbolic knowledge-based economic activities contributes to resilience. Synthetic and analytical knowledge-based activities provide positive and no support to regional resilience, respectively.

Finally, the relatedness of the symbolic knowledge-based activities increases regional economic resilience. Some policy implications are then derived from these findings.

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The impact of the austerity measures to confront the economic crisis on the EU objectives and EU values

an article by Despina Anagnostopoulou (University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece) published in International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy Volume 3, Number 2 (2016)

Abstract

According to the EU Treaties, the EU economic policy coordination should serve the objectives of the EU, among which is the promotion of the EU values.

The paper demonstrates that:

• the EU values and objectives as well as the Charter of Fundamental Rights are binding on the EU institutions, even when they are acting outside the EU legal order (e.g., when drafting the MoUs);
• democratic principles are lacking in the EMU patchwork, especially in the case of member states under adjustment programmes;
• the national constitutional courts have recently ruled that equality and dignity were infringed by the laws implementing the MoUs, and so did the European Committee of Social Rights as far as social rights are concerned.

However, the European Court of Human Rights rules that the right to property is not infringed, while the EU Court of Justice denies competence to rule on the MoUs. Such approaches undermine the European citizenship project, and thus European integration.

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Involuntary Non-Standard Employment and the Economic Crisis: Regional Insights from the UK

an article by Anne E. Green (Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick) and Ilias Livanos (Oxford Brookes University Business School) published in Regional Studies Volume 49 Issue 7 (2015)

Abstract

Increases in unemployment and non-employment in the 2008–2009 economic crisis were less marked than expected in the UK given experience of previous recessions.

To capture more fully the regional dimensions of economic crisis it is necessary to look also at employment. Using Labour Force Survey (LFS) data on involuntary part-time working and involuntary temporary working a measure of involuntary non-standard employment (INE) is constructed.

Econometric analyses reveal that there were rises in INE alongside unemployment increases in the economic crisis and that young people, individuals from non-white ethnic groups and those in weak regional economies were particularly at risk of INE.

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Recent changes in family outcomes and policies in OECD countries: the impact of the economic crisis

Willem Adema & Nabil Ali (Social Policy Division, OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour & Social Affairs, Paris, France) published in Community, Work & Family Volume 18, Issue 2 (2015)

Abstract

Following decades of progress in prosperity, female employment participation and early childhood education and care policies, the recent economic crisis which began in 2007/2008 has had a negative impact on many aspects of family and child well-being in many OECD countries. Although effects vary across countries, the growth in female employment stalled, as did the rebound in fertility rates, divorce rates went up, while child income poverty increased further.

The economic crisis also affected family policy.
In many countries, income support policies initially expanded but after the onset of the crisis cutbacks to government spending were often made in view of budgetary pressures.
In many countries, financial supports for families are less generous now than they were prior to the crisis.

By comparison, parental leave arrangements and childcare supports systems have remained largely unscathed in most OECD countries with some countries actually expanding childcare supports despite the limitations to fiscal space.

This paper highlights the changes in important family outcomes and related policies that occurred in OECD countries following the onset of the economic crisis, and demonstrates how countries most affected by the crisis faced significantly worse outcomes for families and children.

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Six steps to tackle household debt: findings from The Netherlands

Schemes to address rising levels of household debt in the Netherlands are proving successful. What can the UK learn from their interventions, asks Clare Cummings in NewStart: the magazine for making better places

Just as in the UK and other European countries, household debt in the Netherlands has become a significant concern in recent years. It is estimated that 5% of households are in a situation of serious problematic debt and a further 10% are at risk of entering such a situation.

While the economic crisis is partly to blame, the financial behaviour of individuals is also at fault. In the Netherlands, the debt problem is increasingly being considered as a question of behaviour and a wide range of organisations are working to tackle individuals’ ‘unhealthy’ management of personal finances.

Continue reading

The original report from which this article is taken appears to have been only published in Dutch. I have however found some information about one of the authors, Nadja Jungmann, and the Centre for Social Innovation where she works.

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Bouncing back? Recession, resilience and everyday lives

an article by Elizabeth Harrison (University of Sussex, UK) published in Critical Social Policy Volume 33 Number 1 (February 2013)

Abstract

This paper critically engages with a recent shift towards an emphasis on ‘resilience’ in policy and academic fields.

The paper suggests that this shift is problematic for several reasons:

• that it supports normative value judgements;
• that it may overemphasise the ability of people to ‘bounce back’ and undervalue the hidden costs of resilience, especially those with gendered dimensions; and
• that it may be associated with policy prescriptions that shift responsibility for dealing with crisis away from the public sphere.

The empirical illustration for this analysis is a qualitative study of the impact of economic decline in the Sussex town of Newhaven.

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Social dialogue in times of global economic crisis

a Report (ref: ef1221) by Rachel Guyet, David Tarren and Claude-Emmanuel Triomphe published by eurofound (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions)

Summary

Social dialogue is one of the cornerstones of social Europe and involves employers, workers and their representatives, and, in tripartite structures, also public authorities in the discussions and negotiations which shape social policy and industrial relations.

This study seeks to establish how far Member States were willing or able to use social dialogue as a tool to mitigate the effects of the financial downturn in the wake of the profound global economic crisis which began in autumn 2008.

It analyses where it was used, how effective it was and also identifies the factors that could make it more or less likely that the social partners would be involved in efforts to respond to the crisis.

Full text (PDF 92pp)

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Devalued, deskilled and diversified: explaining the proliferation of the strip industry in the UK

an article by Teela Sanders and Kate Hardy (School of Sociology, University of Leeds) published in The British Journal of Sociology Volume 63 Issue 3 (September 2012)

Abstract

This paper looks beyond the debates that focus on the objectification of the female body to examine the question as to why strip clubs have proliferated and found a permanent place in the night-time economy in the UK.

Using empirical qualitative and quantitative data from the largest study into the strip industry in the UK to date, we challenge the common assumption that ‘demand’ is responsible for the rise in erotic dance.

Instead, we argue that the proliferation of strip clubs is largely due to the internal economic structures of the industry which have developed partly in response to the financial crisis beginning in 2008.

First, we argue that clubs profit from individual dancers through an exploitative system of fees and fines, rendering a strip club business a low cost investment with high returns and little risk to club owners.

Second, we note that the last decade has seen diversification of the industry accompanied by deskilling and devaluing of dancing and dancers’ labour.

Third, we demonstrate that despite the negative effects of these changes on workers, there has been an expansion of the industry as the ability to make profit, even during a financial crisis, was ensured through the transferral of risk to workers.

Overall, we suggest that far from proliferating as a response to demand, the industry has maintained its market presence due to its ability to establish highly financially exploitation employment relationships with dancers at a time of economic fragility.

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Varieties of crisis, varieties of austerity: social policy in challenging times

an article by Kevin Farnsworth and Zoë Irving (affiliation(s) not provided) published in Journal of Poverty and Social Justice Volume 20 Number 2 (June 2012)

Abstract

In the period since 2008 it has become clear that the financial collapse and its ensuing crises have affected countries differently. However, a new “austerity consensus” appears to have developed which is threatening the welfare gains established since the 1930s.

By considering in comparative perspective the extent of austerity measures and the ways in which the normalisation of the “new age” is being resisted, this article reflects on whether we are now facing the “end of history” for welfare states given the widespread regression of social provision and the view that welfare states have become “unaffordable”.

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Wages and working conditions in the crisis

via Eurofound 23 July

a comparitive study by Sem Vandekerckhove, Jan Van Peteghem and Guy Van Gyes, HIVA-KU LEUVEN (© European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions)

The economic and financial crisis of 2008–2010 has impacted on pay in most EU Member States leading to wage deceleration, pay freezes and sometimes pay cuts. The crisis hit vulnerable groups (low-skilled, young, migrants) particularly hard. Data from five key sectors (manufacturing, construction, accommodation and food services, financial services, public administration) reveal more crisis effects on employment than on wages. Cuts in low-paid and temporary jobs, or reductions in their hours, tended to be the first measure adopted while the ‘wage cushion’ often seen in higher-ranking jobs allowed cost savings through cuts in bonuses and other rewards. Cutting wages is also seen as detrimental to worker motivation and retention. Most responses taken were temporary with few trade-offs at company level between wages and other elements of the employment relationship.

The study was compiled on the basis of individual national reports submitted by the EWCO correspondents. The text of each of these national reports is available below. The reports have not been edited or approved by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. The national reports were drawn up in response to a questionnaire and should be read in conjunction with it.

Full text (PDF 48pp)

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SMEs in the crisis: …

Employment, industrial relations and local partnership

This report (written and published by EIRO, European Industrial Relations Observatory On-line) examines the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the actions of governments and the social partners, the extent of social dialogue in SMEs, including any trends and new initiatives, and the role of local partnership as a means of maintaining employment levels during the recent economic crisis. More specifically, it examines the impact of the crisis on SMEs. It looks at a range of government initiatives aimed at helping SMEs to survive the crisis, in addition to the main social partner actions to help SMEs.

The study was compiled on the basis of individual national reports submitted by the EIRO correspondents. The text of each of these national reports is available below. The reports have not been edited or approved by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. The national reports were drawn up in response to a questionnaire and should be read in conjunction with it.

Comparative study (PDF 50pp) see also the Executive Summary (PDF 2pp – dark blue text on pale blue background!)

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