On Collision Course : The European Central Bank,Monetary Policy,and the Nordic Welfare Model

The question addressed in this paper is whether a particular discursive construction of globalization sets the boundaries for what is politically feasible within the EU. To answer this question, the macroeconomic policies of the European Monetary and Economic Union with its rigid emphasis on price stability are analysed in the context of the Nordic promise to preserve the present level of social programmes. What makes this 'puzzle' so interesting is that for the first time a large section of women voters hold the key to joining EMU. The analysis differs frommanyother feminist approaches to EMUand equal opportunity policy in that it combines a constructivist understanding of EMU with feminist political economy. The paper concludes that the Nordic promise to its female constituency to safeguard the present socialandemployment system cannot be sustained within the context of the restrictive monetary regime institutionalized by EMU. Feminist economists are calling for a 'transformative' approach to macroeconomics arguing that democratizing the process of macroeconomic policy making is a crucial element in changing the fundamental assumptions of the present neo-liberal policies and provides an alternative that would lead to a more gender-democratic Europe.     

Fielding supranationalism: the European Central Bank as a field effect

The European Central Bank (ECB), like all European institutions, poses basic problems of definition and comparability. Mobilizing Bourdieusian field theory (BFT) to resolve them, we map out the ECB's deep investments in scientific prestige and scholarly productivity – that is, its hyper-scientization – and the ambiguities therein, and then set out to explain them. Mobilizing diverse sources that include official documents, on-site interviews, and comparative data, we argue that hyper-scientization is a field effect expressing the ECB's origins and cross-location in three worlds: financial institutions, professional economics, and European politics. We then trace out the signs and symptoms of cross-location. First, we trace the origins of the ECB's directorate for research, DGR, which differentiated the ECB from most other European central banks at the time of its founding. Thus invested, the ECB accelerated its scholarly activities in step with the internationalization and scientization of economics. But this also expressed the ECB's stake in European authority struggles: research exchanges are a means of building relationships with national central banks, which was especially crucial in the lead-up to the European Union's (EU) 2004 enlargement. We thus argue that there is more to the ECB than its independence and policy operations, and that some of its most striking features are best explained as effects of its multiple field locations.     

The Europeanisation of Integration Policies

This article analyses the development of integration policies concerning third country nationals at the level of the European Union (EU). Starting with the discovery of recent policy developments at the European level, including new European directives mainly granting social rights to non‐EU citizens, the paper proceeds to examine the reasons that enabled this shift from the national to the European level of decision making. It concludes that integration policies have been created as a new EU policy field amidst the also fairly new policy field of immigration policies. In light of the theoretical concept of “organisational fields,” the interests and motives of the main actors involved in the emergence of this policy field are analysed. The research combines neo‐functionalist and intergovernmentalist assumptions, and it results in the following conclusions: First, a European integration policy could only be established within the emerging field of immigration policies, which laid the groundwork for member state collaborations in this highly sensitive policy area. Secondly, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, several non‐governmental organisations and most notably the European Commission played an important role in promoting integration policies at the European level. Their engagement is interpreted as a necessary but not as a sufficient condition for the establishment of this policy field. Thirdly, these actors tried to strengthen the status of integration policies by emphasising the linkage between successful integration policies and economic and social cohesion. This semantic strategy, among other discussed reasons, facilitated the member states’ decision at the European summit in Tampere 1999 that all third country nationals shall be granted comparable rights to EU citizens.     

Thinking with restriction: immigration restriction and Polish Jewish accounts of the post-liberal state,empire, race,and political reason 1926–39

This paper investigates how educated Jewish observers struggled to understand the causes of the global immigration restriction that so impacted East European Jewry in the 1920s and 1930s, and uses their competing explanations, convictions, and uncertainties to reveal underlying structures of Jewish political understanding in the interwar period more broadly. Efforts to explain restriction, the ways in which it seemed both to target Jews and to be part of a general closure of the developed world, and questions of timing demanded reflection on the most fundamental questions of the interwar political order. Did state policies flow from economic reason, and did nationalisation, democratisation, and socialisation of domestic politics alter this causal pattern? In a world where closed borders were the default, what difference did statehood or statelessness make? What was the meaning and implication of the deployment of “race” in others' debates about restriction, and what role did global race-thinking play in determining population policies? What was the causal significance of specifically anti-Jewish animus, its nature, and the role of Jews' own choices in determining their situation? Analyzing a number of loci of Jewish social policy debate, the essay focuses particularly on the diasporist emigration activist Il'ya Dizhur, the Zionist sociologist Aryeh Tartakover, and the cooperative-movement activist Majer Pollner.     

Influencing Mobility Outside Transport Policy

Because levels of mobility and car ownership have risen substantially over recent decades (and the increase seems likely to continue), mobility management is becoming more and more important. Transport policy clearly has a direct impact on mobility and can be used to influence the supply and demand for transport. However, transport policy is not the only way to influence mobility. Other areas of policy making (such as energy or waste policies, for example) are also important determinants of mobility, although the influence of these 'non-transport policies' on mobility is often overlooked when identifying policies for mobility management. In this paper, we show that certain non-transport policies might increase mobility whilst others might reduce it. For example, macro-economic policy and land-use planning might act to reduce travel, whilst EU enlargement and cross-border trade agreements might act in the opposite direction and increase travel. Non-transport policies may also indirectly affect mobility. For example, research and development policy can stimulate the introduction of new technology, which in turn can have implications for the introduction of new transport policy options (such as electronic road pricing) and consequently mobility levels. We present a framework with examples to conceptualize the links (both direct and indirect) between transport policies, non-transport policies, social and economic trends, innovation and technology, and mobility. We then identify some of the potential impacts of non-transport policies on mobility in more qualitative terms, including a review of the role of land-use planning, ICT (information, communications and technology) and macro-economic policies in influencing mobility. We conclude that thinking must change about solutions to transport problems. Transport policies alone may not be enough to manage mobility effectively. The achievement of sustainable transport requires transport demand to be reduced at source by combining complementary transport policies and non-transport policies, including technology. We also suggest that new methods of analysis are required to reflect the true complexity of change in travel that is now taking place. This complexity has arisen from a combination of factors, including non-transport policies, and the range of responses from individuals and firms to this new flexibility needs to be understood.     

Bilingual Education Theater: Behind the scenes of Latvian minority education reform

Focusing on the political nature of education policy making in the post-Soviet context, this paper questions whether, how and to what extent the bilingual education reform under way in Latvia contributes to social integration among different ethnolinguistic groups. The paper begins by tracing the emergence and institutionalization of bilingual education reform in light of long-term education development trends prevalent during the 1990s. Based on press analysis, document review, and in-depth interviews with major education stakeholders in Latvia, it reveals that there exists a growing disjunction between 'policy-talk', 'policy action' and 'policy implementation', resulting in the legitimization of education spaces that once were and continue to be functional, hierarchical and divisive.     

Research with Disabled Children: How Useful is Child-centred Ethics?

The title of a collection on 'ethics and methodology of research with children' implies that research with children necessarily raises unique questions about ethics and methods. Our paper questions whether this is so, what the unique questions might be and how they arise. We consider that any extra complications in research with children are common to research with other 'minority' groups. The main complications do not arise from children's inabilities or misperceptions, but from the positions ascribed to children in late twentieth-century Western societies. Clarity about the social origins of any complications in research with children is crucial if these complications are to be addressed. Ethics, methods, theories, data and policy conclusions are inextricably interwoven, and it is important to acknowledge how initial theories inevitably shape policies. Reasons are given for preferring rights-based to child-centred ethics.     

What can be Learned from Whom? Germany's Employment Problem in Comparative Perspective

In several (large) states of the European continent, particularly in Germany, progress in bringing down high unemployment has been slow. In contrast, 'employment miracles' occurring in a number of countries of the Western world receive increasing attention and raise the question of what can be learned from their obviously more successful political strategies and institutional reforms for attaining better employment performance. The first part of the paper discusses different criteria for evaluating 'successful' employment performance in comparative perspective. After looking into the 'employment miracles' and the policies and policy changes which are commonly ascertained as having been conducive to success - concentrating mainly on the Netherlands, Denmark and the USA - the question of transferability is addressed by examining which elements could be transferred to Germany and other countries of the European continent. The conclusion is that, apart from modernizing (active) labour market policy, there is not much to copy from others. However, successful institutional arrangements and policy innovations implemented elsewhere may be informative with regard to the hindrances of reform in one's own country and the search for possible 'functional equivalents'.     

Serious business or ‘any other business’? Safeguarding and child protection policy in british rugby league

State‐funded national governing bodies of sports in the UK now have a mandate to produce, disseminate and embed child protection policies. This warrants an analysis of the impact of such policies, particularly in the context of reaching their target audience and having some early influence on the practice of sports clubs' members in their dealings with children. The authors are undertaking a large research project, which aims to fully evaluate the UK Rugby League's child protection policy. This paper reports findings from an evaluation of the initial implementation of the policy and explores its presentation, delivery and impact within UK rugby league clubs. We argue that the Rugby League should be commended for its initial approach to child protection policy and make specific recommendations to enhance this long‐term project. We conclude that if a broader community of interest concerns itself with the safeguarding of children there is likely to be a greater impact on a social problem of this kind. Sport can have a key role to play in this community because it reaches so many people.     

Aid, Relief, and Containment: The First Asylum Country and Beyond

A fundamental problem that confronts the European Union today is how it can maintain its commitment to the institution of asylum while checking irregular migration and the abuse of its asylum system. In order to explore a response to this dilemma the paper addresses the following questions: what role can relief and aid policies play in influencing migration patterns? What should be the appropriate approach to the granting of relief and aid to developing countries of first asylum? Should it be viewed as a part of the larger problem of development or be treated as a distinct issue? What kind of a relief/aid model will help refugees return to post–conflict societies and stop the conflict from reproducing itself? The paper examines two different approaches to address these questions: the alliance–containment approach and the distributive–developmental approach. It also looks at some empirical evidence, which reveals that at present it is a conservative alliance–containment approach that informs EU relief and aid practices. This approach, however, does not help achieve the stated objective of checking abuse of asylum and migration procedures while sustaining a commitment to a liberal asylum regime. The paper goes on to identify the gaps in EU policy and the lessons that can be drawn. It concludes by looking at different policy alternatives and suggesting the adoption of a reformist distributive–developmental model. The implementation of this model holds out the hope of reverting to a more liberal asylum regime while controlling irregular migration and “bogus” asylum seekers, for the reformist distributive developmental model takes a more long–term view of migration trends and also seeks to address the growing North–South divide.     

Luxembourg's Foreign Policy: Does Small Size Help or Hinder?

As a very small state, Luxembourg would not appear to qualify as an influential foreign policy actor either in Europe or the world. Yet the country's international influence has long belied its reputation as a small state. This article reviews the literature on small-state foreign policy and finds that it offers numerous contradictory conclusions. As a case study it then addresses Luxembourg in the 1990s, with particular attention to two themes: its active participation in the European Union (EU) and its policies directed at maintaining economic prosperity. The paper goes on to explain Luxembourgish foreign policy behaviour through three levels of analysis and assesses to what extent smallness is a benefit or a hindrance to Luxembourg's success in meeting its international goals.     

Strong policy or weak policy? The environmental impact of the 1992 reforms to the CAP arable regime in Great Britain

This paper examines the environmental impact of the 1992 reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union within British arable agriculture. It demonstrates how policies that were expected by some to have positive environmental outcomes did not do so. One reason for this failure is to do with the design of the policy instruments and the fact that environmental objectives were not explicit. It is suggested that the environmental arguments remain peripheral to policy making within the European Commission. It is also the case that there were important unexpected impacts of other non-policy factors, especially trends in world market prices for arable products in the period following 1992. A weak policy thesis in which the CAP sits alongside market forces, other policies and the socio-economics of agriculture provides a powerful explanation of land management in agriculture. However, it is also the case that the policy remains strong if measured by its core principles. The paper suggests in conclusion that future policy reforms should recognise the complex and inter-related factors influencing farmer behaviour. This is likely to mean a combination of measures designed to capture the potential for increasing biodiversity in a range of contrasting farm systems and individual farm circumstances. Policy goals should be explicit and the policy mechanisms designed to achieve those goals tightly focused.     

Les politiques d'emploi et la transformation des normes : une comparaison européenne

Given the central orientation of the European employment strategy — adapt unemployment compensation systems so as to broaden access to jobs — the effects of policies in this field are examined by focusing on three axes: the impact on unemployment; the action on employment standards, and trends in the social regulation underlying these policies. A comparative view reveals how much national systems have been able to interpret EU objectives in their own way. This does not invalidate the pertinence of a European level of regulation,but it does expose the conditions for clarifying standards for public actions and leading actors to become involved in EU institutions, a source of legitimacy still to be constructed. This comparison of six national cases (Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom) sheds light on the importance of the social compromises that set the framework for job polices. The quality of occupational transitions is related to the ability of actors to jointly regulate employment policy and labor market standards. — Special issue: New patterns of institutions.     

ACTIVE AGEING IN THE UK-ISSUES,BARRIERS, POLICY DIRECTIONS

Active ageing is defined as allowing people to remain independent and achieve their potential regardless of age. However, age is also a device used widely in society for assigning or taking away responsibilities, allocating resources or determining access to services on age grounds, or as a proxy for mental and physical well being. This paper is one of several prepared by the Active Age consortium funded by the European Union to undertake a review of the institutional framework in each participant country and how this shapes policies towards older people, including the barriers and opportunities affecting active ageing1 1. Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Switzerland and the UK. The aims are to identify policy goals, policy instruments, and institutional mechanisms of current active ageing policy agendas in each country. It considers not only public policies, but also includes some ageing initiatives from other sectors. View all notes. The expected outcome of this phase of research is a comprehensive overview of active ageing strategies in Europe, including barriers to active ageing, as well as a map of the socio-institutional and political landscape in which active ageing policies operate. This paper argues that the UK is quite well advanced in preparing and defining policies, but that some of the high public profile is as a result not of ageing as such, but issues arising in specific areas such as employment, education, pensions, health and health care.     

An eco-social approach to tackling social exclusion in European cities: A new comparative research project in progress

In this article we would like to introduce a three-year Research Project called 'New Local Policies against Social Exclusion in European Cities', financed by the Targeted Socio-Economic Research Program (TSER) of the European Union. We will briefly highlight the entire research project that aims to make a contribution to European debate about social exclusion within social work (see also Washington and Paylor 1998), as well as social work's theoretical knowledge and field projects. The specific emphasis is on analysing the significance of the eco-social environment and citizen participation in disadvantaged residential areas, but related work aims to develop new kinds of action models and research methods. The project started in January 1998 in Finland, Germany, and Great Britain, and it will be completed by the end of 2000. Our research is a unique kind of cross-national comparative case-context research, based on classic ideas of action research and comparative research. Overall, the project aims through a European exchange to develop innovative models of local policies, particularly within community-based social work.     

Exploring cultural economies of internationalization: the role of ‘iconic individuals’ and ‘brand leaders’ in the globalization of headhunting

Understanding the internationalization of professional services like advertising, architecture, accounting, consulting and legal services continues to attract considerable attention in academic and policy circles. Research in geography and management studies has emphasized the different organizational strategies adopted by firms as they seek to develop and maintain a competitive position within an increasingly global economy. In this article we develop a new strand in this literature by adopting a cultural economy approach to argue that an important, yet comparatively neglected, aspect of the internationalization strategies of transnational professional service firms is the role of certain ‘iconic individuals’ and ‘brand leaders’ in influencing the practice of internationalization. Drawing on empirical research into the burgeoning European executive search (headhunting) industry we identify a cadre of such individuals and brand leaders that act as resources other firms leverage when internationalizing. This highlights the importance of a cultural economy perspective in theories of the internationalization of professional services and its value in moving discussions beyond purely economic analyses of competitive advantage.     

Institutionalization of Migration Policy Frameworks in Armenia,Azerbaijan and Georgia

This article is a comparative study of the institutionalization of the migration policy frameworks of post‐Soviet states Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. All three countries share common historical legacies: a Soviet past, wars and conflicts, unemployment, high emigration, and commitment to integration into European bodies. To what extent do the migration policies of these three countries (driven by contextual forces, i.e. domestic challenges) address country‐specific migration dynamics? Or are they imposed by the European Union? In which dimensions have the national policies on migration of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia evolved, and around which issues have they converged or diverged? Have these trends led to an integration of migration policymaking at the regional level in the South Caucasus?