Büchs analyses the goals and instruments of the Open Method of Coordination, discusses approaches which theorize its functioning, examines its policy content and develops a framework for its evaluation. Through the examination of a case study the author demonstrates how policy actors apply the OMC in employment in Germany and the United Kingdom.

In recent years new or experimental approaches to governance in the EU, namely the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), have attracted great interest and controversy. This book examines the European Employment Strategy (EES) and its implementation through the OMC, exploring the promises and limitations of the EES for EU social law and policy and for the safeguard of social rights. This significant and timely work offers new insights and fresh perspectives into the operation of New Governance and its relationship with both European and national law and constitutionalism. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students working in European law – specifically in the field of EU employment law and gender equality – and European governance studies in general.

Bringing together theoretical, empirical and comparative perspectives on the European Social Model (ESM) and transitional labour market policy, this volume contains theoretical accounts of the ESM and a discussion of policy implications for European social and employment policies that derive from research on transitional labour markets. It provides an economic as well as legal assessment of the European Employment Strategy and contains evaluations of new forms of governance both in European and member state policies, including discussions of the potential and limits of soft law instruments. Country studies of labour market reforms in Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and France assess their contribution to an emerging ESM, while comparative accounts of the ESM examine mobility and security patterns in Europe and beyond and evaluate recent 'flexicurity' policies from a global perspective.

The present study addresses the governance architecture of the much debated Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in the field of social inclusion and evaluates its implementation in France, Germany and at EU-level. Based on extensive variable-based empirical research, it assesses both the effectiveness and the legitimacy of the OMC and comes to unequivocal conclusions: Due to the resistance of member states and remaining differences in underlying ideas of social justice, anti-poverty policy could not be Europeanised through the OMC which unfolds as a very weak governance architecture. The general framework of negative integration remains unchallenged by this non-binding instrument which, to the contrary of its intention, rather forecloses the possibility of supranational learning. With regard to legitimacy, the OMC supports policy-making in closed, intransparent circles of very weakly or not democratically mandated representatives and therefore does little do decrease the democratic deficit of the EU - however one of its original ambitions.

Since the mid 1990s, the focus of European employment and social policy has shifted from protection to promotion. This book provides a timely analysis of this new form of governance, and the new forms of policy delivery and audit which accompany it. The limitations of the current approach became particularly apparent during the financial crisis of 2008, and it has now reached a turning point. The book offers a new coherent European reform agenda that views easing transitions in employment and promoting the development of individual and collective capabilities as cornerstones. The contributing authors focus on vocational training, life course policies, reflexive labour law and social insurance, from theoretical, empirical and practical perspectives. Transforming European Employment Policy will be of great benefit to policymakers as well as those researching or studying European law, labour law, industrial relations, political science, social policy or international business.

Describes, analyses, and assesses the European social dialogue from a combined theoretical and normative perspective and applies theoretical strands stemming from industrial relations, EC law, and political theory to an understanding and assessment of the genesis, actors, processes, and outcomes of the European social dialogue through 2007

An Introduction to Social Policy explores essential welfare topics, themes and issues for students studying social policy or related disciplines such as sociology, social work, or nursing and social care. - Part One examines key concepts including welfare, social justice, diversity and health and well-being. - Part Two explores policy issues in relation to key stages of the lifecourse. - Part Three takes a comparative perspective, discussing the international issues and supranational bodies that impact on British and European social policy today. The concise chapters define the key terms and outline the central debates, giving students a fundamental foundation for their degree. Chapter overviews and summaries guide readers through the book, and questions for reflection conclude each chapter to test readers′ knowledge. This book is essential reading for all students of social policy and the social sciences, as well as those taking joint honours programmes in social work, sociology, criminology, politics and social care. Peter Dwyer is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Salford. Sandra Shaw is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Salford.

The importance of subnational welfare measures, and their complex embeddedness in wider multilevel governance systems, has often been underplayed in both urban studies and social policy analysis. This Handbook gives readers the analytical tools to understand urban social policies in context, and bridges the gap in research.

The essays which appear in this work are based on the papers presented at a two-day conference held in Liverpool in July 2007 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome establishing the EEC. The collection reflects critically upon some of the EU's historic characteristics and speculates imaginatively on some of the diverse challenges facing the Union in the future. Contributions from both established and emerging scholars of EU law and policy are united by two main themes: the paradox of the resilient yet unstable basis of the Union's constitutional fundamentals, and the ever-contested balance between the EU's core economic mission and its broader social values and aspirations. For any student, scholar or practitioner interested in the dynamic nature of the constitutional relationship between the Union and its Member States, and in the complex tensions underpinning the EU's substantive policies, these essays will be essential reading.

Does the European Union really matter to British policy? For some it is a leading light, for others an irrelevancy. Given the uneven and evolving nature of EU policy, how can we evaluate its overall impact? This book is the first to combine a clear and detailed introduction to the new science of complexity and its application to social policy, Europeanisation, globalisation and the EU-UK relationship. It includes a detailed review of four key policy areas: employment, labour, gender and monetary relations. "Integrating UK and European Social Policy" provides groundbreaking reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of politics, history, international relations, economics, social policy and applied social science. It is also useful for academics with an interest in European social policy, and policy makers and shapers, including government and non-government organisations.