Socio-Economic Review Advance Access originally published online on February 26, 2009
Socio-Economic Review 2009 7(2):305-331; doi:10.1093/ser/mwp001
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Flexicurity and welfare reform: a review
1 Centre for International Public Health Policy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
2 School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
*Correspondence: elke.viebrock{at}ed.ac.uk
The notion of ‘flexicurity’ has recently become a buzzword in European labour market reform. It promises to deliver a magic formula to overcome the tensions between labour market flexibility on the one hand and social security on the other hand by offering ‘the best of both worlds’. This article gives a state-of-the-art review on flexicurity. The development of the concept is set against the background of changed economic circumstances in the last two decades. The components of flexicurity are presented in more detail, followed by a review of ‘real worlds of flexicurity’ in selected European countries, with Denmark and the Netherlands as the most prominent examples. The third section considers the transferability of flexicurity policies across borders. Finally, we concentrate on collective actors involved in promoting the idea of flexicurity at European, supra-national and national levels. We conclude with a discussion of some tensions within and criticisms of the concept.
Key Words: employment • Europe • flexibility • labor markets • social security