Assessing the Short-Term Impact of Pension Reforms on Older Workers’ Participation Rates in the EU: A Diff-in-Diff Approach

Focusing on Italy's Middle East policies under the second Berlusconi (2001–2006) and the second Prodi (2006–2008) governments, this article assesses the manner and extent to which the observed foreign policy shifts between the two governments can be explained in terms of the rebalancing between a ‘Europeanist’ and a transatlantic orientation. Arguing that Rome's policy towards the Middle East hinges less on Italy's specific interests and objectives in the region and more on whether the preference of the government in power is to foster closer ties to the United States or concentrate on the European Union, the analysis highlights how these swings of the pendulum along the EU–US axis are inextricably linked to a number of underlying structural weaknesses of Rome's foreign policy. In particular, the oscillations can be explained by the prevalence of short-term political (and domestic) considerations and the absence of long-term, substantive political strategies, or, in short, by the phenomenon of ‘politics without policy’ that often characterises Italy's foreign policy.

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Hyperbole and emotionalisation: Escalation of pragmatic effects of proverb and metaphor in the “Brexit” debate

Russian Journal of Linguistics ◽

10.22363/2687-0088-2021-25-3-628-644 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 628-644

Author(s):

Andreas Musolff

Keyword(s):

Political Discourse ◽

Emotional Reactions ◽

Short Term ◽

Long Term Effect ◽

Public Debates ◽

Historical Investigation ◽

Figurative Speech ◽

Figurative Interpretation ◽

The Eu

(How) Can the use of hyperbole in metaphorical idioms and scenarios contribute to an increase in emotionalisation of public debates? Using a research corpus of quotations from British politicians speeches and interviews and of press texts 2016-2020, this paper investigates hyperbolic formulations in Brexit-related applications of the proverb You cannot have your cake and eat it and related scenarios of national liberation, which appear to have strongly boosted emotionalised public debates. For instance, Brexit proponents reversal of the cake proverb into the assertion, We can have our cake and eat it, and their figurative interpretation of Brexit as a war of liberation (against the EU) triggered highly emotional reactions: triumphant affirmation among followers, fear and resentment among opponents. The paper argues that the combination of figurative speech (proverb, metaphor) with hyperbole heightened the emotional and polemical impact of the pro-Brexit argument. Whilst this effect may be deemed to have been rhetorically successful in the short term (e.g. in referendum and election campaigns), its long-term effect on political discourse is more ambivalent, for it leads to a polarisation and radicalisation of political discourse in Britain (as evidenced, for instance, in the massive use of hyperbole in COVID-19 debates). The study of hyperbole as a means of emotionalisation thus seems most promising as part of a discourse-historical investigation of socio-pragmatic effects of figurative (mainly, metaphorical) language use, rather than as an isolated, one-off rhetorical phenomenon.

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The rise of working pensioners: the Swedish case

Nordic Tax Journal ◽

10.1515/ntaxj-2016-0003 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 (1) ◽

pp. 41-66

Author(s):

Lennart Flood ◽

Nizamul Islam

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Older Workers ◽

Working Hours ◽

Economic Reforms ◽

Economic Incentives ◽

Market Work ◽

Age Dependency ◽

Fiscal Impact ◽

Employment Rates ◽

The Eu

Abstract According to the Eurostat the old-age dependency (people aged 65 or above relative to those aged 15- 64) in the EU will rise from 28% in 2010 to 58% in 2060. During the same period total hours works are projected to fall contributing to a low projected economic growth over the next half-century. In this paper we argue that this gloomy picture might be challenged by an increase in the employment rates of older workers. Using Sweden as an illustration we show that the ratio of individuals with income from both pension and market work has increased strongly during the last decade. During the same period economic reforms have been introduced creating economic incentives in order to delay the exit from the labor market. In this paper we demonstrate the importance of these economic reforms in explaining increased working hours. The paper also evaluates the fiscal impact of the increase in the employment rates.

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Pandemics, Climate and Public Finance

A New World Post COVID-19 ◽

10.30687/978-88-6969-442-4/019 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stefano Battiston ◽

Monica Billio ◽

Irene Monasterolo

Keyword(s):

Financial Stability ◽

The European Union ◽

Short Term ◽

Economic Resilience ◽

Taxation Policy ◽

Containment Measures ◽

Socio Economic Impact ◽

Business As Usual ◽

The Eu

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the containment measures are having an unprecedented socio-economic impact in the European Union (EU) and elsewhere. The policies introduced so far in the EU countries promote a ‘business as usual’ economic recovery. This short-term strategy may jeopardise the mid-to-long-term sustainability and financial stability objectives. In contrast, strengthening the socio-economic resilience against future pandemics, as well as other shocks, calls for recovery measures that are fully aligned to the objectives of the EU Green Deal and of the EU corporate taxation policy. Tackling these long-term objectives is not more costly than funding the current short-term measures. Remarkably, it may be the only way to build resilience to future crises.

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Short-Term Impacts of Carbon Offsetting on Emissions Trading Schemes: Empirical Insights from the EU Experience

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3724193 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Claire Gavard ◽

Djamel Kirat

Keyword(s):

Emissions Trading ◽

Short Term ◽

Carbon Offsetting ◽

The Eu

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Swedish Collective Agreements and Employers’ Willingness to Hire and Retain Older Workers in Employment

Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies ◽

10.19154/njwls.v6i2.4972 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 61 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Carin Ulander-Wänman

Keyword(s):

Older Workers ◽

Total Population ◽

Working Hours ◽

Working Life ◽

Legal Regulation ◽

Retirement Age ◽

Elderly Persons ◽

Older Employees ◽

Collective Agreements ◽

The Eu

Demographic change is transforming the EU population structure for the coming decades. One challenge that society faces is to preserve social welfare when elderly persons comprise a larger proportion of the total population. Allowing people to work beyond the current retirement age may help slow the growth of the maintenance burden for welfare costs, and creating situations where larger numbers of older employees can work longer and complete more working hours can improve conditions for preserving and developing welfare. However, a prolonged working life presupposes several conditions; one of these is that legal regulation of the labor market must support employers’ willingness to hire and retain older workers in employment. This article explores employers’ attitudes toward regulations in Swedish collective agreements—regulations which are of particular importance if employers are to increase hiring and retention of older workers in employment.

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Commodifying Lisbon: A Study on the Spatial Concentration of Short-Term Rentals

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci8020033 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 33 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Iago Lestegás ◽

João Seixas ◽

Rubén-Camilo Lois-González

Keyword(s):

Housing Stock ◽

Housing Affordability ◽

Spatial Concentration ◽

Short Term ◽

Residential Housing ◽

Income Gap ◽

Historic Center ◽

The Relationship ◽

Great Share ◽

The Eu

This article explores the relationship between the spatial concentration of short-term rentals in Lisbon’s historic center and the phenomena of uneven development and tourism gentrification. By providing quantitative and qualitative evidence of the uneven geographic distribution of tourist apartments within the municipality of Lisbon, it contributes to the study of the new processes of neoliberal urbanization in the crisis-ridden countries of Southern Europe. It argues that the great share of whole-home rentals and the expansion of the short-term rental market over the housing stock are symptoms of the commodification of housing in the neoliberal city. Due to the loss of consumption capacity by the Portuguese society amid crisis and austerity, real estate developers target external markets and local households must compete for access to a limited housing stock with tourists and other temporary city users. The subsequent global rent gap stimulates the proliferation of vacation rentals at the expense of the supply of residential housing, fueling property prices and jeopardizing housing affordability. With Portugal being a peripheral member of the EU and the Eurozone, the vulnerability of local households to the impacts of tourism gentrification is aggravated by the remarkable income gap with their counterparts of the core.

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Evaluating the implications of Brexit for research collaboration and policy: a network analysis and simulation study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025025 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. e025025

Author(s):

George Garas ◽

Isabella Cingolani ◽

Vanash M Patel ◽

Pietro Panzarasa ◽

Ara Darzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Research Collaboration ◽

Research Impact ◽

Collaboration Network ◽

The European Union ◽

Short Term ◽

Research And Innovation ◽

Strategic Relationships ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact ◽

The Eu

ObjectiveTo evaluate the role of the European Union (EU) as a research collaborator in the UK’s success as a global leader in healthcare research and innovation and quantify the impact that Brexit may have.DesignNetwork and regression analysis of scientific collaboration, followed by simulation models based on alternative scenarios.SettingInternational real-world collaboration network among all countries involved in robotic surgical research and innovation.Participants772 organisations from industry and academia nested within 56 countries and connected through 2397 collaboration links.Main outcome measuresResearch impact measured through citations and innovation value measured through the innovation index.ResultsGlobally, the UK ranks third in robotic surgical innovation, and the EU constitutes its prime collaborator. Brokerage opportunities and collaborators’ geographical diversity are associated with a country’s research impact (c=211.320 and 244.527, respectively; p<0·01) and innovation (c=18.819 and 30.850, respectively; p<0·01). Replacing EU collaborators with US ones is the only strategy that could benefit the UK, but on the condition that US collaborators are chosen among the top-performing ones, which is likely to be very difficult and costly, at least in the short term.ConclusionsThis study suggests what has long been argued, namely that the UK-EU research partnership has been mutually beneficial and that its continuation represents the best possible outcome for both negotiating parties. However, the uncertainties raised by Brexit necessitate looking beyond the EU for potential research partners. In the short term, the UK’s best strategy might be to try and maintain its academic links with the EU. In the longer term, strategic relationships with research powerhouses, including the USA, China and India, are likely to be crucial for the UK to remain a global innovation leader.

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Reducing Implicit Liabilities: The New Stability Pact Will (Moderately) Help

Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik ◽

10.1515/zfwp-2006-0304 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marco Buti ◽

João Nogueira Martins

Keyword(s):

Structural Reforms ◽

Short Term ◽

Member States ◽

Stability Pact ◽

Structural Measures ◽

The Right ◽

The Eu

AbstractThe EU fiscal framework has often been criticised for not providing Member States with the right incentives to adopt structural reforms which would reduce implicit liabilities and improve sustainability. The Pact, as reformed in 2005, now includes a number of provisions that explicitly consider sustainability and the need of Member States of embarking in bold structural measures that contribute to reduce their implicit liabilities. The pressure for short-term consolidation in SGP-I has, in part, shifted towards structural reforms. Overall, the reformed SGP will moderately help Member States in adopting structural reforms and reducing their implicit liabilities.

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