Assessing social concerns in water tariffs

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Martins ◽  
Luís Cruz ◽  
Eduardo Barata ◽  
Carlota Quintal
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
General Interest ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Water Charges ◽  
The Social ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Services Of General Interest

In the European Union, water supply services are referred to as ‘services of general interest’, meaning that they are subject to multiple, potentially conflicting, public service obligations. This paper considers empirical data for Portuguese municipalities and provides a comprehensive approach to assessing the social dimension by evaluating whether the concerns of universal access to water services for basic needs, affordability and equity are embodied in the corresponding water supply tariffs. Accordingly, ‘essential minimum quantities’ (EMQs) of water for representative households are calculated and then compared with the lowest tariff block's upper limit, by water utility. Next, charges underlying the EMQs are calculated and compared with the average income of each representative household, by municipality. The results show that, in general, the EMQs are enclosed in the first block of consumption and also that the corresponding water charges do not represent a disproportionate burden on average household size and income. Nonetheless, our findings indicate that, when considering the 20% poorest households, the water charges raise affordability concerns in an important number of municipalities. Further, the results show that there is a socio-economic inequity that favours the better-off households.

SOCIALIZATION AND SOCIAL QUALITY AS INSTRUMENTS OF THE STATE POLICY OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (10) ◽  
pp. 3-18
Author(s):  
Valeriy HEYETS ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Social Quality ◽  
The Social ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
The Individual

Self-realization of the individual in the conditions of using the policy of “social quality” as a modern tool of public administration in a transitional society is largely related to overcoming the existing limitations of the individual in acting in such a society and economy transitioning to a market character. Given that, in particular, in Ukraine the market is hybrid (and this is especially important), the existing limitations in self-realization of the individual must be overcome, including, and perhaps primarily, through transformations in the processes of socialization, which differ from European practices and institutions that ensure its implementation. Thus, it is a matter of overcoming not only and not so much the natural selfish interests of the individual, but the existing gap in skills, which are an invisible asset to ensure the endogenous nature of economic growth. It is shown that there is an inverse relationship between the formation of socialization and the policy of “social quality”, which is characterized by the dialectic of interaction between the individual and the group and which is a process of increasing the degree of socialization. The latter, due to interdependence, will serve to increase the effectiveness of interaction between the individual and the group, which expands the possibilities of self-realization of the individual in terms of European policy of “social quality” as a tool of public administration, whose successful application causes new challenges and content of the so-called secondary sociology. The logic of Ukraine's current development shows that new approaches are needed to achieve the social development goals set out in the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union and to minimize the potential risks and threats that accompany current reforms in Ukrainian society. They should introduce new forms of public administration to create policy interrelationships of all dimensions, as proposed, in particular, by the social quality approach to socialization, the nature of which has been revealed in the author's previous publications. As a result, the socio-cultural (social) dimension will fundamentally change, the structure of which must include the transformational processes of socialization of a person, thanks to which they will learn the basics of life in the new social reality and intensify their social and economic interaction on the basis of self-realization, thereby contributing to the success of state policy of social quality and achieving stable socio-economic development.

scholarly journals Financing Responsible Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: An International Overview of Policies and Support Programmes

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Susanne Durst ◽  
Wolfgang Gerstlberger
Keyword(s):  
Regional Differences ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Support Policy ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Support Programmes ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Desk Research

In the last few years, the financing of responsibly operating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has become the focus of attention of several national and international bodies. Consequently, a number of policies and support programmes have been established aimed at supporting SMEs that take a responsible approach concerning the company and its operations. Against this background, this article presents a comprehensive international overview of support programmes for financing responsible SMEs. Based on systematic desk research, documents of national governments as well as supranational and international organisations have been investigated. The findings reveal that there are strong regional differences in terms of support policy approaches, intensity, and criteria. The largest part of the identified programmes has been launched by the European Union and/or its member states. Additionally, the findings clarify that the primary focus of extant programmes is on the environmental dimension of sustainability, mainly energy-related questions. The social dimension has been neglected so far in the programmes.

scholarly journals Limits to the European Commission – Managing Services of General Interests

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerzy Ząbkowicz
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Shared Responsibility ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Services Of General Interest ◽  
The Eu

Services of general interest form an essential element of the European model of society as a way to increase quality of life and to overcome social exclusion and isolation. They are also at the core of the public debate touching the central question of the role public authorities and the institutions of the European Union play in a market economy. The competencies and responsibilities conferred by the Treaty, the EU regulations and directives lay emphasis on the essential role and the wide discretion of national, regional and local authorities in defining, organizing, financing and monitoring services of general interest. The same time the EU Law provide the European Commission with a wide range of means of action to ensure the compliance of the process of organizing and financing such services according to a comprehensive regulatory regime at Community level to make them compatible with the internal market and to prevent a distortion of the competition rules. The paper indicates divergences of the points of view of public authorities and the Commission on their role, shared responsibility and powers in that process.

Labour Drivers in the Agricultural Sector of the European Union

2022 ◽  
pp. 134-154
Author(s):  
Vítor João Pereira Domingues Martinho
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Output Growth ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Total Output ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Labour Input

The social role of the farms is, especially, relevant in the rural areas where the socioeconomic problems are, often, more visible. In this perspective, this study aims to investigate the interrelationships of the labour input with other variables inside the farms and assess how the sector may create more employment in a sustainable way. For that, the labour input was, first, correlated with other farm variables and after analysed through factor analysis approaches and cross-section econometric methodologies, considering as basis the Cobb-Douglas and Verdoorn-Kaldor models. The main findings highlight relevant insights to improve the social dimension of the European Union farms. The labour input growth rate is positively influenced by the total output growth rates and negatively impacted by the total productivity growth. The effects from the investment and from the subsidies are residual or not significant.

The building of economic governance in the European Union

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Verdun
Keyword(s):  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Monetary Integration ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Eu

This article seeks to shed light on the development over the past decades of the concept of economic governance. It asks what is understood by economic governance and what role the social dimension has played. The article offers an analysis of the problems and possible issues confronting the EU as it seeks ways to address the sovereign debt crisis by embarking on deeper economic integration. The article concludes that from the early days there have been questions about the exact interaction between economic and monetary integration and thus between ‘economic’ and ‘monetary’ union. Despite Delors’ original inclination, few were willing to establish any linkage between EMU and social matters. The crises have again brought out the need to consider the two in tandem. Moreover, with the increased role in economic governance accorded to EU-level institutions, there is a need to rethink the EU democratic model.

Building a European Community: social service provision between inclusion and economic interests

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-415
Author(s):  
Katinka Kraus
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
General Interest ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Services Of General Interest

Inclusion and the associated provision of social services is a central fundamental right in the European Union. Social services of general interest are based on the principles of an inclusive welfare state enshrined in EU primary law. However, the European Commission tends to interpret these social services rather economically. This paper shows that the way in which these services are provided in the Member States is decisive for the categorization of an economic or non-economic activity by the European Commission. Whether social services are to be classified as being related to economic activities and, therefore, subject to the competition and internal market rules depends on their organization and structure.

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