The Legal Framework for New Economic Governance and its Implications for Wage Policy Learning

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 39-73
Author(s):  
Samuel Dahan

AbstractThis chapter examines the implications of the new European economic governance framework from a policy-learning point of view. It is argued that a new form of EU learning influence has emerged in the wake of the EMU legal and institutional crisis. The author takes the view that an inherent asymmetry in the EMU, namely the presence of a unified monetary policy without a commensurate coordination of social policy and wage-setting mechanisms, contributed to the development of the crisis. The latent consequences of this flaw—diverging (wage) growth and cost competitiveness—were brought into full view when the global financial crisis struck. In response, new wage governance instruments were established in order to exert learning pressure on wage development and wage-setting systems in the EU. The substantive orientation of this new framework is examined with an eye to determining whether it qualifies as a learning process under which wage and spending cuts supplant the role of currency depreciation as a means of addressing external economic shocks and competitiveness gaps. Finally, drawing on recent findings concerning the workings of the ‘European Semester’, the chapter assesses whether the new economic governance reforms are already generating learning outcomes at the domestic level.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 44-62
Author(s):  
Laura Gómez Urquijo

The objective of this article is to contribute to the discussion on the validity of new instruments to enhance cohesion in the European Union (EU). First, we question to which extent cohesion policy is submitted to the new economic governance. Second, we discuss this subordination affects the fulfillment of cohesion aims. This question is especially relevant due to the increase of inequalities in the current economic crisis and the great diversity among State Members (including social protection systems and expenses). Thus, our starting point is the new economic governance framework and its impact on the fulfillment of cohesion objectives. Statistical data are considered with this aim. Next, we will assess the role of European Structural and Investment Funds to eventually compensate public expense cuts, as well as its subordination to the macroeconomic government. This aspect will be contrasted through the study of Country Specific Recommendations given by the European Semester. Spanish El objetivo de este artículo es contribuir a la discusión sobre la validez de los nuevos instrumentos para fomentar la cohesión en la Unión Europea. Nos preguntamos en qué modo queda sometida la política de cohesión a la nueva gobernanza económica y cómo afecta a la efectividad para cubrir susfines. Esta cuestión es particularmente relevante ante el incremento de las desigualdades suscitado en la crisis económica actual. Por ello, nuestro punto de partida es el nuevo marco de gobernanza económica y su impacto en el cumplimiento de los objetivos de cohesión, considerando para ello datos estadísticos. A continuación, valoraremos, el papel de los Fondos Estructurales y de Inversión Europeos como posibles compensadores de la reducción del gasto público así como su subordinación al gobierno macroeconómico. Esta cuestión será contrastada también a través del examen de las Recomendaciones Específicas por país dadas por el Semestre Europeo. French Le but de cet article est de contribuer à la discussion sur la validité de nouveaux instruments pour promouvoir la cohésion dans l'UE. Nous avons considéré, d'une part, en quoi la politique de cohésion est soumise à la nouvelle gouvernance économique et, d'autre part, la façon dont elle utilise l'efficacité pour répondre à ses fins.Cette question est particulièrement pertinente étant donnée l'augmentation de l'inégalité soulevée par la crise économique actuelle, dans un contexte de grande diversité d'États membres, notamment en ce qui concerne les systèmes de protection sociale et les dépenses publiques. Par conséquent, notre point de départ s'inscrit dans le nouveau cadre de gouvernance économique et son impact sur la mise en œuvre des objectifs de cohésion, à partir de la prise en compte de données statistiques. Pour ce faire, nous évaluons le rôle des Fonds Structurels Européens, leur capacité de compenser la réduction des dépenses publiques et leur subordination au gouvernement macroéconomique. Ce e question sera également abordée par l'examen des recommandations spécifiques par pays fournies par le Semestre Européen.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-131
Author(s):  
Julia Lux

This article will investigate the ‘political crisis’ in France (Amable, 2017) to highlight two aspects often set aside in public and academic discussions: 1) the technocratic, neoliberal character of the European Union (EU) that limits democratic debate about political economic issues and 2) the socio-economic context the parties operate in. Using this perspective, I add to the debate on the inherent theoretical/conceptual tension between representative democracy and populism (Taggart, 2002) by showing how the ‘new economic governance’ increases the democratic problems of the EU by limiting the discursive space. Representative liberal democracy has particularly marginalised anti-capitalism at EU and national level. My analysis shows that the EU's discursive strategies are aligned to those of governing parties and the employers’ association. Left-wing actors and the Front National (FN) oppose the EU's discourse not necessarily for reasons of sovereignty but for political reasons concerning the politico-economic trajectory of France.


2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 1323-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucio Baccaro ◽  
Marco Simoni

This article focuses on the European governments' decision to involve unions and employers in the design and implementation of public policy. Based on new measures of the phenomenon, the authors argue that between 1974 and 2003, no convergence on a pluralist model of policy formation is visible. They then use these measures to identify and analyze the clearest cases of adoption or demise of concertation, namely, the contrasting responses of the British and Irish governments to wage policy and of the Austrian and Italian governments to pension reform. They argue that governments are willing to share their policy-making prerogatives when they are politically weak and when unions, while still representing a credible threat to policy implementation, have been declining in the recent past. A combination of partisanship and policy learning reinforces the push for change.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Constantine E. Passaris

Abstract The mission and mandate of economic governance in Greece and its accompanying institutional architecture requires a re-alignment in order to conform to the realities of the new global economy of the 21st century. Two recent events, one foundational and the other cataclysmic, have precipitated the need for a new vision and a new conceptual framework for revitalizing and modernizing Greece’s economic governance architecture. These two defining milestones are the emergence of a new global economy and the devastating consequences of the 2008 global financial crisis on the Greek economy. This paper proposes a new conceptual framework for reforming the public administration in Greece that is congruent with the structural changes precipitated by the new global economy of the 21st century. The Great Recession and the contemporary jobless recovery provide the contextual narrative for redefining macroeconomic policy with regard to achieving good economic governance. A new set of ten interactive and complementary principles for good governance in the 21st century are proposed. These governance principles should be accompanied with a modern institutional governance architecture. Furthermore, the structural qualities and resilient infrastructure of a revitalized governance model must be able to withstand the future economic shocks and interface effectively with the new global economy of the 21st century. In essence, this paper sets a new economic governance agenda and designs the supporting governance infrastructure that has the administrative capability and the capacity to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities confronting Greece in the 21st century. All of this, for the purpose of designing a governance infrastructure that interacts more effectively with global institutions; national, regional and local governments; economic, social and political networks; community and grassroots organizations and civil society.


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