Moreau, Marie-Ange --- "Introduction" [2011] ELECD 880; in Moreau, Marie-Ange (ed), "Before and After the Economic Crisis" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Before and After the Economic Crisis

Editor(s): Moreau, Marie-Ange

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849809924

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: Introduction

Author(s): Moreau, Marie-Ange

Number of pages: 22

Extract:

1. Introduction
Marie-Ange Moreau

Discussion about the future of the European Social Model (ESM) needs
to be precise with this so-debated notion. If presented as `European social
models', the plural refers to the diversity and the differences of the national
social models in Europe and the movement of classification of these
models, through limited convergence or common denominators. It has
been possible following Espin-Andersen to identify three different models1
for welfare policies, but the building of `families' or `models' of industrial
relations systems and labour law systems is highly debatable, especially
with 27 member states, because of the original combination in each system
between industrial relations, market forces, state intervention and collec-
tive bargaining (Hyman, 2009).
The book considers that the ESM is the result of the process created by
EU law and EU policies: the reference here to the ESM is not just a politi-
cal discourse for the future (Jepsen and Serrano, 2006) nor the common
denominator of these national models. Then, even the definition giving by
Hyman of the four main characteristics of the `European social model',
through industrial relations, market forces, state intervention and collec-
tive bargaining is useful to compare the European main tendencies with
American or Japanese ones: it is elaborate from a substantial comparative
and simplified analysis of the national systems, without a focalization on
the process created by the EU Law and the substantial content of EU Law
through the Europeanization process.
The European social model is the result ...