engleski

SOCIAL CONVERGENCE IN EUROPE AND THE GLOBAL CRISIS

According to economic theory of convergence, the level of economic development in less developed countries approaches the level of advanced countries, but only if the growth is faster than the progress of developed countries. It can be also transposed to the area of social (or “socio- economic”) convergence, if it comes to harmonizing and improving various aspects of social life at a faster pace where they are below average. Experience has shown that social convergence often is not achieved simultaneously with real convergence, but it depends primarily on used instruments of achieving integration and convergence in the social sphere. Recent studies show that there is high probability of maintaining certain specifics of individual countries, which indicates the highly probable existence of different “equilibrium points”. Several analysis have not proved the convergence of social revenues in the EU, so it is crucial to make an adequate selection of factors influencing social convergence. The estimates should include only the relevant factors, taking into account the specificities of individual countries. Likewise, further reforms of social policy in the EU member states will have to adapt to different social models of individual countries, because the imposition of an equal pattern to different models of welfare reform policies may jeopardize the overall European project. However, it can be argued that among the EU member states some level of social convergence has occurred during the last decade (or two), although the effect is uneven when individual countries are analysed. An important fact is the period of time a certain country started to harmonize and coordinate its social and employment policies with the EU. This article will try to investigate the social convergence intensity in the EU, especially after a specific county becomes a member of the European Union and/or the euro-zone. Besides various factors which affect this process, special attention will be given to the appraisal of the global crises influence on social policy reforms and the convergence process in the EU.

social convergence; European Union; global crises

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