| Review of: | The EU and Social Inclusion: Facing the Challenges by E. Marlier, A.B. Atkinson, B. Cantillon, B. Nolan |
|---|---|
| Reviewed By: | Enkeleida Tahiraj |
| Reviewed in: | Journal of Common Market Studies |
| Date accepted online: | 02/11/2007 |
| Published in print: | Volume 45, Issue 2, Pages 515-533 |
Book Reviews
At a time of enlargement and accession, while many low-income and developing countries flail under the direction of economic growth and poverty-reduction strategies imposed as conditionality by international organizations, the EU has been conducting another internal, poverty debate, centring on the (perhaps surprisingly) imperfect correlation between employment and poverty reduction that has been observed in Member States. Based on a mid-term review of five years of the EU Social Inclusion Process, this book considers its future, identifying institutional and methodological risks to the success of efforts to create a consistent and co-ordinated inclusive European social policy.
Introductory chapters orient the reader in the strategic political and policy context. Having found historical continuity in the development of EU co-operation in social policy, questions remain concerning actual achievement. Is the setting of common objectives in integrated policy-making counteracted by the freedom of Member States to determine the means through National Action Plans? A sound methodological basis is essential to assess institutional barriers and measure the potentially uneven progress in achievement of countries.
The theme of the mainstreaming of children at risk of poverty and social exclusion is the vehicle for exploring and developing a basis for policy monitoring and evaluation. Systematic comparative analysis of the progress of Member States starts with country baselining against EU agreed indicators. Alongside the application of a definite analytical approach, here an integrated framework utilizing model family analysis and micro-simulation models, should facilitate the establishment of causal links between policy measures and outcomes at national level and cross-country knowledge transfer.
The authors assert that widened conceptions of poverty based on non-income indicators are among ways in which common social indicators can be made more policy relevant. EU-wide targets based on the performance of a trio of the most successful countries, allied to a restructuring of National Action Plans beyond descriptive reporting, is also considered crucial to better policy analysis. It is concluded that institutional risk can be mitigated by social inclusion mainstreaming and the mobilization of actors at all levels. At and below the national level, the authors identify the need for country ownership of the process and the need for 'joined up' government, with political and administrative leadership embedding the policy domestically under parliamentary scrutiny.
The clear setting and exposition of this book (barring one Gestalt-style figure, p. 79) will ensure it proves a valuable resource to all actors engaged with the EU Social Inclusion Process and to researchers in Social Policy and European Studies.