There is a broad consensus in Europe that there is a specific European Social Model (ESM) that should be preserved. However this notion remains ambiguous. In recent years, economic performances have been better in liberal and Scandinavian countries than in continental and Mediterranean...

In a globalised world, firms are looking for the best place to produce goods and services. Local governments, on the other hand, are looking to attract these firms and associated jobs on their territory. This leads to the outsourcing and relocation phenomena that are the most visible aspects of...

The Swedish model is particularly attractive because it has resisted well to the major shocks of 1970s and 1990s. In particular, while the crisis of 1993 was particularly strong causing a major recession and a dramatic increase in unemployment, the evolutions that followed were very encouraging....

Cancer survivors frequently shift to part-time job, unemployment and early retirement, probably more than the general population. We re-evaluated the impact of cancer in the labour market, using ?comparative? transition matrices between occupational states. The proper consequences of cancer were...

This paper reviews the debate on the Stability and Growth Pact. Both empirical and theoretical arguments in favour of the Pact are weak, to warrant a different and plausible (even if extreme) hypothesis: We suggest the view that the Stability Pact is a public social norm, obeyed by countries...