CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Jacobs, Lena Diane |
|---|---|
| Title | SOCIAL POLICY IN CRISIS? EU POLICY FOCUS AND CHANGE DURING ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING IN IRELAND |
| Summary | This paper tests the presence of a social component within the EU, and the cohesion of this component between its new crisis management mechanisms and the European Semester. This is accomplished through an analysis of employment policy reforms undertaken through the Economic Adjustment Programme (EAP) in Ireland (2011-2013). Employment policy reforms and recommendations within key documents were qualitatively coded according to the type, magnitude and stage. The results of the coding were statistically analysed to test 1) whether the timeframe or mechanism analysed affected the form and focus of employment reforms and; 2) whether the type of policy determined the magnitude or stage of implementation of the reform. A particular focus was placed on activation policies, questioning the core assumption that these are primarily for social objectives. A clear social component was found, however these social policies were less likely to be implemented and occurred less frequently at the height of the crisis. A significant variation between policy focus and mechanisms was found, with the EAP having a much larger economic focus. Finally, the overwhelming reliance on activation policies both at the EU and national level within unemployment policy reveals the importance of more thought as to categorisation. |
| Supervisor | Puetter, Uwe |
| Department | Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/jacobs_lena.pdf |
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