Challenges for Europe under value chain restructuring: Contributions to policy debates

The policy challenges presented here have been derived from the empirical results obtained from the WORKS quantitative and qualitative data. Thus they have been informed by the analysis of survey results and particularly the workplace level analyses on restructuring across value chains carried out in the organisational and occupational case studies. They have also benefited from the analyses carried out in the thematic papers, which laid the foundation for identifying policy challenges. In the complex and diverse area of policy presented here, we first set out to situate our particular theme in a larger conceptual landscape and address the following issues: - What current policy debates surround the issue under investigation? - What institutions or structures currently exist that are mainly responsible for regulating the topic? - What themes emerge from the WORKS case studies? What deviations are there between policy and practice? What challenges for policy emerge? - Which levels of policy, which actors should address the challenges? Policy formulation is refracted through the different social structural frameworks in different countries. Institutional and historical contexts shape these structures. The contexts also shape expectations, norms and discourse in which policy is made (O´Reilly, Cebriàn & Lallement, 2000). Thus systems differ in terms of their exclusivity, closure or segmentation. Corporatist systems in which some workers and sectors are well-regulated tend to protect core workers. Here group identity and divisions between labour would be the standard and discourse of the policy context. Liberal systems are characterised by emphasis on individual initiative and less regulation, so that the discourse surrounds individual ability and attractiveness on the labour market.