The Flexibility-Security Nexus in Transitional Labour Markets: An empirical analysis

This article is intended to serve as a basis for discussions and, as well, a stimulating critique on monitoring Transitional Labour Markets (TLM) in Europe. TLM arouse interest from many researchers across Europe and beyond trying to develop new policy directions based on a complementary relationship between flexibility and security with the aim of allowing people to move both in and out of paid employment more easily. The concept of TLM provides a framework and guidelines to develop a new strategy of social risk management and social integration as well as an alternative to full employment deemed to be no longer applicable to Europe. Currently, the so-called European social model is seen having a big stake in the future of TLM. Numerous items in the TLM tool-kit are already good practices in Europe. The lack of foresight concerning the elements of successful supportive bridging mechanisms comes from the fact that such situations, in most cases, were not the outcome of deliberate TLM and “flexicurity” strategies. The level of consensus-building, the type of welfare regimes, in a word, the “context” should still be considered as a crucial linchpin. Using a linear scaling technique and the Principal Components Analysis (PCA), the article states a way at improving the European political and strategic learning process through the building of a composite TLM index.