The European welfare regimes face two sets of challenges. One internal, specific for the welfare state itself, and the other external, imposed by changing economic, political and economics conditions. The first challenge lies in the growing gap between the rigid welfare state design and flexible...

In this paper, we use recent robust non-parametric techniques in the European retail sector. By means of a database of firms in the European retail sector (four-digit NACE 5211) in five European countries over the period 1998–2006, we apply data envelopment analysis and compare the analysis...

This paper investigates the fractal behaviour of the electric spot prices traded in some European markets. Whereas the analysis leads to exclude the presence of multifractality, we provide evidence supporting the conclusion that the multifractional Brownian motion can represent a good candidate...

The financial crisis of 2007–2008, followed by the “Great Recession” and the additional sovereign debt crisis in some peripheral countries of the Eurozone, resulted in huge and persistent effects on European youth labour markets. Theoretical and empirical investigations on this topic are...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the distribution of labor market experience among the unemployed in a less developed area in Greece (the north-western region of Epirus), where unemployment has severe detrimental repercussions on the local workforce....

Purpose – To ease adjustments in the labour market, many countries have softened their legislation since the 1970s by introducing flexible labour contracts or by making their use easier. The purpose of this paper is to document labour management of temporary contracts during the last 20 years...

This article makes two key arguments. First, European social models are being asked to extend social support to meet new needs associated with the ageing society, changes in citizens’ aspirations and behaviour and the reduced reliability of support from employers and the family. How...