Social expenditure in Poland appears to increase regional employment disparities. In particular, the farmers' social fund (KRUS) seems to contribute to the rising regional dispersion in the number of recipients of social transfers. This is the result of KRUS benefits being poorly related to...

We analyse the performance of budgetary and growth forecasts of all stability and convergence programmes submitted by EU member states over the last decade. Differences emerge for the bias in budgetary projections across countries. As a second step we explore whether economic, political and...

This study aims at evaluating the achievements of the Commissions administrative reform objectives presented in the 2000 White Paper, concerning the introduction of tools for the definition of priorities, and a better allocation and use of resources (ABM). It addresses the three main following...

This manual provides a detailed insight into the sources and methods used by countries to compile the data on quarterly financial accounts for general government. It presents the information in a structured way so that cross-country comparisons can be made. The manual will be updated in the...

Overall, household debt levels have risen sharply over the past decades in EU Member States. While certain levels of household debts can be beneficial, they can become problematic especially with a sudden, unexpected decrease of incomes or increase of expenditures. The current financial crisis...

Household over-indebtedness is among the causes of the current financial crisis. In turn, the crisis exacerbated both public and private debt problems. In this paper, household over-indebtedness is broadly defined as the situation where a household cannot comply with payment requirements –...

Research into the importance of social and economic cohesion policies in the context of the new financial framework 2014-2020 and the impact that trade union organisations could have in this process.

The SOC Section deals with a broad range of policy areas including employment and working conditions, social policy and integration, gender equality, disability issues, public health, justice and home affairs (including immigration), and education and training. The section’s activities cover...

In 2008, the SOC Bureau decided to set out a relatively comprehensive strategy for the work of the SOC Section during the 2008-2010 mandate. The purpose of this strategy was to a) structure the work of the Section in order to make it more forceful and find priorities for actions and...