This report presents the conclusions from a seminar on families and childcare services held in Ankara, Turkey, on 5 June 2008. The seminar was organised by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), in cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of Labour...

We compute public sector performance (PSP) and efficiency (PSE) indicators, comprising a composite and seven sub-indicators, for 23 industrialised countries. The first four sub-indicators are u0093opportunityu0094 indicators that take into account administrative, education and health outcomes...

A central puzzle in international finance is that real exchange rates are volatile and, in stark contradiction to effcient risk-sharing, negatively correlated with cross-country consumption ratios. This paper shows that incomplete asset markets and a low price elasticity of tradables can account...

The paper extends the standard intertemporal model of the current account to include two important stylised facts: (1) the persistence of current account positions and (2) the relevance of the fiscal balance. Specifically, the paper derives a closed form solution for consumption in the presence...

We live in a service economy, but the extent of development of service employment differs across developed countries. This paper assesses the role of structural factors and institutions in explaining the common patterns and main differences in the recent expansion of service employment in OECD...

Many people in Europe do not receive the social benefits to which they are entitled. This is the case across countries and for many types of benefits. Addressing this ‘non-take-up’ of benefits is critical for two key reasons: benefits do not fulfil their objective if they do not reach the...

This Regional Strategy Paper (RSP), the second for Mercosur, provides a strategic framework for EC cooperation with Mercosur for the period 2007-2013. The RSP has been prepared following a consultation process involving Mercosur member states and civil society actors. EC-Mercosur relations are...

The challenges arising from low employment rates, an ageing population, changing family structures and social exclusion have pushed ‘quality of life’ issues to the front of the EU social policy agenda. The Foundation has launched an initiative to improve the monitoring and reporting of living...

This analytical report addresses the interesting theme of participation in civil society, exploring the diverse range of activities that constitute active participation. A central part of the analysis involves identifying factors that influence participation, or in other words understanding why...

This report examines quality of life from the unique perspective of the two acceding countries, Bulgaria and Romania. The historical, political, socioeconomic and cultural contexts of these two countries have meant that their experiences are often quite different to those of the EU Member...