The flexibilisation of labour markets is called for by most political and economic and firms as the sesame towards economic competitiveness. But do employment systems and social protection regimes provide the workforce with the adequate social incentives - in the form of secured, qualifying and...

The UK system for social insurance has evolved over the past sixty years in response to both changes in government policy and changing social circumstances. The current system has moved away somewhat from the old Welfare State principles. The current social insurance system in the UK is targeted...

In the context of the ongoing reforms on European labour markets the keyword 'flexicurity' is presently gaining prominence. We therefore want to explore the importance of the flexicurity-concept on the example of the German Hartzreforms. Starting from the frequently used definition as a...

The increasing number of smaller and relatively short-lived companies and the growing number of individuals working in the 'grey zone' between dependent employment and selfemployment present several challenges for the social security system. Social insurance in Sweden is controlled by the state...

This is a paper based on the annual lecture in honour of Hugo Sinzheimer at November 10, 2005, Hugo-Sinzheimer-Institute at the University of Amsterdam. In 1928, Sinzheimer wrote an article entitled 'Die Demokratisierung des Arbeitsverhältnisses,' (The Democratisation of the Employment...

In the Netherlands the self-employed are insured against a number of social risks through social security provisions and residence-based social insurances. The selfemployed are, for example, insured against the risk of old age: like every other Dutch resident, they receive a pension under the...

In the past decades self-employment has gained importance in both countries Germany and the United Kingdom. In particular the proportion of solo-self-employment shows an increasing trend. This development has created new challenges for social risk management strategies. It raises the question of...

Women and men increasingly face work-related critical events during their lifecourse and experience risks that are not fully covered by unemployment insurance or other work related insurances. Social risk management of transitional labour markets (TLMs) aims at supporting people in navigating...

Eastern Enlargement of the European Union challenged the design of European Welfare states. Many authors discuss the impact of East European social security systems on their West European counterparts and fear a “race to the bottom”. This paper addresses welfare state developments in the...