This essay deals with two fundamental issues in the analysis of social change and the distribution of new social risks: a) the necessity to conceptualise and therefore to measure social welfare in a way that is appropriate to the constellation of social risks and inequalities typical of...

The prevailing view today is that Europe's mass unemployment is caused by excessive labor market regulation. In this article I will show that strict employment protection, wage equality, and generous social rights do not influence levels of unemployment in any meaningful way. They do, however,...