Is the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) an effective and legitimate tool in European social policy-making? Milena B??chs analyses the goals and instruments of the OMC, discusses approaches which theorize its functioning, examines its policy content and develops a framework for its evaluation. Through the examination of a case study the author demonstrates how policy actors apply the OMC in employment in Germany and the United Kingdom. The book concludes that the OMC pursues contradictory goals and is unlikely to achieve them simultaneously.
Author(s): Milena Buchs
Edition: First Edition
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 256
Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
List of Boxes, Figures and Tables......Page 10
List of Abbreviations......Page 11
Acknowledgements......Page 13
1 Introduction: New Governance and the Dilemma of European Union Social Policy......Page 16
The OMC's governance character......Page 18
The OMC as a response to the dilemma of European social policy......Page 21
Organization of the book......Page 28
Part I: The Open Method of Coordination......Page 32
2 Conceptualizing the OMC......Page 34
'Influence' in OMC research......Page 35
Theorizing the OMC's influence and effectiveness......Page 37
'Invited dutifulness'......Page 41
Defining the OMC agenda......Page 42
Typology of responses......Page 46
Framework for analysing member state responses......Page 48
3 The 'Third Way' in European Social Policy......Page 54
The 'third way'......Page 55
The 'European Social Model'......Page 57
The policy content of the Open Methods of Coordination......Page 59
Part II: Member State Responses......Page 72
'Goodness of fit'......Page 74
Political system and actor constellations......Page 79
Social partners and NGOs......Page 80
NAP production......Page 82
Relationship to the EU......Page 84
Labour market policy development in Germany and the UK......Page 87
Responses to the EES......Page 94
Explaining variation......Page 104
Part III: Evaluation......Page 110
Evaluation framework......Page 112
The OMC's effectiveness......Page 115
7 Legitimacy......Page 145
Democratic quality of OMC processes......Page 146
Legitimacy of the OMC......Page 155
Social Europe and the OMC......Page 167
'Invited dutifulness' and its problems......Page 170
Reforming the OMC?......Page 172
List of interviews......Page 176
Overview: Policy actors' positions and ways in which they refer to the EES......Page 178
Notes......Page 183
References......Page 192
E......Page 215
G......Page 216
L......Page 217
O......Page 218
S......Page 219
V......Page 220
Z......Page 221
