*** SONJA WITTE: Die Soziale Dimension Europas. Soziale Verantwortung öffentlicher Unternehmen. Peter Lang (1 Moostrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Europäische Hochschulschriften - Publications universitaires européennes" series. 2009, 532 pp, €18.50. ISBN 978-3-631-59830-6.
One of the criticisms that is often levied against the European Union is that there is a “social deficit” in its policies and legislation. This lack is seen by many Europeans as being their due, because the Common Market is failing to provide and Economic and Monetary Union is also failing on a more general level. The EU is always reiterating the importance it attaches to European social legislation, particularly the “European Social Model”, although the model takes different forms in different Member States. This affirmation became even more controversial in the midst of the economic and financial crisis that hit Europe in 2008. During this crisis, many leaders in the EU called for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Great use has been made of this concept in recent times, although nobody really knows what it means.
In order to fill this comprehension gap, the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises Providing Public Services (CEEP) upon instigation from the European Union, commissioned a research project into the concept and what it refers to. This book by Sonja Witte is an initial output of the research, in which the author's analysis provides a both practical and European dimension to the idea of corporate social responsibility, firstly for companies and secondly for individuals.
The subject of the first chapter is the origins of CSR and how it has developed. Social dialogue and the evolution of the social history of the European Union are explained first. Sonja Witte adds a short description of the main European “social partners” (BusinessEurope, CEEP, UEAPME etc). She also analyses the European Commission's views in this domain, along with the role of public enterprises in the “European Social Model”. Another chapter focuses on opportunities for carrying out projects in the European area. In this perspective, the author presents an insight into the Discerno project for the Dissemination of corporate ethics and responsibility through networks of public enterprises. This project on corporate social responsibility subsequently helps facilitate a definition of social responsibility. It then illustrates possible developments in social policy in Europe, as well as developments in corporate responsibility. The author ultimately attempts to evaluate the Commission's initiative on this final point.
Julien Demoustier
*** JOSEP M. LOZANO: The Relational Company. Responsibility, Sustainability, Citizenschip. Peter Lang (see address attached). "Frontiers of Ethics" series, No. 8. 2010.190 p., €31.10. ISBN 978-3-03911-940-0
Over recent years, the debate on collective social responsibility has developed significantly. Significant progress has been accomplished in this field and many management models have been developed. All these different steps taken have been accompanied by an ideological debate, which, paradoxically, as always, has illustrated the need for clarification of what is really meant by the idea of collective social responsibility. This book can be located at the crossroads of this debate. It contains both the opinion of the author, as well as a synthesis of this debate. It distinguishes social action from collective social responsibility, as well as corporate undertakings that are both responsible and viable, with a sense of dialogue, based on the model of the “relational company”. The author subsequently succeeds in clarifying the debate and the complex relationships between business and society. It enables us to revisit crucial questions raised by the concept of management, in terms of individual relationships, the development of values and ethics, responsibility and success in the business world.
(IP)
*** DANIEL NERMERICH: Mindestlohn - eine kritische Einordnung. Peter Lang (see address attached). "Europäische Hochschulschriften - Publications universitaires européennes" series. 2009, 163 pp, €37.20. ISBN 978-3-631-59424-7.
Social legislation varies from one state to another in the European Union. One striking example bears this out: this is the presence or absence of a minimum wage in a specific country. Germany, in this context, is one of the seven last member states of the Union that does not possess legislation on the minimum wage. The country prefers to allow for greater flexibility on the labour market, in an effort to reabsorb high and persistent levels of unemployment. There is, however, the question of whether such as social measure is part of the “European social model”. In this book, Daniel Nermerich begins by analysing the German model, its origins and its most recent developments. He also examines the different political viewpoints regarding this issue. At the end of this chapter, the author provides a brief synopsis of the European situation in this domain. The second part of the book is very theoretical and focuses on the different legal and economic aspects. The European dimension is particularly highlighted in the legal part of the book.
(JD)
*** DENIS HARRISSON, GYORGY SZELL, REYNALD BOURQUE (Editors): Social Innovation. The Social Economy and World Economic Development. Peter Lang (see address attached). "Labour, Education & Society" series, No. 17. 2009. 472 pp, €55.90. ISBN 978-3-631-58562-7.
The world of work has been in a state of constant flux since the beginning of the history of modern capitalism and bourgeois societies. This change now currently affects citizens to varying and unequal degrees in the face of the phenomena of globalisation, increasing social precariousness and protracted inequality. Social innovations developing the idea of economic progress and well-being provide a response to the problems generated by job losses, social exclusion and poverty, the consequences of a model that exclusively promotes economic performance to the detriment of any other benchmark. Moreover, an alternative should be able to combat both the shortcomings of the market and the state. This book provides us with many different contributions from experts from around the world and from a variety of different academic disciplines, ranging from sociology to the economic sciences, by way of political science, management, history and geography. The social innovations they identify in the field of social economy, labour law, social regulation and public policy, have a considerable impact on national and regional economies. Many initiatives presented in this book constitute a social response to poverty, job insecurity, job losses, long-term unemployment and the processes of corporate relocation and de-industrialisation.
(IP)
*** ANA M. GUILLEN, SVENN-AGE DAHL (Editors): Quality of Work in the European Union. Concept, Data and Debates from a Transnational Perspective. Peter Lang (see address attached). "Travail & Société" series, No. 67. 2009, 250 pp, €28.50. ISBN 978-90-5201-577-4.
This collectively written book examines the quality of work in Union countries and provides an analysis of the situation today, a situation exacerbated by the tensions provoked by work and prosperity in Europe. By providing a particularly acute insight into the labour market and the structuring of policies in this arena, the authors highlight the strengthening of labour market incentive policies and the attempt to combine these with workers' expectations: prosperity, social protection and a better balance between work and family life. The quality of work over recent years has been highlighted in a perspective of problems involving unemployment and particularly political considerations. The results have been mixed. In the final chapter of this book and its conclusions, Robert Salais (Ecole Normale Supérieure of Cachan, in France) underlines the contradictions and tensions between quantitative and qualitative orientations and employment policies in Europe.
(IP)
*** SEBASTIAN VOLLMER: A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic and Human Development. Peter Lang (see address attached). "Göttingen Studies in Development Economics" series, No. 27. 2009. 138 pp. €35.30. ISBN 978-3-631-58793-5.
This book provides us with a picture of human economic development from five different perspectives: the first chapter provides a new statistical test of probabilities that could possibly help us to better understand the per capita distribution of wealth in European countries. The second chapter provides an analysis on the basis of a new mathematical model, the distribution of income throughout the world. The third chapter looks at the distribution of per capita GDP in the world and its possible implications for reducing poverty and putting a brake on ever increasing inequalities in society. The fourth chapter assesses the effects on well-being within the context of the recent economic partnership agreements signed between Europe and African countries. Finally, the last chapter in the book looks at the relationship between democratic systems and their performance levels in education and health.
(IP)
*** ELKE SCHEFFELT: Egalitäre Beschäftigungspolitk im ôffentlichen Dienst? Eine vergleichende Analyse der Beschäftigungssituation von Frauen in Deutschland und den Niederlanden. Peter Lang (see address attached). 2009, 319p. €48.10. ISBN 978-3-631-58629-7.
The subject of this book covers all countries in the world, particularly those of Western Europe that have introduced a policy of equality in recruitment and legislation to tackle discrimination against women in the labour market. Rather than examining the issue at global level, the author compares and contrasts the situation in Germany and its neighbour, the Netherlands. The examination of these two societies, that apparently appear equal and which are at similar economic levels, reveals quite different results, due to the different policies applied. The problems of segregation and discrimination on the basis of gender are analysed in this book, through an exploration of the situation in the public services. The different choices made in this perspective particularly highlight the policies implemented by the public authorities. Elke Scheffelt's first chapter analyses employment policy through the angle of equal opportunities in the sphere of gender, which enables her to look at this question in a European and international perspective. She then tackles the issue of how social and employment policies have developed in each of these two countries over a number of decades. A specific chapter focuses on the position of women in the state and in which the author examines how this issue is approached through the application of European policies. This is a very comprehensive book, which leaves no one feeling indifferent about this significant issue…
(JD)
*** MARGARIDA DURAES, ANTOINETTE FAUVE-CHAMOUX, LLORENC FERRER, JAN KOK (editors): The Transmission of Well-Being. Gendered Marriages Strategies and Inheritance Systems in Europe (17th - 20th Centuries). Peter Lang (see address attached). 2009, 525 p., €49.90. ISBN 978-3-0343-0056-8.
Cost, the acronym for the European Cooperation in Science and Technology, is the oldest and most extensive inter-governmental cooperation research network operating in Europe. This book was put together in this context by four historians working in different European universities. It provides us with a selection of different university papers presented during the second Cost symposium in 2007, which focused on the theme of transmitting wealth and therefore, within the family network. The choice of theme results from the fact that the distribution of wealth is a key factor in determining the well being of individuals in any society, particularly amongst its poorest members. In this book, the authors decided to examine the role of women in European societies over the past three centuries. To this end, they verify to what extent marriage, the systems of inheritance and the family unit, have had an influence on women's ability to manage and access material wealth, when they are widowed, for examples. The authors also examine the strategies that these women have developed when tackling legislation that runs counter to their interests, as well as the way in which the introduction of the Civil Code and family laws have changed the environment since the 19th century. First of all, the authors explore the different marriage customs in Europe since the 15th century and look at how the different strategies sought to implement different ways of exercising control and ensure survival. In most cases, the goal was to ensure the survival of future generations but this objective usually took a turn for the worse when the father of the family died. The transmission of family goods, however, has never usually been an easy process for women and the authors analyse this question through the different customs governing succession in Portugal, France and the Netherlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. Widows often sought to remarry, in an effort to recover security but there were many other women who assumed their new situation and became the head of the family for many more years to come, without there being any masculine presence in the family unit. Obviously, marriage, although extremely widespread, was not the sine qua non condition for the survival of women. Many chose not to marry and succeeded in ensuring their own well being. As demonstrated in this study, these women had to develop all sorts of strategies to ensure the transmission of their goods to their children, born outside of marriage. In conclusion, this book is evidently a distinctive academic tome that will be of interest to anyone interested in history and the development of women's rights in Europe.
(NDu)
*** VALÉRIE ROSSO-DEBORD: Retraites: les voies de la réforme. Commission des Affaires européennes (Boutique de l'Assemblée nationale, 7 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40630033 - Internet: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Documents d'information" series, No. 2700. 2010, 117 pp, €5. ISBN 978-2-11-131149-7.
This information report is very dense and contains many graphs. It illustrates conditions in which France's European partners, as well as a number of other countries, such as the US, Japan and Canada, have reformed their pension systems. It also explains how these systems are organised in all these different countries.
(MT)