This chapter discusses the strengths and weaknesses of European welfare states, which protects citizens in hard economic times. In many countries governments tend to respond with austerity policies that not only undermine the protective function of the welfare state, but weaken its economic, social and political support base. Increasing inequality is one of the observable consequences, which is associated with bad social and political outcomes in terms of health, social mobility, social and political trust, political representation and participation. […]
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Trust amongst citizens is a fundamental feature which facilitates economic and financial transactions. Without it we need often ineffectual detailed regulation to prevent uncooperative behavior, cheating, and the breaking up of contracts. Without trust courts get overwhelmed and socially useful public policies are unfeasible. In Europe, the recent Greek crisis has certainly reduced the level of trust amongst Europeans, especially along the North South axis. Thus, it will become more difficult to engage in the necessary regulatory reforms needed in the Euro area including a more integrated fiscal policy, a European level unemployment subsidy legislation and banking union. […]
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This article reviews the specific factors that are hindering growth in Europe. It concludes that a more efficient banking system is a structural reform that would facilitate better resource allocation, reduce the cost of capital, and improve the transmission of monetary policy. Only through technological advances can productivity in banking be improved. As an example, the article illustrates the process towards the digital banking of tomorrow, based on BBVA’s own experience, and underscores the need for sweeping changes in the industry’s regulatory framework to guarantee its stability and protect consumers while also capitalizing on the vast potential of technology. […]
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What does it mean to feel European? Does a European culture exist? This chapter will analyse the history, challenges and potential of the feeling behind this political entity defined by multilingualism, which, like a patient, is going through real depression, losing its image as a great power and finding itself mired in a deep financial, political and existential crisis. Having succumbed to the dogmas of identity to a criminal extent, the concept of a European “us” is emerging. Given this, Europe now faces a historical challenge: Will it be able to deal with the crisis of universal belief and build bridges between religions and cultures? […]
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Britain has always been a reluctant European. It only became a member in 1973, and it has repeatedly complained: about the budget, the agricultural policy, fisheries, the European Parliament and regulation. Why does ask Britain have this attitude? In the early 1950s the British still considered their country to be a world power with a large empire, not just as a medium-sized European country. This has left a more transactional approach to Europe. Membership of the European Union is seen in cost-benefit terms. Now, will the referendum in 2016 settle the argument and make Britain a more committed EU member? […]
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For decades, the European Union has been a vehicle for peace and prosperity in Europe but it is in trouble today. The response to the crisis has had negative economic and political effects. The decision to subsidize debt in return for austerity has stymied growth in southern Europe. Although European elites favor deeper integration, the response to the crisis has reduced popular support for it. A deeper fiscal union threatens to intensify technocracy. However, the Euro may endure without deeper union provided some institutional reforms are consolidated and economic growth can be revived in southern Europe.
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By Nayef Al-Rodhan, University of Oxford In October 2005, two North African teenagers died of electrocution in one of the banlieues of Paris as they were running from the police through a dangerous power substation. An inquiry later established the teens were innocent, and the incident sparked some of the worst unrest seen in France over the past […]
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Although in recent years the study of human social behaviour has gained momentum, its biological and evolutionary aspects remain underexplored. While specific notions such as group selection in evolutionary theory have experienced episodic popularity since Darwin’s best-known publications, what E.O. Wilson called “sociobiology” has been with us for just over half a century.
Genetic explanations of social behavior have long been controversial. Criticism largely originates from the assumption that such explanations are determinist and may be used to reinforce discrimination.This was never Wilson’s intention, as he readily acknowledged that genetically-informed instincts were nonetheless significantly susceptible to environmental influences. […]
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When Aristotle famously claimed that the good life was not made in a summer, nor in a day, he implied that the best life was a life committed to contemplation. The question of what gives meaning to life has been central to philosophical inquires for millennia. While no definite answer would appear to clarify or solve this fundamental question, a look into the neurochemistry underlying our feelings, thoughts and behaviour charts new grounds in this exploration. Moreover, it hints at ways in which gratification is relevant both to society and the world at large. […]
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Peter Thomson argues that firms are still applying Industrial Age working practices to the new Information Age work patterns. Organizations are still run as hierarchical command systems in a world of networked individuals and self-employed entrepreneurs. Today we are in the middle of the Information Revolution, facing fundamental changes to the way we live and work. The difference is that the current revolution is bringing as much change in a decade as was spread over a century last time. Thomson states that the main issues pushing this tsunami of change are flexible/smart working and increasing demand for work/life balance and job satisfaction. In order for this transformation to work well, nothing less than a revolution in management practices must happen. […]
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