Aliki Mouriki
9.2. Is the flexicurity agenda still relevant in the present-
day economic downturn?
There is no doubt that with soaring unemployment levels, an aggravation of poverty and inequal-
ities and growing insecurity, the future does not look bright. This gloomy outlook is compounded by
the on-going twin financial and economic crisis and the inability of even drastic policy measures to
contain it. It does, however, also provide an opportunity to reconsider some “conventional wisdoms” that
have haunted economic policies for too long and to pursue more radical and far-reaching reforms.
These “conventional wisdoms” that have traditionally been preached by mainstream economic thinking
are now increasingly coming under question. To mention just a few:
• that self-regulated markets can produce wealth and prosperity for all (“markets are always
right”, according to the dogma)
• that greater labour market flexibility and less Employment Protection Legislation will
make the European economies and firms more competitive and create more jobs (what
about the quality of jobs and of employment relations?) 80
• that deregulation of the labour market, the welfare and the industrial relations systems
are necessary to address the challenges of globalization and increased competitiveness
• that over-regulation and too much welfare undermine the efficiency of the economy,
especially of the productive sectors (see the Nordic countries)
• that labour is a regrettable cost (that must be minimized to the limits) and not an asset
(on which to invest), whilst managers and CEOs can receive manifold pay and bonuses
than the average employee81
• that businesses should not bear any of the costs associated with the security dimension
of the flexicurity agenda.
In the light of the rapidly deteriorating global economic environment the question inevitably
arises: how relevant is the flexicurity agenda as a political strategy in the present-day economic down-
turn? One is tempted to observe that this ambitious agenda, conceived in a period of growth, stability
80 It is the economies of countries with the most deregulated and flexible labour markets, like the USA, Britain and
Ireland, that seem to be the hardest hit by the global financial crisis and the economic downturn.
81 In some companies, the ratio between lowest and highest earnings could be as high as 1:365!
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