Divergence within Convergence: Europeanisation of Social and Labour Market Policies

Abstract Since the adoption of the European Employment Strategy and the Lisbon strategy, convergence of social protection goals and labour market policies across EU countries features prominently on the European agenda. Embedded in convergence, Europeanization and welfare state literature, this paper examines the role of European integration in changing social policies. It shows that since 1995 social expenditures of EU member states have converged and increased on average, whereas those of non‐EU countries have diverged, corrected for cyclical and demographic effects. This EU‐specific convergence pattern of social expenditures leads to the subsequent question whether or not national policies have also converged. Relying on disaggregated expenditure data and policy indicators, this study shows an EU‐specific trend of increasingly active labour market policies. However, within this scope of activation, countries have opted for different mixes of policy instruments.