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The London School of Economics and Political Science The Advocacy and Diffusion of EU Employment Policy: The European Employment Strategy in France and Italy Carlo Chiattelli A thesis submitted to the European Institute of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, June 2008 1 of 4 UMI Number: U613414 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U613414 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 rH£S6S ^06 t Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. 2 of 4 Abstract This thesis aims to investigate the process through which discourses promoted by one level of governance are diffused and become accepted in another. It defines the European Employment Strategy (EES) as an attempt to set member states’ employment policy agendas by imposing a specific policy discourse defining the problems of European labour markets and the appropriate solutions and it looks at how, by who and under what conditions this was adopted or refused at the national level. It argues that existing accounts of the effects of the EES, which emphasise mechanisms relying on incentives and sanctions, policy-oriented learning and socialisation, do not pay enough attention to whether and why different domestic actors and groups might support it in the domestic arena and to the role of domestic institutional settings. The thesis holds, first, that the diffusion of the Strategy’s discourse at the national level depended on the presence or absence of national coalitions of actors willing to adopt and advocate it. The empirical evidence collected in the case studies on France and Italy suggests that the Strategy’s discourse was limited to narrow communities composed of civil servants, experts and social partner representatives. The second contention is that these coalitions’ success depended on the institutional resources and constraints facing them. In both countries studied meeting the Strategy’s requirements stimulated a measure of administrative adaptation, which provided supporting coalitions with additional resources and facilitated norm diffusion. Yet the diffusion of information on the Strategy was limited even within the central administration, among the rank-and-file of the social partners and at the regional and local levels of government. Thus the last contention of this work is that the coalitions promoting the EU discourse remained weak due to the scarce diffusion of information beyond restricted circles and the limited institutional resources provided by the Strategy. Supporting coalitions have only been influential when directly involved in specific policy choices made at the centre and, even then, implementation has proved difficult if actors other than the central government were involved. 3 of 4 Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my doctoral supervisors, Damian Chalmers and Kevin Featherstone, without whom this thesis would never have come to light. I would also like to thank the many other LSE academics who have offered me their precious help at different points in time: to name a few, Robert Leonardi, Bob Hancke, David Soskice, Abby Innes, Jennifer Jackson-Preece, Waltraud Schelkle, Simon Glendinning, Willem Buiter, Eiko Thielemann. I also thank Martin Rhodes and Stefano Bartolini, whose comments and seminars have been a source of inspiration during my short stay at the European University Institute. A special thanks goes to my (former and/or current) fellow PhD students for their support: Sotiria Theodoropoulou, Benedicta Marzinotto, Marco Simoni, Simona Milio, Daphne Halikiopoulou, Manuel Palazuelos-Martinez, Michael Romanos, Caroline Holmquist, Steve Coulter, Costanza Rodriguez D’Acri, Sofia Vassilopoulou. The most heartfelt thanks, finally, goes to my parents, Augusto and Maria Giovanna, who funded and supported me throughout this prolonged effort. 4 of 4 C o n te n t s Introduction i 1. Thesis puzzle, conceptual framework and working hypotheses 2 2. Methodology and choice of cases 8 3. Overview of the chapters 12 P a r t I: Theoretical Framework C h a p te r I T he D iffu sio n a n d A d v o c a c y of E U E m plo ym ent Po lic y : A Th eo retical Fr am ew o rk 15 1. Bounded rationality, uncertainty and the role of discourse 16 2. Europeanisation and the domestic impact of EU policies 20 3. The new institutionalisms as the theoretical basis for the study of Europe’s domestic impact 25 4. The diffusion and advocacy of EU employment policy discourse 29 4.1. The advocacy of the EES discourse 32 4.2. The diffusion of the EES discourse in institutional context 36 Conclusion 38 C h a p te r II Th e Eu r o pe a n E m plo y m ent S t r a t e g y : G o v er n a nc e a n d D isc o u r se 40 1. The European Employment Strategy: origins and antecedents 41 2. The governance of the European Employment Strategy: process and reform 46 3. The EES: discourse and strategy 52 4. Theorising the domestic impact of the EES: incentives and sanctions, policy learning and discourse 59 4.1. Incentives and sanctions 60 4.2. Policy learning, transfer and mimicking 62 4.3. Discourse, learning and socialisation 65 Conclusion 67 P a r t II: C ase S tu d ie s C h a p te r III E m plo ym ent Policies a n d Po licy -m a k in g in Po st-W a r Fr a n c e : T h e Predominance o f the S tate a n d the E x c lu sio n o f L a b o u r 70 1. French employment policies from theTrente Glorieuses to the politiques publiques de I ’emploi 1 1 2. The actors in French employment policy-making 77 3. The emergence of European constraints and the politics of welfare retrenchment 85 4. Continuity and change in French employment policies after 1997 90 Conclusion 97 Chapter IV Th e E u r o pea n E m plo y m en t S tr a teg y a n d Policy Ch a n g e in Fr a n c e : Th e D iffusio n of the EES D isco ur se as a n In st r u m e n t of S tate P o w er 99 1. The European Employment Strategy in France 100 2. The diffusion of the EES discourse as an instrument of state power 106 3. The EES and employment policy change in France 112 3.1. Individualised programmes for the unemployed: from ‘Nouveau Depart ’ to PARE and PAP-ND 114 3.2. Active ageing and the reform of pre-retirement benefits 119 3.3. Lifelong learning and the reform of vocational training 122 Conclusion 124 Chapter V E m plo ym ent Policies a n d P o lic y -M a k in g in P o st-w a r It a l y : W e a k G o v er n m en t a n d the P olitics of Co n se n su s 127 1. The Italian ‘model’ of labour market regulation and income support policies 129 2. The role of the state and interest organisations in employment policy-making 135 3. The emergence of European constraints, institutional innovation and ‘marginal’ flexibility in the 1990s 139 4. Continuity and change in Italian employment policies and policy-making after 1997 146 Conclusion 154 C hapter VI Th e E u r o pea n E m plo y m ent S tr a teg y a n d Po licy Ch a n g e in It a l y : D isco ur se Ch a n g e , Co ntinuity a n d the R ole o f E xperts 157 1. The European Employment Strategy in Italy 158 2. The EES and Italian policy-making: political crisis and the role of experts 163 3. The EES and employment policy change in Italy 170 3.1. The reform of employment services and vocational training 172 3.2 Benefit systems and the activation of the unemployed 111 Conclusion 181 C onclusion 184 1. The French and Italian case studies: the results of a comparison 185 1.1. The advocacy of the EES discourse? 186 1.2. The diffusion of the EES’ discourse in institutional context? 190 2.