Occupational Welfare in Europe: state of play, determinants and policy implications

This chapter draws conclusions about Occupational Welfare (OW) in Europe, discussing its main traits and describing how it has evolved in selected countries since the 1990s and especially in more recent years. In line with the research questions put forward in the introductory chapter, we first look at the role of OW in the nine countries under scrutiny in the volume: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The first section sketches how OW has evolved over time, addressing its capacity to protect workers against ‘new’ and ‘old’ social risks. While the analysis focuses mainly on the two policies under scrutiny in this book (pensions and unemployment protection), we use information on other policy fields – such as health insurance and reconciliation of work and family life – that have been studied elsewhere.