Welfare state reform is top priority for most governments in Europe. Many European countries are currently reforming their redistributive systems, social insurance policies, pension schemes, and labor-market institutions. Netspar, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis and the Social and Economic Council (SER) bring together a group of top economists and policy makers in a two-day conference to discuss the future of the European welfare state.
Attendance
Attendance to this annual conference is by invitation only.
Key note speakers
Torben Andersen (chairman of the Danish Welfare Commission) will analyse the challenges facing the Scandinavian welfare states.
Tony Atkinson (Oxford) addresses the welfare state in a global market
Lans Bovenberg (Netspar) addresses the consequences of new social trends for the welfare state. Can individual saving accounts complement traditional social insurance?
Gösta Esping-Andersen (Pompeu-Fabra) explores the relationship between the welfare state and labor-market institutions in encouraging investments in human capital.
James Heckman (Chicago), 2000 Nobel Prize Winner, investigates the increasing demand for skilled labor and the consequences for the earnings and employment prospects for the unskilled.
Arie Kapteyn (RAND/Netspar) discusses retirement ages of workers in Europe.
Political economy
On Friday afternoon, Wouter Bos (Leader Labour Party), Aart Jan de Geus (Minister of Social Affairs), and Kees Goudswaard (Executive Board Social Economic Council) give their views on the future of the welfare state.
Tito Boeri(Bocconi), Tony Atkinson (Oxford), Torben Andersen (Aarhus), Peter Sřrensen (Copenhagen), James Heckman (Chicago), Gösta Esping-Andersen (Pompeu-Fabra), and Assar Lindbeck (Stockholm) respond to these views.