Dualization or Individualization of Social Risks in Crisis-ridden Europe? Social Protection through Collective Bargaining and Social Security since 2008

The income situation of social risk groups is shaped by collective bargaining and social security. The project studies how the protection of social risks in the labour relations and social policy arenas has evolved during the recent economic crisis. It seeks to evaluate whether there is a tendency towards a dualization of social risks due to a divergence in the protection of labour market insiders and outsiders or an individualization of risks due to lower social protection and higher uncertainty for everyone. The project aims at identifying these major trends in the two main interrelated arenas of social risk protection: the regulation of market incomes via collective bargaining and the secondary income distribution through social transfers (and taxation). In particular, the project analyses whether the economic crisis since 2008 has intensified or modified these trends, and whether particular regimes have been more or less affected. The focus is on the protective status and income situation of risk groups compared to persons in standard employment and low-risk households. The project compares Germany with other European countries with varying labour relations and social security systems..

The project studies three main questions: (1) What is the dominant development in social risk protection in European welfare states: is it a trend towards dualization, individualization or minimum income guarantees? (2) How do collective bargaining and social security systems interact in the protection of social risk groups? (3) What has been the impact of the post-2008 crisis on these developments?