Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (2018) In many European countries, marginal part-time, (solo-)self-employment and secondary jobs have been increasing since the last decades. The question about the provision of social protection and labour legislation for these types of employment is the starting point for a project entitled "Hybrid working arrangements in Europe", directed by the WSI. Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Denmark and Austria comprise the group of countries selected in order to investigate "hybrid work" in the context of different welfare state regimes.

The World Bank (01.08.2018) Will the revolution in digital and information technologies make us obsolete? Will jobs be lost and never replaced? Will wages drop to intolerable levels? History and economic theory and evidence suggest that in the long term, such fears are misplaced. However, in the short and medium term, dislocation can be severe for certain types of work, places, and populations. In the transition period, policies are needed to facilitate labor market flexibility and mobility, introduce and strengthen safety nets and social protection, and improve education and training.

Explication et légitimité de la lutte contre la fraude dans le domaine de l'emploi

Asian Development Bank (September 2018) This brief discusses impacts of an aging population on an economy like the People’s Republic of China and shares the country’s present elderly care system, its drawbacks, and policy implications.

Euro.WHO (August 2018) The underlying principles and goals of the Spanish national health system continue to focus on universality, free access, equity and fairness of financing. The evolution of performance measures over the last decade shows the resilience of the health system to macroeconomic conditions, although some structural reforms may be required to improve chronic-care management and the reallocation of resources to high-value interventions.

Euro WHO (August 2018) This analysis of the Estonian health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health-care provision, health reforms and health system performance. In 2017, the Estonian government took the historic step of expanding the revenue base of the health system, which has been a longstanding challenge. However, in terms of percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) it remains a small increase and long-term financial sustainability could still pose a problem.

Europa (14.08.2018) The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC) has published its annual thematic report. The report outlines changes and new developments during the past year in the area of child and family policies across the EU Member States.

euro.who (August 018) Hospitals with greater autonomy are perceived to be more flexible in meeting the needs of the local population. However, there is a tension between the potential to improve responsiveness and flexibility via greater decentralization and the potential efficiency gains and geographical equity derived from centralization.

Measuring Financial Literacy

Assessing the levels of financial literacy in the population is a key component of a successful national strategy for financial education, enabling policy makers to identify gaps and design appropriate responses. International comparisons increase the value of such an assessment by enabling countries to benchmark themselves with other countries. Where similar patterns are identified across countries, national authorities can work together to find common methods for improving financial literacy within their respective populations.

Economic and labour market transformations in Europe have led to an increase in non-standard work and new forms of self-employment as well as an upsurge in transitions from one labour market status to another — with great variations between countries, sectors, age groups and gender. In this context, European social protection systems are facing growing challenges in covering social risks for these workers.