WHY (AND HOW) STILL STUDY THE OMC? Caroline de la Porte

OUTLINE

Aim and origin of paper European Integration New modes of governance Europeanization

EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Neo-functionalism Intergovernmentalism Advocacy coalitions-interests and beliefs Experts-ideas

OMC (governance architecture and policy objectives) rapidly moving object

OMC AS A NMG

Input and output legitimacy Governing by numbers Justiciability (at best in shadow of hierarchy)

At normative level, dispute about potential impact Potential of learning in the OMC (Zeitlin) Weak potential for learning in the OMC

(Kroger, Lodge, Hartlapp)

IMPACT OF OMC: EUROPEANIZATION Ideational impact\cognitive aspect Direct\indirect Learning from where- Top down – guidelines, benchmarks- Peers - other countries- ESF Other usages of the OMC – as a political opportunity

structure

MECHANISMS OF (IDEATIONAL) CHANGE:

Mechanisms of ideational change:1. Socialization: exposure to new information

(civil servants, NGOs) in fora of OMC (SPC, indicators groups, ESF committees)

2. Diffusion of an idea (parliament, media)3. Reflexive learning (learning about one’s own

policies and institutions - strengths but also weaknesses - on the basis of information produced in or deliberated within the OMC process (Zeitlin, 2005, 2009).

METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

Ideational change takes place over long period of time

Difficult to distinguish influence of OMC from other factors (i.e. domestic intiatives, OECD)

Difficult to say with certainty that ideas, such as active ageing come from the OMC

More specific ideas, care for the elderly or child poverty, can with more certainty be traced back to OMC

Difficult to identify the role of the OMC in the process of policy change

OTHER USAGES OF THE OMC

OMC can be used as leverage for agenda-setting and bargaining (Blyth: ideas as weapons, Beland, Power of ideas)

Blame-shifting When used instrumentally, the OMC agenda

can be adopted fully or partially, or it can be ignored

OMC AND POLICY CHANGE

For the OMC to lead to policy change, policy ideas and new knowledge associated with specific frames (of problems and solutions) should be transformed into initiatives and strategies.

This necessarily involves some degree of translation or ‘re-interpretation’, that is adapting to political preferences and institutional legacies (Barbier, 2008; Martinsen, 2005).

This is the most difficult and most disputed aspect in studies on the impact of the OMC

WHO LEARNS? FOR WHAT PURPOSE?

Government Civil society Social partners Think-tanks Politicians, political parties Media

LEARNING IN THE OMC – WHICH RESULTS

Faming for some governments Framing for NGOs, that also use the OMC

agenda as a political opportunity structure

Longitudinal perspective ESF, EES – case of spain

Selective use of the OMC agenda to fit priorities

Diverse interpretation of ideas – translation according to national norms, institutions and political priorities merits more attention

CONTEXTUALIZING THE OMC

CONCLUDING REMARKS 1

Economic and budgetary pressure for reform from DG ecfin, Ecofin, OECD, IMF, ECB, credit-rating agencies

Social priorities put forward by DG employment, employment and social affairs council, OECD

Institutional affiliation may be less important than their reform agendas and their power (conditionalities, money, political bite, consequences of non-compliance)

FIT MISFIT?

CONCLUDING REMARKS 2

Cumulative and conflictual influence of different actors, instruments

OMC has never been the single cause in a given ideational process, let alone in a given reform process

Necessary to consider policy coordination OMC within the process of domestic reform process

Scholarship on europeanization and comparative welfare state reform should come closer together and not move further apart

THE FUTURE OF THE OMC: EUROPE 2020

Lift 20 million people out of poverty by 2020 according to ”national poverty targets”

In some cases, no target; in others, target is not realistic; in others, there is no ambition

Poverty integrated into core lisbon strategy: this means not only social ministries, but also finance ministries need to address it

Flagship initiative in area of poverty Pensions and health care OMC to continue in

parallel