ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the potential role of policy swapping analyses in the context of the Open Method of Coordination developed at the European Union level. The analyses confirm that in-work benefits might be one of the pillars of a redefined welfare system in the Southern European countries in order to enhance the economic position of the working poor and to increase female employment. Although the choice of policies to achieve specific targets is a responsibility of the Member States, the Open Method of Coordination developed at the European Union level in 2000, encourages mutual learning processes across countries. The chapter provides a description of EUROMOD and its high potential for policy swapping analyses. It illustrates the rationale for the potential implementation of different kinds of in-work benefits in the Southern European countries. EUROMOD is a unique multi-country infrastructure developed in the last decade in order to carry out European comparative social science research.
