ABSTRACT

Education, employment policy, and pensions are inextricably linked and critical to any sort of business or economic revival, let alone success, and all three are addressed in Education and Employment in the European Union. In the first part of this meticulously researched and highly informative book, Dimitris Chorafas argues that European educational standards, from primary schools through to universities, leave much to be desired. The author then turns to employment. Already affected by problems with education, employment is fettered by structural issues, ranging from inflexible labour laws to heavy social costs. Here, the author suggests what might be done to get employment moving again in difficult economic times. Employment and pensions work in synergy. In the final part, Chorafas examines the implications of and future for pension provision, taking a polyvalent approach which embraces state pensions, company pensions and the workings of pension funds - as well as healthcare issues and the longevity risk. The evidenced analysis of the three interlinked policy areas in this book identifies the issues and the relationships between them. The findings and suggestions will be important to business practitioners, business educators, government authorities, policy makers, consultancies and others either within or wishing to learn lessons from the European Union.

part I|104 pages

The European Union's Educational Challenge

chapter 1|26 pages

Education in the European Union

chapter 3|28 pages

A Sense of Leadership in Education

part II|48 pages

Innovation: The Synergy of Education and Employment

chapter 5|26 pages

Research, Development and Innovation

chapter 6|20 pages

The EU Research and Development Challenge

part III|99 pages

Employment is an Opportunity, Not a Right

part IV|47 pages

Pensions and the Social Safety Net

chapter 11|24 pages

The Principle of Social Insurance

chapter 12|21 pages

Demographic Changes and Longevity Risk