ABSTRACT
The conservative-corporatist model of social protection found in most continental European countries is, of all such models, the one facing the biggest difficulties in adapting to current socio-economic change (Esping-Andersen 1996). Critics of this model have pointed to two key problems. First, systems falling into this category tend to use employment as a basis for social rights, as opposed to either need or universal social citizenship. In the current context of high and persistent unemployment, the appropriateness of such a system is being increasingly challenged (Rosanvallon 1995). In particular, it is argued that employment-based benefits are of little use in the fight against social exclusion. Since entitlement to benefits must be earned, those who are most in need are often unable to gain access to provisions. Yet, in most industrial countries, unemployment and social exclusion together are widely regarded as the most pressing social problems.
