ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book offers a pluralist and interdisciplinary exploration of the impact of competitiveness and solidarity on contemporary European societies and policy-making. It explores the most comprehensive analysis to date of the different ways in which competitiveness, solidarity, and their relationship can be theorised and applied to empirical research and policy-making. The book discusses the foundations of a systematic analysis of the empirical issues, showing that competitiveness and solidarity are often antagonistic, may sometimes be mutually reinforcing, and can in extreme cases be conceptualised as coinciding. It provides an indication of some promising avenues for future research on competitiveness and solidarity. Empirically, more quantitative and qualitative research on the actual constraints, returns, and externalities of policy designs based on ‘competitive solidarity’ is needed.
