ABSTRACT
The social market economy in postwar Germany is an explicit attempt to combine an efficient market economy with the demands of social security and the corresponding sense of justice in the population. The European Union, with its European regional and structural policies, already has access to a toolbox that could help address its goal of improving socioeconomic conditions. This chapter outlines Walter Eucken’s main idea on implementing social policy. It discusses the subsequent improvement of Eucken’s normative approach by constitutional political economy. The integration of European economies into a common market thus requires an analysis of the opportunities they actually offer for access to and participation in market activity. Particularly in rural regions, there may be a number of these obstacles to participation in the single market, as the administrative authorities have fewer financial resources at their disposal for the provision of the relevant capabilities.
