TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1. The problem of poverty in the EU 21
2. The universal basic income 72
3. The challenge of reciprocity 107
4. The challenge of solidarity 138
5. The challenge of stabilisation 165
6. The challenge of feasibility 192
Conclusion 216
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ... xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ... xii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... xiii
DECLARATION ... xiv
ABSTRACT... xv
INTRODUCTION ... 1
1. The European Union and its social self ... 1
2. The main question ... 5
3. Method ... 7
4. Key arguments ... 10
5. Thesis outline ... 13
6. Working assumptions and definitions ... 15
6.1. Social justice ... 15
6.2. Poverty ... 17
CHAPTER ONE:THE PROBLEM OF POVERTY IN THE EU ... 21
1. Introduction ... 21
2. Poverty and social exclusion: state of play ... 22
2.1. The risk of poverty increased overall ... 22
2.2. Social spending is essential but remains insufficient ... 24
2.3. Return to employment: a determinant but limited route ... 25
2.4. Income disparity matters ... 26
2.5. The poverty target is not in sight ... 27
3. The rise of economic insecurity ... 28
3.1. The precariat ... 29
3.2. Labour market flexibility... 31
3.3. Technological progress ... 32
3.4. Inequalities ... 34
4. The conundrum of social protection in the EU ... 37
4.1. Negative and positive integration ... 38
4.2. The challenge of diversity ... 40
4.2.1. National social models ... 40
4.2.2. Barriers to positive integration ... 43
4.3. The social deficit of European integration ... 46
4.3.1. Destructuring of national systems of social protection ... 47
4.3.2. Restructuring at supranational level ... 48
4.3.3. Social Europe and the euro crisis ... 51
4.4. The limits of EU anti-poverty strategies ... 53
4.4.1. Poverty and social exclusion on the EU agenda ... 53
4.4.2. Assessment of EU anti-poverty strategies ... 55
5. Minimum income schemes in focus ... 59
5.1. Five broad families ... 59
5.2. Assessment ... 60
5.2.1. Adequacy ... 61
5.2.2. Coverage ... 62
5.2.3. Take-up ... 62
5.3. Impact on poverty ... 64
6. Addressing the problem ... 66
6.1. Diagnosis ... 66
6.2. Proposals ... 67
6.2.1. European unemployment benefit scheme ... 68
6.2.2. European guaranteed minimum income ... 68
6.2.3. European universal basic income ... 69
7. Conclusion ... 71
CHAPTER TWO:THE UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME ... 72
1. Introduction ... 72
2. The ‘basics’ of the basic income ... 73
2.1. Historical background ... 73
2.1.1. Three contemporary waves ... 75
2.1.2. A fourth wave? ... 76
2.2. The UBI as a policy instrument ... 78
2.2.1. Escaping the teleological view ... 78
2.2.2. An entitlement as a matter of policy... 80
2.3. The basic income ‘label’ ... 80
2.4. Why not in kind? ... 82
3. A taxonomy of the UBI and its alternatives ... 83
3.1. Identifying the dimensions ... 84
3.2. The UBI ... 87
3.3. Basic income-like proposals ... 90
4. Why settle for the UBI? ... 92
4.1. UBI vs GMI ... 93
4.1.1. Poverty alleviation ... 93
4.1.2. Access to employment and social participation ... 95
4.1.3. The wider effects of economic security ... 97
4.2. UBI vs basic income-like schemes ... 100
4.2.1. UBI vs NIT ... 100
4.2.2. UBI vs UBC ... 101
4.2.3. UBI vs PI ... 103
4.3. Limits and nuances ... 104
5. Conclusion ... 105
CHAPTER THREE:THE CHALLENGE OF RECIPROCITY ... 107
1. Introduction ... 107
2. Reciprocity-based justice and the duty to work ... 108
2.1. Justice as fairness ... 109
2.2. Justice as fair reciprocity ... 110
2.2.1. The reciprocity principle ... 111
2.3. The duty to work ... 113
2.3.1. Defining the obligation ... 113
2.3.2. A non-perfectionist justification ... 115
2.4. The objection ... 115
3. The answer of ‘extended’ reciprocity ... 117
3.1. The basic version ... 117
3.2. The subtle version ... 118
4. The reciprocity-friendly answer ... 119
4.1. Work-incentives ... 119
4.2. Intra-household reciprocity ... 121
5. The circumstantial answer ... 121
5.1. A fair work-test in real-life circumstances? ... 121
5.1. The moral gains of economic security ... 123
5.2. Basic income or participation income? ... 124
6. The self-respect answer ... 125
6.1. The social bases of self-respect... 125
6.2. A leisure bias? ... 126
7. The independence answer ... 127
7.1. Republican freedom ... 128
7.2. Universal property and civic possibilities ... 128
7.3. Independence on the labour market ... 129
7.4. Independence of women ... 130
8. The entitlement answer ... 131
8.1. Libertarian historical-entitlements ... 131
8.2. The left-libertarian version ... 133
8.3. The real-libertarian version ... 134
9. Conclusion ... 137
CHAPTER FOUR:THE CHALLENGE OF SOLIDARITY ... 138
1. Introduction ... 138
2. Justice beyond borders ... 139
2.1. The global justice debate ... 140
2.2. Bounded justice ... 141
2.3. The objection ... 143
3. The pursuit of justice in the EU... 144
3.1. A normative framework: the EU as a demoicracy ... 144
3.2. The common identity view... 145
3.2.1. The mutiple identity answer ... 146
3.2.2. The ‘other motives’ answer ... 147
3.2.3. The primacy of justice answer ... 148
3.3. The political view ... 149
3.3.1. The non-voluntariness answer ... 150
3.3.2. The EU as fiduciary answer ... 151
3.4. The social cooperation view ... 153
3.4.1. An EU scheme of social cooperation ... 153
3.4.2. Reciprocity-based internationalism ... 154
3.4.3. The EU contribution answer ... 156
3.5. Summing up... 156
4. The EUBI and multi-tiered EU justice ... 157
4.1. EU sufficientarian justice and the EUBI ... 157
4.1.1. Defining the sufficientarian threshold ... 157
4.1.2. The EUBI and multi-tiered EU justice ... 158
4.2. Preserving domestic justice ... 160
4.3. EU social citizenship ... 162
5. Conclusion ... 164
CHAPTER FIVE:THE CHALLENGE OF STABILISATION ... 165
1. Introduction ... 165
2. The case for macroeconomic stabilisation ... 166
2.1. The OCA theory and the EMU ... 166
2.2. An incomplete monetary union ... 168
2.3. The objection ... 171
3. The EUBI and macroeconomic stabilisation ... 172
3.1. The European unemployment benefit scheme ... 172
3.1.1. Why focus on the EUBS? ... 172
3.1.2. Genuine and equivalent variants ... 173
3.2. EUBI vs EUBS ... 174
3.2.1. Anti-cyclicality ... 175
3.2.2. Automaticity ... 176
3.2.3. Size ... 176
3.2.4. Moral hazard and permanent transfers ... 178
3.2.5. Harmonisation/convergence ... 179
3.3. Limits of the stabilisation approach ... 180
4. The EUBI and EU-wide social cohesion ... 182
4.1. Social cohesion ... 182
4.2. Joint action for poverty relief: an illustration of impact... 184
4.3. Cross-border redistributive effects ... 187
4.4. A tangible Social Pillar ... 189
5. EUBS and EUBI: the compatibility view ... 190
6. Conclusion ... 190
CHAPTER SIX:THE CHALLENGE OF FEASIBILITY... 192
1. Introduction ... 192
2. Legal feasibility: establishing the payment of the EUBI ... 193
2.1. Values, fundamental rights and objectives ... 193
2.2. EU competences in social protection ... 194
2.3. Method ... 196
2.4. Article 153 TFEU ... 196
2.5. Article 175(3) TFEU ... 198
2.5.1. Understanding ‘social cohesion’ under EU law ... 199
2.5.2. The EUBI as an instrument to strengthen social cohesion ... 201
2.5.3. Facing the limitations of other Treaty provisions ... 202
2.5.4. A procedural impediment ... 203
2.6. Article 352(1) TFEU ... 204
2.7. Differentiated integration ... 206
2.7.1. Enhanced cooperation ... 207
2.7.2. Intergovernmental treaty ... 208
2.8. Treaty change ... 209
3. Legal feasibility: establishing the financing of the EUBI ... 210
3.1. Within EU budget ... 210
3.2. Outside EU budget... 214
4. Conclusion ... 215
CONCLUSION ... 216
1. What have we learned? ... 216
2. Pathways from here ... 218
APPENDIX:METHODOLOGY USED FOR SIMULATIONS ... 221
REFERENCES ... 226
