Divergent we fall: The challenges for welfare state - Social integration and unemployment policies in the Visegrad Countries

This article examines the unemployment policy of Central-East-European countries applying mixed methods. First, fuzzy set analysis is used to determine the efficiency of unemployment measures for reducing the poverty gap. Three causal conditions are measured: the net replacement rate of unemployment benefits, labour law regulations related to job security, and public spending on labour-market programs. This analysis reveals two possible pathways: governments may either provide a high level of job security, or spend on active and passive labour-market measures. Second, the fuzzy set analysis was completed with a comparative legal analysis covering the Visegrad countries that examined the policy choices the Visegrad countries made after the economic crisis. The paper argues that due to the different approaches to the welfare state, any potential EU initiatives for regulating unemployment benefits under the European Pillar of Social Rights might put divergent adaptation pressure on the V4 states. The differences are significant, as they would not only challenge effective social integration but also hamper the envisioned political cooperation of the V4 countries in this policy area. Building on previous literature, this paper is written to contribute to research on the European Social Model and social integration within the European Union.