Flexicurité en Europe: une approche critique

In recent years, fl exicurity has become a key concept in European debate.
We show in this article that fl exicurity has indeed positively contributed to this
debate, in particular as it has promoted a more holistic approach and overturned
some of the neoclassic hypotheses. At the same time, this concept
has not been fully defi ned and remains very ambiguous. It has not managed
to achieve a consensus on the political directions that need to be taken and it
has often been used to serve more traditional circles and interests.
This leads us to wonder to what extent the dominant approaches of
fl exicurity can explain the successes and failures that can be observed in
the labour markets of European countries. Flexicurity has often been analysed
in terms of the complementary nature of three political approaches
(regulation of contracts and redundancies, as well as active polities regarding
the labour market and social protection). The Nordic countries and
the Netherlands are usually referred to as positive examples. In our view,
this analysis offers no solid empirical foundation. Instead, we offer an alternative
perspective based on different types of work organisation and
different ways of supporting transitions in the labour market.