Description:
This report assesses the diversity feasibility, but also the relevance of the social investment strategy in Europe. What policies have been implemented in different countries, with what success? What have been the key drivers of change or impeding factors in pursuing a social investment strategy? The report also questions whether the goals defined in 2000 are still relevant, and whether the social investment strategy can help face not only traditional European problems but also new issues created by the current crisis.
The contributions to this report give an assessment of the social investment strategy as it has been pursued in different national contexts and provide not only a framework for reform but also a number of concrete examples of how to promote or improve the social investment approach including:
-The development of publicly funded child care and education programmes. Such services express the goals of this perspective in two ways: they invest in the human capital of mothers by helping them remain in paid work; and they invest in the human capital of children by providing them with quality educational stimulation at an early age. From this perspective, many of the policies currently being adopted for reconciling work and family life are inadequate. Strategies like long parental leave or vouchers for the purchase of private services may offer some immediate support to parents but lack the long-term perspective that is central in terms of social investment.