Inequality 2020 – Reviving Europe’s Efforts to Attain Inclusive Growth

Europe had a strategy to attain smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and deliver wellbeing to its citizens. At the doorstep of 2020, our society is increasingly polarized, social inequalities are on the rise. What went wrong? Should we blame the financial crisis? Bad politics? Bad policies perhaps?

Europe made some steps forward on becoming more sustainable and smarter but an inclusive economy is still a distant point on the horizon.

Is it time to construct a sound EU-wide plan to tackle inequality? How to design it?

The FEPS and Solidar event “Inequality 2020” will be the occasion to reflect on how growing inequalities have shaped the European society over recent years and think about the next agenda to contrast social exclusion, unemployment and inequality at large.

At the Brussels Press Club, we will host two French sociologists, Alexis Spire and Cédric Hugrée, of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), authors of the book “Les classes sociales en Europe – Tableau des nouvelles inégalités sur le vieux continent”, which will be available in English only at the end of the year. In their research, they make use of various data sources and of a new socio-professional classification (European Socio-Economic Group ESEG) introduced by Eurostat in 2016. This allows for a rather accurate job-related identification of the social class: working class, middle class, upper class.

Check the programme

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FEPS Suggested Readings:

• R. Sweeney, R. Wilson (2019), Cherishing all Equally 2019, Inequality in Europe and Ireland, FEPS & TASC Report
• J. Stiglitz et al. (2019), Rewriting the Rules of the European Economy, FEPS Report
• A. G. Christiansen, J. Nielsen , T. L. Jensen (2019), Job Polarisation has increased inequality across Western Europe, FEPS Policy Brief
• A. Kentikelenis, C. Bambra, T. Forster (2018), Health Inequalities in Europe: setting the stage for progressive policy action, FEPS & TASC Report
• R. Sweeney, R. Wilson (2019), Cherishing all Equally 2019, Inequality in Europe and Ireland, FEPS & TASC Report
• S. Pembroke (2018), Precarious work, precarious lives: how policy can create more security, FEPS & TASC Report
• A. Bobek, J. Wickham, S. Pembroke (2018), Living with uncertainty: the social implications of precarious work, FEPS & TASC Report