"Pension Systems in the EU: Variable Patterns of Influence in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium"

Anderson, Karen, and Kaeding, Michael. (2007) "Pension Systems in the EU: Variable Patterns of Influence in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium". In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2007 (10th), May 17-19, 2007, pages 29, Montreal, Canada.

Abstract

The paper investigates how European welfare states respond to reform pressures arising from European integration. We examine the impact of two variables that mediate the impact of reform pressures caused by EU membership: the extent of public pension provision and the number of veto points in national political institutions. Our preliminary expectation is that, all else equal, member states with few veto points and a relatively small public pension sector are the most likely cases of policy change in response to Europeanization, whereas member states with a high number of veto points and extensive public pension commitments are the least likely candidates for policy change.