Social Assistance Benefits and European Coordination

A number of studies suggest that the Europeanization process has a profound impact on national labour market policies, but fairly little research has been devoted to the development of social assistance benefit schemes across countries and over time. Relying on two new indicators, benefit levels and replacement rates, we examine the impact of the Lisbon Strategy on national social assistance policies. We find no robust effects for the first years of the Lisbon Strategy. However, after its re-launch in 2005, the Lisbon Strategy has significantly contributed to increases of national social assistance benefit levels. In addition to the Lisbon Strategy, domestic political, institutional and several economic factors also have a significant impact on social assistance benefits.