The Social Situation Monitor (SSM) is the European Commission’s observatory of employment and social developments in the EU.

The SSM team welcomes your abstract for an oral presentation at an SSM seminar that will take place in Brussels on Monday 26 November 2018.

Focus of the seminar: social convergence

Whereas the European project has long been described as a ‘convergence machine’, the recent economic crisis has halted convergence in certain dimensions, and triggered divergence in others.

This concerns the areas of employment, income and social protection, but also broader outcomes such as working and living conditions. 

The aim of the seminar will be to present and discuss the latest empirical research on social convergence in Europe. More specifically, we are looking for presentations exploring:

• Patterns of convergence/divergence in terms of labour market participation, income, living conditions, etc.
• Patterns of convergence/divergence between Member States, regions, local authorities, firms as well as between urban and rural areas
• The drivers of convergence/divergence and links between different dimensions (economic growth, productivity, labour markets, social outcomes)
• The role of governments, firms, social partners and other actors in promoting convergence.

We welcome presentations based on large EU-wide datasets including, but not limited to, the EU Labour Force Survey, the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions.

How to submit an abstract

Please submit your abstract electronically by Monday 22 October 2018.

All abstracts will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the four presentation slots are filled. Abstracts will be reviewed by the SSM team, which includes representatives from the European Commission, LSE Enterprise and ICF Consulting. Abstracts will be assessed based on their quality and relevance to the work of the SSM team.

Invited speakers will be given 20 minutes to present and 20 minutes to respond to questions from the audience. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered for one presenter per paper (in case of co-authored papers).

The SSM seminar series

SSM seminars are research seminars. Their aim is to provide a forum to discuss the theoretical, methodological and policy implications of the latest economic and social research. More specifically, SSM seminars aim to inform:

• The economic and social analysis of the European Commission in general, and the Commission’s Employment and Social Developments in Europe review in particular
• The economic and social analysis of the European Commission’s stakeholders
• The economic and social policies of the European Commission and its stakeholders.

SSM seminars are primarily intended to:

• Economists and analysts working in policy-making organisations
• Academic researchers
• Policy officers with an interest in economic and social analysis.

Click here for more information on previous SSM seminars. 

Contact

For more information about the call, please contact: 

Dr Arnaud Vaganay 
Email: a.vaganay@lse.ac.uk