The Working Poor in Western Europe: Between Past and Future

In the wake of the global economic crisis in Western Europe phenomena ‘of the past’ have become more visible, evoking nineteenth-century conditions like mass unemployment, in-work poverty, overwork, etc. My paper seeks to examine the re-emergence of the working-poor phenomenon by adopting a global political economy perspective. (1) It first clarifies its methodological premises and discusses some limitations of the mainstream literature on in-work poverty, in which analysis of migration and global production networks is underdeveloped. It argues that only by opening the ‘black box’ of production and overcoming the separation between European and development studies can this phenomenon be understood. (2) Focusing on the UK, Germany and Italy, the paper then examines how the regional reorganisation of their productive systems has occurred within a broader process of production restructuring that is having a profound impact on workers’ labour and living conditions. (3) The current crisis is increasing the competitive pressure arising from globalisation on labour markets and social policies within Western Europe. Drawing upon recent literature on unit labour costs and export complexity, the paper examines the roots of the differential effects of the crisis on Germany, the UK and Italy against the backdrop of the international specialisation of their economies. (4) It finally reflects upon viable alternatives to in-work poverty. ‘Old’ actors like the trade-union movement still are a fundamental force, but need to renew themselves and fully to come to terms with the on-going transformations and the emergence of new social actors.