What's in a word?
by Duncan O'Leary
Every so often you see a new word and you feel duty-bound to post it on the blog. So here it is: Flexicurity. You won’t find it in the dictionary. Oh no. But apparently you will find it in Scandanavia.
Here’s what the collective wisdom of wikipedia has to say about it:
‘The model is a combination of easy hiring and firing (flexibility for employers) and high benefits for the unemployed (security for the employees). It was first implemented in Denmark by the social democratic prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen in the 1990s.
The EU has investigated flexicurity as a possible future European model, mainly because the model has contributed to near-full employment in Denmark with under 4% of the population unemployed, according to the OECD’.
What more could you want? A good policy and a great word.
Right, I’m off for a yogushake…
Charlie Edwards
I can't think of a new word but recently came across a new phrase - reflexive development - which apparently is not that new at all. Essentially, so my source tells me, it is the lessons donor countries learn from managing development in 3rd world countries and applying them in their own national settings, like for example educating minorty groups. Have googled but so far haven't really come across anything useful...
Duncan O'Leary
Turns out that Bill Clinton was way ahead of me..