Southern Europe should consider an economic ‘third way’ to tackle unemployment and inequality

Several countries across Europe have experienced persistent problems with unemployment since the start of the financial crisis. Alexandre Afonso writes that southern European countries are faced with a choice between adopting either Anglo-Saxon style market liberalisation or Nordic style welfare spending as part of their response to the problem. Seeing neither as a feasible option, he proposes an alternative strategy – a ‘third way’ based on enabling part-time work, offering greater vocational training, and increasing labour market participation among key groups.