From an Ordoliberal idea to a Social‐Democratic ideal? The European Parliament and the institutionalization of ‘social market economy’ in the European Union (1957‐2007)

Bibliographic Data

ID7876153
AuthorsHugo Canihac (0000-0003-4842-8383, Saint‐Louis University Brussels), Francesco Laruffa (0000-0003-4240-8162, University of Geneva Geneva)
Year2022
Volume60
Issue4
Pages867-884
Publication date2022-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJCMS Journal of Common Market Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9886 • E-ISSN: 1468-5965
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jcms.13289
OpenAlexW4200258298
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited42

This paper explores how ‘social market economy’ became a quasi‐constitutional principle of the EU, highlighting the crucial role played in this process by the European Parliament. Based on multiple archival sources, we show that social market economy came to function as a limited repertoire: While it was advocated for various reasons by different actors, increasingly including social‐democrats, it nevertheless also solidified certain ways of conceiving the EU and its economic model. So doing, this article not only illuminates the role of the EP in the definition of a constitutionalized economic model for the EU; it also challenges the view of Europeanization as the progressive convergence around national preexisting models. Finally, two paradoxes emerge from the analysis: while supporters of the discourse of social market economy aimed at promoting the European social dimension and at addressing the EU democratic deficit, the adoption of this principle may have actually contributed to the subordination of both the ‘social’ and the ‘political’ to the ‘economic

Convergence (economics · Democracy · democratic deficit · Economic growth · Economic policy · Economic system · Economics · Economy · European social model · European union · Institutionalisation · Market economy · Parliament · Political economy · Political science · Politics · European Union Policy and Governance · Global Financial Regulation and Crises · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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