European social dynamics through a quantitative approach

In this article, Christophe Degryse and Philippe Pochet propose a review of Social Europe based on the analysis of the number of “social” legislative texts adopted by the European institutions. This innovative quantitative approach allows to explore the periods of the most productive political dynamics in terms of social legislation and the evolution of the areas covered over time. This methodology makes it possible to highlight common characteristics with the mainstream analyses of Social Europe but also specificities, the least of which is not that the most important areas in quantitative terms are also those which have been least studied.