Introduction

This is the second volume in the Research in the Sociology of Work set on “Comparing European Workers.” The first volume focused on experiences and inequalities (Brady, 2011). This volume concentrates on policies and institutions. While the first volume identified many of the problems and challenges that European workers face, this volume considers potential solutions. Of course, the social policies and labor unions of Europe are hardly panaceas for the variety of challenges that European labor markets face. Nevertheless, this volume explores how well policies and institutions can address those challenges. In the process, it appraises how the classic solutions for workers are undergoing transformations and what those transformations mean for the future of work in Europe.