Examining the impact of the Open Method of Coordination on sub-state employment and social inclusion policies: evidence from the UK

Abstract

Given its emphasis on a decentralised approach involving a range of actors, the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) would be expected to have an impact on the sub-state level in EU member states, particularly when sub-state authorities have competence for policy areas governed by the OMC. This study of the Employment and Social Inclusion OMC processes in the United Kingdom explores changes to the policy, polity and politics dimensions in these policy areas to determine the impact of the OMC on the sub-state level. Its findings suggest that, while the OMC process is far from facilitating ‘deliberative polyarchy’, in the UK case the limited engagement of sub-state authorities with the OMCs in Employment and Social Inclusion owes more to the internal division of power and the perception of the UK as a leader in these fields than to the structure and nature of the EU process itself.