Comparative assessment of the progress of employee financial participation in the member states of the EU

What the paper says

Purpose This article provides an overview of the different measures promoting EFP schemes that are in place across the EU-27 and the United Kingdom and classifies Member States according to a “success score” given to each measure. “Success” is measured by the degree to which both soft and hard criteria have contributed to promotion of EFP in different countries. Design/methodology/approach The article assesses the progress of EFP in EU 27 and the UK using three indicators: (i) legal framework, (ii) fiscal incentives and (iii) political support and social dialogue to obtain an overall score for each country both for ESO and PS. Countries are then grouped into clusters, showing that a significant number of countries have made progress in the spread of both ESO and PS. Findings ESO is much less frequently used in Europe than e.g. in the US. If this still largely unexploited potential is to be harnessed, further development of financial participation, ESO in particular, should be part of an overall European strategy for stimulating sustainable and inclusive growth of the EU economy. A generally favourable attitude in some countries has usually led to supportive legislation for EFP schemes, which, in turn, have led to the spread of these schemes. Tax incentives are important tools for enhancing and broadening financial participation. When properly designed, they promote the spread of EFP effectively. Originality/value Assessing the progress of EFP schemes in EU 27 and the UK using the three indicators (i) legal framework, (ii) fiscal incentives and (iii) political support and social dialogue, we obtain an overall score for each country both for ESO and PS and compare it with those produced in 2014. We can show that in as many as twelve countries, i.e. 44% of MS, there was a positive change in their overall score between 2014 and 2024.