Working partially on the working poor: Explaining the indirect approach of the European Social Fund+ towards in-work poverty

Abstract: In-work poverty is a societal problem that should be prevented according to the European Pillars of Social Rights. However, the European Social Fund Plus, being the main European social policy, only addresses the issue indirectly. The aim of this thesis is to build an explanation for this partial actuation of the European Union. By adopting an abductive approach, a process-tracing is conducted to find the factors that explain the outcome, guided by an eclectic theorisation of multiple streams framework and ideational historical institutionalism. I develop a causal explanation through the three streams identifying both ideational and institutional intervening factors. The main findings stand that when the ESF+ was designed, the problematisation of the issue was in a low profile; the European Commission, as the main policy entrepreneur, only patronised indirect policy ideas, and the jurisdiction −Lisbon Treaty− was anchored in a previous ideational paradigm. Thus, I conclude by clarifying that during the opening of the Fund’s policy window, all the three streams −problem, policy and political− were unready for directly addressing in-work poverty.