Resumen de Security in a flexible economy: toward a third age for work and welfare links?

Robert Salais

• This article considers the transformation of the world of work and its interrelationship with changes in the social regulation of work and social security. The implications of the contradiction between a greater emphasis on autonomy and skills at work and the exclusionary effects of greater selectivity in recruitment are discussed. It is argued that we are witnessing a move to a �third age� of work and social protection, in which qualitative and participatory aspects come to the fore, alongside aspects of the �social question� more typical of earlier �ages� � alleviating poverty and reducing unemployment. In conclusion the article considers the role of the European Union in addressing the resulting challenges.