A Note from the Editors
| Author | Michael Adler,Frans Pennings |
| DOI | 10.1177/138826270600800201 |
| Published date | 01 June 2006 |
| Date | 01 June 2006 |
| Subject Matter | A Note from the Editors |
A NOTE FROM THE EDITORS
This issue marks a departure from tradition. From the very first issue, each issue of the
journal has carried an editorial in which one of the editors, or sometimes a guest
editor, has written an editorial on a subject of their choice. However, both because it
has sometimes not been easy to find a suitable topic to make into an editorial, and
because a straw poll of subscribers indicates that many readers of the journal do not
read the editorials – perhaps because they are advertised as editorials and because,
unlike articles, their content cannot be inferred from the title – we have dec ided to
abandon the practice. Where appropriate, as in this case, the journal will contain a
short introduction, which may – as this one does – announce a change in editorial
policy or draw attention to the content of the articles that appear in the issue or raise
other points of general interest to readers of the journal. Special or thematic issues,
such as the next issue which will be devoted to the subject of child poverty or the issue
carrying a selection of papers from the annual EISS Conference, will continue to
contain an editorial introduction but, in common with the majority of academic
journals, the other issues will not. We hope that readers will approve of this change.
This issue also departs from tradition in that it only contains two substantive
articles. This is because the previous issue exceeded our quota of 100 pages per issue
and because the next issue – the special issue on child poverty referred to above – is
likely to do so as well. Of the two substantive articles, Elaine Fultz’s article on ‘Pension
Privatisation in the Baltic States’ is particularly welcome for its comparativ e focus and
for the fact that it deals with three countries about which relatively little has been
published, in this journal or elsewhere. The article is based on the concluding chapter
of a recent ILO publication – Pension Reform in the Baltic States – edited by Elaine
Fultz. Readers who are interested in the subject are encouraged to consult the ILO
Report. Neville Harris’ article on ‘Complexity, Law and Social Security in the United
Kingdom’ may, at first, seem rather out-of place in a journal devoted to comparative
studies of social security and to developments in social security at the EU level.
Although it focuses on one country, it deals with a problem (complexity) that is both
very serious and extremely widespread. We have included it because of the intrinsic
importance of the subject and hope that it will be read with interest by readers from
countries other than the UK. If its publication were to stimulate a more general
discussion of the problems of complexity and the need for simplification, and give rise
to further contributions to the journal on these issues, we should be very pleased. The
article raises many issues that need to be debated.
European Journal of Social Security, Volume 8 (2006), No. 2 125
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