Erik Jones
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297574
- eISBN:
- 9780191598982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297572.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter examines how the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) spawned a new political economy of adjustment in Europe. It is argued that the EMU is changing how Europeans adjust to ...
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This chapter examines how the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) spawned a new political economy of adjustment in Europe. It is argued that the EMU is changing how Europeans adjust to other economic developments. These changes in European patterns of adjustment will affect the stability of the EMU.Less
This chapter examines how the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) spawned a new political economy of adjustment in Europe. It is argued that the EMU is changing how Europeans adjust to other economic developments. These changes in European patterns of adjustment will affect the stability of the EMU.
Søren Johansen
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198774501
- eISBN:
- 9780191596476
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198774508.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Econometrics
This monograph is concerned with the statistical analysis of multivariate systems of non‐stationary time series of type I(1). It applies the concepts of cointegration and common trends in the ...
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This monograph is concerned with the statistical analysis of multivariate systems of non‐stationary time series of type I(1). It applies the concepts of cointegration and common trends in the framework of the Gaussian vector autoregressive model. The main result on the structure of cointegrated processes as defined by the error correction model is Grangers representation theorem. The statistical results include derivation of the trace test for cointegrating rank, test on cointegrating relations, and test on adjustment coefficients and their asymptotic distributions.Less
This monograph is concerned with the statistical analysis of multivariate systems of non‐stationary time series of type I(1). It applies the concepts of cointegration and common trends in the framework of the Gaussian vector autoregressive model. The main result on the structure of cointegrated processes as defined by the error correction model is Grangers representation theorem. The statistical results include derivation of the trace test for cointegrating rank, test on cointegrating relations, and test on adjustment coefficients and their asymptotic distributions.
Jerome L. Stein
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199280575
- eISBN:
- 9780191603501
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199280576.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
The NATREX is a model of the equilibrium real exchange rate, which is where the real exchange rate is heading. The NATREX model has two components: the long-run equilibrium real exchange rate and the ...
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The NATREX is a model of the equilibrium real exchange rate, which is where the real exchange rate is heading. The NATREX model has two components: the long-run equilibrium real exchange rate and the dynamics of adjustment of the medium-run equilibrium to the long-run equilibrium. In the medium-run equilibrium, the ratio of the external debt/GDP is predetermined, and the real exchange rate is associated with both internal and external balance. The real exchange rate and debt ratio are endogenous variables. In full stock-flow equilibrium, the long run equilibrium real exchange rate and external debt ratio depend upon the vector of time varying fundamentals, which are productivity and thrift in the country relative to the rest of the world.Less
The NATREX is a model of the equilibrium real exchange rate, which is where the real exchange rate is heading. The NATREX model has two components: the long-run equilibrium real exchange rate and the dynamics of adjustment of the medium-run equilibrium to the long-run equilibrium. In the medium-run equilibrium, the ratio of the external debt/GDP is predetermined, and the real exchange rate is associated with both internal and external balance. The real exchange rate and debt ratio are endogenous variables. In full stock-flow equilibrium, the long run equilibrium real exchange rate and external debt ratio depend upon the vector of time varying fundamentals, which are productivity and thrift in the country relative to the rest of the world.
James I. Mahaney and Peter C. Carlson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199549108
- eISBN:
- 9780191720734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199549108.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
Previous research has failed to recognize critical factors that greatly impact the discussion on when it is most beneficial to start Social Security retirement benefits. This chapter shows that the ...
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Previous research has failed to recognize critical factors that greatly impact the discussion on when it is most beneficial to start Social Security retirement benefits. This chapter shows that the effect of taxes can have a dramatic effect on the financial security of retirees, yet the taxation caused by IRA withdrawals and the interaction with Social Security has been largely misunderstood. In addition, changes made under the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 2000 make delaying Social Security for married couples much more favorable. This chapter also illustrates how the traditional approach of starting Social Security benefits early and deriving income from stock and bond mutual funds is expected to under-perform a strategy of taking income from personal retirement assets first, followed by later and higher benefits from Social Security.Less
Previous research has failed to recognize critical factors that greatly impact the discussion on when it is most beneficial to start Social Security retirement benefits. This chapter shows that the effect of taxes can have a dramatic effect on the financial security of retirees, yet the taxation caused by IRA withdrawals and the interaction with Social Security has been largely misunderstood. In addition, changes made under the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 2000 make delaying Social Security for married couples much more favorable. This chapter also illustrates how the traditional approach of starting Social Security benefits early and deriving income from stock and bond mutual funds is expected to under-perform a strategy of taking income from personal retirement assets first, followed by later and higher benefits from Social Security.
Peter J. Yearwood
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199226733
- eISBN:
- 9780191710308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226733.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The League/Locarno system provided the basis for European stability for the rest of the 1920s. Useful parallels can be drawn with the policy of containment of the Soviet Union after the Second World ...
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The League/Locarno system provided the basis for European stability for the rest of the 1920s. Useful parallels can be drawn with the policy of containment of the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Up until the onset of the Great Depression the underlying problems of reconciling the French demand for security with the German demand for equality were successfully managed. Chamberlain's policy was one of adjusting relations between the great powers. This was in line with official British ideas of how the League should work, but disappointed those who wanted it to reflect ‘world public opinion’ and the views of the minor powers.Less
The League/Locarno system provided the basis for European stability for the rest of the 1920s. Useful parallels can be drawn with the policy of containment of the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Up until the onset of the Great Depression the underlying problems of reconciling the French demand for security with the German demand for equality were successfully managed. Chamberlain's policy was one of adjusting relations between the great powers. This was in line with official British ideas of how the League should work, but disappointed those who wanted it to reflect ‘world public opinion’ and the views of the minor powers.
David Roodman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195168006
- eISBN:
- 9780199783458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195168003.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter presents an overview of the sovereign-debt initiatives from the last twenty-five years. It examines the programs devised by creditors, namely the World Bank and IMF, during the 1980s and ...
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This chapter presents an overview of the sovereign-debt initiatives from the last twenty-five years. It examines the programs devised by creditors, namely the World Bank and IMF, during the 1980s and 1990s, that aimed at addressing the mounting problem of developing-country debt. The “austerity” lending of the 1980s and the structural adjustment programs of the 1990s are discussed, and the inherent failings that characterized those efforts, including reduced public investment which has led to economic stagnation, are criticized.Less
This chapter presents an overview of the sovereign-debt initiatives from the last twenty-five years. It examines the programs devised by creditors, namely the World Bank and IMF, during the 1980s and 1990s, that aimed at addressing the mounting problem of developing-country debt. The “austerity” lending of the 1980s and the structural adjustment programs of the 1990s are discussed, and the inherent failings that characterized those efforts, including reduced public investment which has led to economic stagnation, are criticized.
Erik Jones
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199208333
- eISBN:
- 9780191708985
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208333.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Economy
This chapter introduces the empirical puzzle that started this book's research. During the 1960s and 1970s, Belgium and the Netherlands experienced two parallel shocks: one was the breakdown of their ...
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This chapter introduces the empirical puzzle that started this book's research. During the 1960s and 1970s, Belgium and the Netherlands experienced two parallel shocks: one was the breakdown of their consociational democracies; the other was a rapid increase in unemployment and current account and fiscal deficits. Nevertheless, both countries managed to make effective macroeconomic adjustments by the early 1980s. The challenge is to understand both what they did to respond and how they managed to do it. This challenge means that the basic model for Small States in World Markets as elaborated by Peter Katzenstein should be considered.Less
This chapter introduces the empirical puzzle that started this book's research. During the 1960s and 1970s, Belgium and the Netherlands experienced two parallel shocks: one was the breakdown of their consociational democracies; the other was a rapid increase in unemployment and current account and fiscal deficits. Nevertheless, both countries managed to make effective macroeconomic adjustments by the early 1980s. The challenge is to understand both what they did to respond and how they managed to do it. This challenge means that the basic model for Small States in World Markets as elaborated by Peter Katzenstein should be considered.
Fritz W. Scharpf and Vivien A. Schmidt (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240883
- eISBN:
- 9780191600173
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240884.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This is the first of a two‐volume study of the adjustment of advanced welfare states to international economic pressures, in which leading scholars detail the wide variety of responses in 12 ...
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This is the first of a two‐volume study of the adjustment of advanced welfare states to international economic pressures, in which leading scholars detail the wide variety of responses in 12 countries to the challenges to their employment and social policy systems in the period between the first oil‐price crises of the early 1970s and the increasing economic globalization of the 1980s and 1990s. Rejecting any notion of convergence to some kind of neo‐liberal orthodoxy, the authors find that most countries have remained true to the basic features of their post‐war model as they have liberalized their employment and social systems. Moreover, within different welfare‐state constellations, while some countries are still struggling to adjust, others have reached a new sustainable equilibrium. On the basis of in‐depth country studies in Volume II (including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark), the present volume provides comparative analyses of countries’ economic vulnerabilities and institutional capabilities, of the role of policy learning in effective policy responses, and of the role of values and discourse in the politics of adjustment. While these chapters show that there is no convergence in welfare‐state institutions and that there is no single solution or formula for successful adaptation, they also demonstrate that there are multiple paths towards a successful adjustment of advanced welfare states to international economic pressures.Less
This is the first of a two‐volume study of the adjustment of advanced welfare states to international economic pressures, in which leading scholars detail the wide variety of responses in 12 countries to the challenges to their employment and social policy systems in the period between the first oil‐price crises of the early 1970s and the increasing economic globalization of the 1980s and 1990s. Rejecting any notion of convergence to some kind of neo‐liberal orthodoxy, the authors find that most countries have remained true to the basic features of their post‐war model as they have liberalized their employment and social systems. Moreover, within different welfare‐state constellations, while some countries are still struggling to adjust, others have reached a new sustainable equilibrium. On the basis of in‐depth country studies in Volume II (including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark), the present volume provides comparative analyses of countries’ economic vulnerabilities and institutional capabilities, of the role of policy learning in effective policy responses, and of the role of values and discourse in the politics of adjustment. While these chapters show that there is no convergence in welfare‐state institutions and that there is no single solution or formula for successful adaptation, they also demonstrate that there are multiple paths towards a successful adjustment of advanced welfare states to international economic pressures.
Vivien A. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199253685
- eISBN:
- 9780191600210
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253684.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
European countries’ political‐economic policies, practices, and discourses have changed profoundly in response to Europeanization, even more so than in response to globalization, but they have not ...
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European countries’ political‐economic policies, practices, and discourses have changed profoundly in response to Europeanization, even more so than in response to globalization, but they have not converged. National policies may now be more similar, especially where they follow from common European policies, but they are not the same. National practices, although moving in the same general direction toward greater market orientation continue to be distinguishable into not just one or even two but three varieties of capitalism. And national discourses that generate and legitimize changes in policies and practices not only remain distinct, they matter. The book spans fields and combines theoretical insights with innovative methods to show that European countries have followed very different pathways of economic adjustment, and will continue to do so into the future. Of the three cases used in illustration, France is shown to have undergone the greatest amount of adjustment, having largely abandoned its interventionist policies and transformed its state‐led capitalism in response to both globalization and Europeanization, but without the benefits of a fully legitimizing discourse. Britain, by contrast, adjusted mainly in response to globalization while anticipating many of the pressures of Europeanization, and came up with a transformative discourse that largely legitimized its neo‐liberal policies and its move toward greater market capitalism. Germany, finally, felt global and European pressures latest, not until the 1990s, at which point it slowly began to alter its social market policies and to make its managed capitalism more competitive, also without the benefits of a fully legitimizing discourse.Less
European countries’ political‐economic policies, practices, and discourses have changed profoundly in response to Europeanization, even more so than in response to globalization, but they have not converged. National policies may now be more similar, especially where they follow from common European policies, but they are not the same. National practices, although moving in the same general direction toward greater market orientation continue to be distinguishable into not just one or even two but three varieties of capitalism. And national discourses that generate and legitimize changes in policies and practices not only remain distinct, they matter. The book spans fields and combines theoretical insights with innovative methods to show that European countries have followed very different pathways of economic adjustment, and will continue to do so into the future. Of the three cases used in illustration, France is shown to have undergone the greatest amount of adjustment, having largely abandoned its interventionist policies and transformed its state‐led capitalism in response to both globalization and Europeanization, but without the benefits of a fully legitimizing discourse. Britain, by contrast, adjusted mainly in response to globalization while anticipating many of the pressures of Europeanization, and came up with a transformative discourse that largely legitimized its neo‐liberal policies and its move toward greater market capitalism. Germany, finally, felt global and European pressures latest, not until the 1990s, at which point it slowly began to alter its social market policies and to make its managed capitalism more competitive, also without the benefits of a fully legitimizing discourse.
Michael Bruno
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198286639
- eISBN:
- 9780191603839
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198286635.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
This chapter focuses on specific lessons that emerged from some of the more extreme Latin American episodes of high inflation and low growth. It discusses the lessons from Chile’s costly orthodox ...
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This chapter focuses on specific lessons that emerged from some of the more extreme Latin American episodes of high inflation and low growth. It discusses the lessons from Chile’s costly orthodox stabilization and successful, though slow, process of structural reform. It further considers the reasons for the failures in the case of Argentina and Brazil, and also discusses the 1990-91 turnaround in Argentina. The chapter ends with a comparison of the successful Mexican reform with that of Israel. There was considerable similarity in programmes, but enough differences in underlying institutions and market structure to make this comparison a particularly relevant one.Less
This chapter focuses on specific lessons that emerged from some of the more extreme Latin American episodes of high inflation and low growth. It discusses the lessons from Chile’s costly orthodox stabilization and successful, though slow, process of structural reform. It further considers the reasons for the failures in the case of Argentina and Brazil, and also discusses the 1990-91 turnaround in Argentina. The chapter ends with a comparison of the successful Mexican reform with that of Israel. There was considerable similarity in programmes, but enough differences in underlying institutions and market structure to make this comparison a particularly relevant one.
Christopher Candland and Rudra Sil (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199241149
- eISBN:
- 9780191598920
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199241147.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This book analyses and compares recent shifts in patterns of industrial relations across late-industrializing and post-socialist economies. The book features chapters on labor relations at national, ...
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This book analyses and compares recent shifts in patterns of industrial relations across late-industrializing and post-socialist economies. The book features chapters on labor relations at national, local, and workplace levels, as economic and political actors cope with the similar challenges associated with economic adjustment measures and the impact of “globalization”. The book reveals that while globalization has threatened the position of organized labor and prompted business and state elites to accommodate greater labor market flexibility, the legacies of past institutions remain evident in destinctive trends in labor politics within and across late-industrializing and post-socialist settings. The comparisons suggest that globalization is best understood not as a source of covergence but as a set of common pressures that are mediated by specific historical inheritances, that spur varied responses on the part of industrial relations actors, and that facilitate quite diverse institutional outcomes.Less
This book analyses and compares recent shifts in patterns of industrial relations across late-industrializing and post-socialist economies. The book features chapters on labor relations at national, local, and workplace levels, as economic and political actors cope with the similar challenges associated with economic adjustment measures and the impact of “globalization”. The book reveals that while globalization has threatened the position of organized labor and prompted business and state elites to accommodate greater labor market flexibility, the legacies of past institutions remain evident in destinctive trends in labor politics within and across late-industrializing and post-socialist settings. The comparisons suggest that globalization is best understood not as a source of covergence but as a set of common pressures that are mediated by specific historical inheritances, that spur varied responses on the part of industrial relations actors, and that facilitate quite diverse institutional outcomes.
Ulrich Sedelmeier
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296409
- eISBN:
- 9780191599989
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296401.003.0012
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Despite the member states’ failure to agree in the Amsterdam Treaty on institutional reforms that they presented before the 1996/7 IGC as prerequisites for enlargement, we should not expect the ...
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Despite the member states’ failure to agree in the Amsterdam Treaty on institutional reforms that they presented before the 1996/7 IGC as prerequisites for enlargement, we should not expect the enlargement process to come to a standstill. The inability to agree on necessary reforms does indeed highlight the EU's difficulties of finding a response to the various adjustment pressures that would not threaten some member states’ material interests. However, there are countervailing dynamics underpinning the enlargement process that appear sufficiently strong to continue to carry the process forward. These dynamics are not easily captured in materialist rationalist analyses: the EU's self‐image or collective identity in its relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) inclines EU policy‐makers towards accommodating these countries’ preferences to join. However, the impact of this identity is uneven among different groups of EU policy‐makers. Thus, while we should expect the enlargement process to continue despite countervailing material interests, the accommodation of the CEECs’ preferences in substantive sectoral policies will vary and will be limited in most issue areas.Less
Despite the member states’ failure to agree in the Amsterdam Treaty on institutional reforms that they presented before the 1996/7 IGC as prerequisites for enlargement, we should not expect the enlargement process to come to a standstill. The inability to agree on necessary reforms does indeed highlight the EU's difficulties of finding a response to the various adjustment pressures that would not threaten some member states’ material interests. However, there are countervailing dynamics underpinning the enlargement process that appear sufficiently strong to continue to carry the process forward. These dynamics are not easily captured in materialist rationalist analyses: the EU's self‐image or collective identity in its relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) inclines EU policy‐makers towards accommodating these countries’ preferences to join. However, the impact of this identity is uneven among different groups of EU policy‐makers. Thus, while we should expect the enlargement process to continue despite countervailing material interests, the accommodation of the CEECs’ preferences in substantive sectoral policies will vary and will be limited in most issue areas.
Edward C. Page
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199250158
- eISBN:
- 9780191599439
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199250154.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Europeanization represents something of a paradox: at one level it is impossible to argue that the state has not been ‘Europeanized’ to some degree in various sectors; and on the other hand, there is ...
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Europeanization represents something of a paradox: at one level it is impossible to argue that the state has not been ‘Europeanized’ to some degree in various sectors; and on the other hand, there is precious little evidence of ‘Europeanization’. The difference between these two views can be explained by the different meanings of ‘Europeanization’ on which they are based: the first argument is based on the definition of Europeanization as impact of whatever sort on the way in which policies are developed in member states of the European Union (EU); the second argument is far more exacting since it is based on a definition of Europeanization as having a homogenizing impact on specific institutions and practices across a wide range of state activities; to a very large degree then the argument about whether and to what extent ‘Europeanization’ is taking place, depends upon the definition used. This investigation addresses a central theme in much of Vincent Wright’s later comparative work, as well as his work on French politics – the persistence of national differences in the light of wider global as well as European influences on the institutions of individual states. The chapter looks at the expectation of homogenization, and whether or not European administrative systems have converged. The various mechanisms considered through which this convergence could occur are: coercion, imitation, adjustment and polydiffusion.Less
Europeanization represents something of a paradox: at one level it is impossible to argue that the state has not been ‘Europeanized’ to some degree in various sectors; and on the other hand, there is precious little evidence of ‘Europeanization’. The difference between these two views can be explained by the different meanings of ‘Europeanization’ on which they are based: the first argument is based on the definition of Europeanization as impact of whatever sort on the way in which policies are developed in member states of the European Union (EU); the second argument is far more exacting since it is based on a definition of Europeanization as having a homogenizing impact on specific institutions and practices across a wide range of state activities; to a very large degree then the argument about whether and to what extent ‘Europeanization’ is taking place, depends upon the definition used. This investigation addresses a central theme in much of Vincent Wright’s later comparative work, as well as his work on French politics – the persistence of national differences in the light of wider global as well as European influences on the institutions of individual states. The chapter looks at the expectation of homogenization, and whether or not European administrative systems have converged. The various mechanisms considered through which this convergence could occur are: coercion, imitation, adjustment and polydiffusion.
Sonia Mazey
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199248056
- eISBN:
- 9780191601545
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199248052.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The chapter is divided into two main parts, with the first part of the discussion providing the contextual backdrop to the detailed study of the Swedish permanent representation that follows. The ...
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The chapter is divided into two main parts, with the first part of the discussion providing the contextual backdrop to the detailed study of the Swedish permanent representation that follows. The argument presented in the first part is twofold: first, it is argued that effective co-ordination of EU policy at both the national and EU levels is regarded as extremely important by the Swedish government for at least two related reasons—the high political salience of EU matters in Sweden, and the Social Democratic government’s determination to be an influential actor in the EU policy arena; second, it is argued that, although Swedish administrative adjustment to EU membership has been relatively unproblematic in the short term, the process of adaptation is not yet complete—the initial belief that EU matters could simply be incorporated into the Swedish system of ministerial consultation has proved problematic, and the volume and pace of EU policy-making has placed considerable strains upon the limited resources of the Swedish ministries, and might yet prove to be incompatible with Swedish policy style. In an attempt to address these problems, the government introduced in 1998 new co-ordinating structures designed to streamline central EU policy co-ordination and strengthen political leadership on EU policy. The second part of the chapter examines how the Swedish permanent representation fits into this wider picture; it discusses the organization, personnel, internal functioning and working methods, and role of the Brussels-based administration, and evaluates its effectiveness and capacity to implement ambitions, bearing in mind the co-ordination needs and policy ambitions of the Swedish administration. The picture that emerges from this study is one of a technically specialized, functionally segmented, and non-hierarchical bureaucracy, which, after five years, is nevertheless still evolving as an administration, and whose effectiveness in delivering national policy ambitions is as much a reflection of its capacity to influence the national administration as of its diplomatic role in Brussels.Less
The chapter is divided into two main parts, with the first part of the discussion providing the contextual backdrop to the detailed study of the Swedish permanent representation that follows. The argument presented in the first part is twofold: first, it is argued that effective co-ordination of EU policy at both the national and EU levels is regarded as extremely important by the Swedish government for at least two related reasons—the high political salience of EU matters in Sweden, and the Social Democratic government’s determination to be an influential actor in the EU policy arena; second, it is argued that, although Swedish administrative adjustment to EU membership has been relatively unproblematic in the short term, the process of adaptation is not yet complete—the initial belief that EU matters could simply be incorporated into the Swedish system of ministerial consultation has proved problematic, and the volume and pace of EU policy-making has placed considerable strains upon the limited resources of the Swedish ministries, and might yet prove to be incompatible with Swedish policy style. In an attempt to address these problems, the government introduced in 1998 new co-ordinating structures designed to streamline central EU policy co-ordination and strengthen political leadership on EU policy. The second part of the chapter examines how the Swedish permanent representation fits into this wider picture; it discusses the organization, personnel, internal functioning and working methods, and role of the Brussels-based administration, and evaluates its effectiveness and capacity to implement ambitions, bearing in mind the co-ordination needs and policy ambitions of the Swedish administration. The picture that emerges from this study is one of a technically specialized, functionally segmented, and non-hierarchical bureaucracy, which, after five years, is nevertheless still evolving as an administration, and whose effectiveness in delivering national policy ambitions is as much a reflection of its capacity to influence the national administration as of its diplomatic role in Brussels.
Robin Archer
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295389
- eISBN:
- 9780191598722
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295383.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
A case study of Australia and the Prices and Incomes Accord that was initiated there between the Labour Party and the unions. The evidence shows that both during the period of stagflation and during ...
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A case study of Australia and the Prices and Incomes Accord that was initiated there between the Labour Party and the unions. The evidence shows that both during the period of stagflation and during the period of structural adjustment the conditions for an incremental increase in workers’ control were met, and the predicted kind of control trade‐off took place. The chapter also shows that the establishment of corporatism is feasible even in a country that is heavily marked by the liberalism of Anglo‐Saxon traditions of industrial relations.Less
A case study of Australia and the Prices and Incomes Accord that was initiated there between the Labour Party and the unions. The evidence shows that both during the period of stagflation and during the period of structural adjustment the conditions for an incremental increase in workers’ control were met, and the predicted kind of control trade‐off took place. The chapter also shows that the establishment of corporatism is feasible even in a country that is heavily marked by the liberalism of Anglo‐Saxon traditions of industrial relations.
Gautam Sen
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295518
- eISBN:
- 9780191599217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295510.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The first section of this chapter examines the political and economic context of change in developing countries: the two themes are the evolution of the international economy, especially since the ...
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The first section of this chapter examines the political and economic context of change in developing countries: the two themes are the evolution of the international economy, especially since the 1970s, and the political impact of the ending of the cold war. The next section addresses the key issues of liberalization and globalization, which preceded the end of the cold war but are now influenced by that event. The next section identifies the deepening of liberalization and globalization, and the phenomenon of regional integration and asymmetric competition between developed and developing countries. A more detailed discussion of two important expressions of liberalization and globalization follows, in the context of the political implications for developing countries: these are the importance of structural adjustment programmes for the advance of the new market forms and their associated ideology, and the GATT Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. The two final sections of the chapter evaluate the use of political power by developed countries to achieve economic ends, and a concluding section assesses the possible future pattern of interaction between developed and developing countries.Less
The first section of this chapter examines the political and economic context of change in developing countries: the two themes are the evolution of the international economy, especially since the 1970s, and the political impact of the ending of the cold war. The next section addresses the key issues of liberalization and globalization, which preceded the end of the cold war but are now influenced by that event. The next section identifies the deepening of liberalization and globalization, and the phenomenon of regional integration and asymmetric competition between developed and developing countries. A more detailed discussion of two important expressions of liberalization and globalization follows, in the context of the political implications for developing countries: these are the importance of structural adjustment programmes for the advance of the new market forms and their associated ideology, and the GATT Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. The two final sections of the chapter evaluate the use of political power by developed countries to achieve economic ends, and a concluding section assesses the possible future pattern of interaction between developed and developing countries.
Vivien A. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199253685
- eISBN:
- 9780191600210
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253684.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Whatever the convergent pressures of globalization and Europeanization, countries have manifested divergent policy responses, depending upon a number of significant variables. This chapter identifies ...
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Whatever the convergent pressures of globalization and Europeanization, countries have manifested divergent policy responses, depending upon a number of significant variables. This chapter identifies five mediating factors that shed light on the dynamics of policy adjustment—economic vulnerability, political institutional capacity, policy legacies, policy preferences, and discourse—to elucidate the different sequencing of responses of Britain, Germany, and France in monetary, industrial, labour, and social policy. It then adds the EU‐specific institutional constraints—the decisions that may provide more or less specified rules, suggested rules, or no rules at all—to help explain the mechanics of policy adjustment in such sectors as European monetary integration, financial services, telecommunications, electricity, and transport.Less
Whatever the convergent pressures of globalization and Europeanization, countries have manifested divergent policy responses, depending upon a number of significant variables. This chapter identifies five mediating factors that shed light on the dynamics of policy adjustment—economic vulnerability, political institutional capacity, policy legacies, policy preferences, and discourse—to elucidate the different sequencing of responses of Britain, Germany, and France in monetary, industrial, labour, and social policy. It then adds the EU‐specific institutional constraints—the decisions that may provide more or less specified rules, suggested rules, or no rules at all—to help explain the mechanics of policy adjustment in such sectors as European monetary integration, financial services, telecommunications, electricity, and transport.
Vivien A. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199253685
- eISBN:
- 9780191600210
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253684.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter details the different dynamics of economic adjustment in Britain, Germany, and France from the postwar period until today. For Britain, it describes the problems of business in the ...
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This chapter details the different dynamics of economic adjustment in Britain, Germany, and France from the postwar period until today. For Britain, it describes the problems of business in the postwar period and the impact of the radical therapy of the Thatcher years that brought the country closer to the market capitalist ideal by making business relations more distant, government relations more arm's length, and labour relations more market‐reliant. For Germany, it outlines the minimal change from the postwar period until the 1990s, followed by efforts to make the managed capitalist system more competitive, which have left the system under strain, as interfirm relations have loosened, labour‐management relations have become less cooperative, and government has sought to facilitate adjustment, often unsuccessfully. For France, finally, the chapter examines the major transformation in state capitalism since the mid‐1980s with the move away from state‐led capitalism to a more state‐enhanced variety, where business is more autonomous and labour more market‐reliant, but the state still has a role to play.Less
This chapter details the different dynamics of economic adjustment in Britain, Germany, and France from the postwar period until today. For Britain, it describes the problems of business in the postwar period and the impact of the radical therapy of the Thatcher years that brought the country closer to the market capitalist ideal by making business relations more distant, government relations more arm's length, and labour relations more market‐reliant. For Germany, it outlines the minimal change from the postwar period until the 1990s, followed by efforts to make the managed capitalist system more competitive, which have left the system under strain, as interfirm relations have loosened, labour‐management relations have become less cooperative, and government has sought to facilitate adjustment, often unsuccessfully. For France, finally, the chapter examines the major transformation in state capitalism since the mid‐1980s with the move away from state‐led capitalism to a more state‐enhanced variety, where business is more autonomous and labour more market‐reliant, but the state still has a role to play.
Susan Giaimo
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297567
- eISBN:
- 9780191600104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297564.003.0012
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
In this second of three chapters on the distinctive policy dynamics of particular areas of social provision, Susan Giaimo addresses the issue of whether the success of the reformed welfare state in ...
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In this second of three chapters on the distinctive policy dynamics of particular areas of social provision, Susan Giaimo addresses the issue of whether the success of the reformed welfare state in the shape of payers’ and policy makers’ cost‐containment projects have had as their price the sacrifice of equity and solidarity. These questions are explored through the lens of health care reform in Britain, Germany, and the US since the late 1980s: each a country with a distinctive health care system, which undertook major reform initiatives designed to control health care outlays, and addressed the efficiency and equity goals in markedly different ways. Section I provides a broad background to situate the contemporary politics of health care reform, explaining how and why health care systems in Western countries have come under the stress of increasing cost pressures even as governments and employers have become more apprehensive about the possible effects of the welfare state on economic competitiveness. Section 2 develops the argument in greater depth, explaining how existing health care and political systems provide different opportunities or constraints for payers and the state to pursue unilateral cost‐containment strategies, how health care institutions themselves shape policy preferences and strategies of payers, and how some systems require compromise solutions that reconcile equity with efficiency. Section 3 presents each country's case, and the concluding section considers the broader lessons from health care reform for the contemporary politics of welfare state adjustment.Less
In this second of three chapters on the distinctive policy dynamics of particular areas of social provision, Susan Giaimo addresses the issue of whether the success of the reformed welfare state in the shape of payers’ and policy makers’ cost‐containment projects have had as their price the sacrifice of equity and solidarity. These questions are explored through the lens of health care reform in Britain, Germany, and the US since the late 1980s: each a country with a distinctive health care system, which undertook major reform initiatives designed to control health care outlays, and addressed the efficiency and equity goals in markedly different ways. Section I provides a broad background to situate the contemporary politics of health care reform, explaining how and why health care systems in Western countries have come under the stress of increasing cost pressures even as governments and employers have become more apprehensive about the possible effects of the welfare state on economic competitiveness. Section 2 develops the argument in greater depth, explaining how existing health care and political systems provide different opportunities or constraints for payers and the state to pursue unilateral cost‐containment strategies, how health care institutions themselves shape policy preferences and strategies of payers, and how some systems require compromise solutions that reconcile equity with efficiency. Section 3 presents each country's case, and the concluding section considers the broader lessons from health care reform for the contemporary politics of welfare state adjustment.
Paul Pierson
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297567
- eISBN:
- 9780191600104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297564.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This concluding chapter argues that the contemporary politics of the welfare state takes shape against a backdrop of both intense pressures for austerity and enduring popularity. In this context, ...
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This concluding chapter argues that the contemporary politics of the welfare state takes shape against a backdrop of both intense pressures for austerity and enduring popularity. In this context, even strong supporters of the welfare state may come to acknowledge the need for adjustment, and even severe critics may need to accept the political realities of continuing popular enthusiasm for social provision. Thus, in most of the affluent democracies, the politics of social policy centre on the renegotiation, restructuring, and modernization of the terms of the post‐war social contract rather than on its dismantling. The crucial issue is whether particular national settings facilitate the emergence of such a centrist reform effort, and if so, on what terms. The argument proceeds in three stages: in the first, a basic framework is outlined for studying the politics of reform in a context of permanent austerity; in the second, two complications are discussed — the need to incorporate different dimensions of social policy reform and the need to recognize three quite distinct configurations of welfare state politics among the affluent democracies; in the third, these arguments are applied to analyse the politics of restructuring in the liberal, social democratic, and conservative ‘worlds’ (regimes) of welfare capitalism.Less
This concluding chapter argues that the contemporary politics of the welfare state takes shape against a backdrop of both intense pressures for austerity and enduring popularity. In this context, even strong supporters of the welfare state may come to acknowledge the need for adjustment, and even severe critics may need to accept the political realities of continuing popular enthusiasm for social provision. Thus, in most of the affluent democracies, the politics of social policy centre on the renegotiation, restructuring, and modernization of the terms of the post‐war social contract rather than on its dismantling. The crucial issue is whether particular national settings facilitate the emergence of such a centrist reform effort, and if so, on what terms. The argument proceeds in three stages: in the first, a basic framework is outlined for studying the politics of reform in a context of permanent austerity; in the second, two complications are discussed — the need to incorporate different dimensions of social policy reform and the need to recognize three quite distinct configurations of welfare state politics among the affluent democracies; in the third, these arguments are applied to analyse the politics of restructuring in the liberal, social democratic, and conservative ‘worlds’ (regimes) of welfare capitalism.
