Johannes Lindvall
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199590643
- eISBN:
- 9780191723407
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199590643.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Economy
Ever since the 1970s, the problem of unemployment has defined politics in Western Europe, but governments have responded in different ways. In the 1970s and 1980s, some governments used macroeconomic ...
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Ever since the 1970s, the problem of unemployment has defined politics in Western Europe, but governments have responded in different ways. In the 1970s and 1980s, some governments used macroeconomic policy to support domestic economic activity and maintain full employment. In the 1990s and 2000s, on the other hand, some governments made large labor market policy changes to ensure that the unemployed were looking for jobs, well-trained, and matched with employers willing to hire them. Comparing Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden, this book shows that governments made different choices because of underlying political differences: the development of party systems, corporatism, and norms regarding the purpose of political authority. Low unemployment was the linchpin of political arrangements in Western Europe after the Second World War. When mass unemployment became a threat again in the 1970s, Austria and Sweden – where the post-war political order remained intact – used economic policies to preserve full employment. In the 1990s and 2000s, governments in Denmark and the Netherlands – who had lived with high unemployment for a long period of time and reformed their political models in the course of the 1980s – undertook far-reaching labor market policy changes.Less
Ever since the 1970s, the problem of unemployment has defined politics in Western Europe, but governments have responded in different ways. In the 1970s and 1980s, some governments used macroeconomic policy to support domestic economic activity and maintain full employment. In the 1990s and 2000s, on the other hand, some governments made large labor market policy changes to ensure that the unemployed were looking for jobs, well-trained, and matched with employers willing to hire them. Comparing Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden, this book shows that governments made different choices because of underlying political differences: the development of party systems, corporatism, and norms regarding the purpose of political authority. Low unemployment was the linchpin of political arrangements in Western Europe after the Second World War. When mass unemployment became a threat again in the 1970s, Austria and Sweden – where the post-war political order remained intact – used economic policies to preserve full employment. In the 1990s and 2000s, governments in Denmark and the Netherlands – who had lived with high unemployment for a long period of time and reformed their political models in the course of the 1980s – undertook far-reaching labor market policy changes.
Peter Flaschel and Alfred Greiner
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199751587
- eISBN:
- 9780199932825
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751587.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
This book on Flexicurity Capitalism provides four rigorously formulated approaches to an analysis of the current and future evolution of capitalism from a Marx-Keynes and Kalecki- Schumpeter (MKS) ...
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This book on Flexicurity Capitalism provides four rigorously formulated approaches to an analysis of the current and future evolution of capitalism from a Marx-Keynes and Kalecki- Schumpeter (MKS) perspective. It does so in self-contained ways, focusing on macrodynamical models of the working of modern capitalist societies in the tradition of Classical and Keynesian authors, augmented by a modern reformulation of Schumpeterian ’Competitive Socialism’, the flexi(bility-se)curity approach currently intensively debated in the EU area. On this basis the book provides a novel approach to the study of the future of capitalism, a topic that has never been more important than now -- since the prosperity phase after World War II. It supplies an alternative to those discussions of current forms of capitalism which focus on the status quo of such economies, instead of providing an ideal scenario first, on the basis of which compromises between the status quo and the 'ideal' can be discussed. The employed modelling approaches, of an advanced type, are aimed at the post-graduate level of economic teaching. The chapters of the book can be utilised independently of each other but, nevertheless, provide a unique approach to macrodynamic theorizing that is firmly rooted in the MKS tradition of the understanding of the growth dynamics of capitalist economies.Less
This book on Flexicurity Capitalism provides four rigorously formulated approaches to an analysis of the current and future evolution of capitalism from a Marx-Keynes and Kalecki- Schumpeter (MKS) perspective. It does so in self-contained ways, focusing on macrodynamical models of the working of modern capitalist societies in the tradition of Classical and Keynesian authors, augmented by a modern reformulation of Schumpeterian ’Competitive Socialism’, the flexi(bility-se)curity approach currently intensively debated in the EU area. On this basis the book provides a novel approach to the study of the future of capitalism, a topic that has never been more important than now -- since the prosperity phase after World War II. It supplies an alternative to those discussions of current forms of capitalism which focus on the status quo of such economies, instead of providing an ideal scenario first, on the basis of which compromises between the status quo and the 'ideal' can be discussed. The employed modelling approaches, of an advanced type, are aimed at the post-graduate level of economic teaching. The chapters of the book can be utilised independently of each other but, nevertheless, provide a unique approach to macrodynamic theorizing that is firmly rooted in the MKS tradition of the understanding of the growth dynamics of capitalist economies.
Gilles Saint-Paul
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198293323
- eISBN:
- 9780191596841
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293321.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Most economists think that unemployment is high in Europe because of rigid labour market institutions such as minimum wages, unemployment benefits, and employment protection. The book develops a ...
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Most economists think that unemployment is high in Europe because of rigid labour market institutions such as minimum wages, unemployment benefits, and employment protection. The book develops a theory of labour market institutions as the outcome of the political process. A central hypothesis is that they will be chiefly determined by the interests of employed workers with intermediate skill levels. We show that redistributive conflict between these workers and more skilled workers may lead to an outcome where a set of rigid institutions arise. We analyse why reform may be difficult because of status‐quo bias, and discuss how it may nevertheless be implemented by choosing an appropriate design or timing for the reform.Less
Most economists think that unemployment is high in Europe because of rigid labour market institutions such as minimum wages, unemployment benefits, and employment protection. The book develops a theory of labour market institutions as the outcome of the political process. A central hypothesis is that they will be chiefly determined by the interests of employed workers with intermediate skill levels. We show that redistributive conflict between these workers and more skilled workers may lead to an outcome where a set of rigid institutions arise. We analyse why reform may be difficult because of status‐quo bias, and discuss how it may nevertheless be implemented by choosing an appropriate design or timing for the reform.
Jochen Clasen and Daniel Clegg (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199592296
- eISBN:
- 9780191731471
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199592296.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
In recent decades, the share of service employment has increased greatly across Europe, fundamentally changing the structure of European labour markets and the nature of the economic risks that ...
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In recent decades, the share of service employment has increased greatly across Europe, fundamentally changing the structure of European labour markets and the nature of the economic risks that individual workers face. This book explores how far reforms to unemployment protection systems, which were introduced and consolidated in a very different labour market context, are responding to the particular challenges of post-industrial labour markets. It argues that adapting traditional systems of unemployment protection to the risk profiles of service-based economies requires a profound policy realignment, which can be summarized with reference to three overlapping processes of institutional change; the homogenization of unemployment benefit rights for different categories of the unemployed; the erosion of the institutional boundaries between benefit provisions for the unemployed and for other groups of working-age people reliant on state support; and the ever-closer operational integration of income maintenance policies and other forms of labour market support. Systematically comparing across twelve European welfare states over a period of twenty years, the book traces how these reform dynamics have played out in the context of political conflicts, institutional constraints, and changing macroeconomic conditions. While the book highlights that many differences continue to set the unemployment protection arrangements of different European countries apart, it also points to an emergent process of contingent convergence in conceptions of the risk of unemployment and of appropriate ways of regulating it.Less
In recent decades, the share of service employment has increased greatly across Europe, fundamentally changing the structure of European labour markets and the nature of the economic risks that individual workers face. This book explores how far reforms to unemployment protection systems, which were introduced and consolidated in a very different labour market context, are responding to the particular challenges of post-industrial labour markets. It argues that adapting traditional systems of unemployment protection to the risk profiles of service-based economies requires a profound policy realignment, which can be summarized with reference to three overlapping processes of institutional change; the homogenization of unemployment benefit rights for different categories of the unemployed; the erosion of the institutional boundaries between benefit provisions for the unemployed and for other groups of working-age people reliant on state support; and the ever-closer operational integration of income maintenance policies and other forms of labour market support. Systematically comparing across twelve European welfare states over a period of twenty years, the book traces how these reform dynamics have played out in the context of political conflicts, institutional constraints, and changing macroeconomic conditions. While the book highlights that many differences continue to set the unemployment protection arrangements of different European countries apart, it also points to an emergent process of contingent convergence in conceptions of the risk of unemployment and of appropriate ways of regulating it.
Charles H. Feinstein, Peter Temin, and Gianni Toniolo
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195307559
- eISBN:
- 9780199867929
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195307559.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This book surveys the main events in the international economy from the outbreak of the First World War to the end of the Second World War: a period of time variously defined as the “globalization ...
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This book surveys the main events in the international economy from the outbreak of the First World War to the end of the Second World War: a period of time variously defined as the “globalization backlash”, the “Second Thirty Years War”, or simply “the World in Depression”. The book starts with the unfortunate peace settlement after the First World War and progresses to the ensuing hyperinflations and financial crises; from the attempts at rebuilding an international economic and monetary order in the face of rapid technical progress and productivity growth to the policy mistakes that brought about the Great Depression — the most devastating economic depression in human history; from wide-spread long-term unemployment to overall autarky and a second global conflagration. The opening chapter puts the interwar years in the long-term quantitative perspective of economic development over the whole of the 20th century while the final chapter highlights the long-run impact of the interwar years on the growth and policy features of the prosperous decades that followed the end of the Second World War.Less
This book surveys the main events in the international economy from the outbreak of the First World War to the end of the Second World War: a period of time variously defined as the “globalization backlash”, the “Second Thirty Years War”, or simply “the World in Depression”. The book starts with the unfortunate peace settlement after the First World War and progresses to the ensuing hyperinflations and financial crises; from the attempts at rebuilding an international economic and monetary order in the face of rapid technical progress and productivity growth to the policy mistakes that brought about the Great Depression — the most devastating economic depression in human history; from wide-spread long-term unemployment to overall autarky and a second global conflagration. The opening chapter puts the interwar years in the long-term quantitative perspective of economic development over the whole of the 20th century while the final chapter highlights the long-run impact of the interwar years on the growth and policy features of the prosperous decades that followed the end of the Second World War.
Bernhard Ebbinghaus
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199286119
- eISBN:
- 9780191604089
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199286116.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The chapter analyzes the main trends and cross-national variations in early exit from work for eight European countries, Japan, and the USA. Participation levels and employment rates of older workers ...
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The chapter analyzes the main trends and cross-national variations in early exit from work for eight European countries, Japan, and the USA. Participation levels and employment rates of older workers between age 55 and 64 have declined. Cohort-adjusted early exit rates for both men and women show not only a rise in early retirement over the 1970s and early 1980s, but also substantial cross-national differences. Early exit from work is widespread in Continental Europe, less so in Scandinavia, Anglophone market economies, and in Japan.Less
The chapter analyzes the main trends and cross-national variations in early exit from work for eight European countries, Japan, and the USA. Participation levels and employment rates of older workers between age 55 and 64 have declined. Cohort-adjusted early exit rates for both men and women show not only a rise in early retirement over the 1970s and early 1980s, but also substantial cross-national differences. Early exit from work is widespread in Continental Europe, less so in Scandinavia, Anglophone market economies, and in Japan.
Bernhard Ebbinghaus
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199286119
- eISBN:
- 9780191604089
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199286116.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
There are multiple pathways to early exit from work: early pensions (retirement age before 65), flexible and partial pensions, special preretirement schemes, long-term unemployment benefits, and ...
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There are multiple pathways to early exit from work: early pensions (retirement age before 65), flexible and partial pensions, special preretirement schemes, long-term unemployment benefits, and disability pensions. Early exit from work often emerged as an unintended consequence of progressive social policies. But once institutionalized, these exit pathways were difficult to reform, particularly in Continental European welfare states. In contrast, fewer and less generous pathways exist in Scandinavia, Anglophone economies, and Japan.Less
There are multiple pathways to early exit from work: early pensions (retirement age before 65), flexible and partial pensions, special preretirement schemes, long-term unemployment benefits, and disability pensions. Early exit from work often emerged as an unintended consequence of progressive social policies. But once institutionalized, these exit pathways were difficult to reform, particularly in Continental European welfare states. In contrast, fewer and less generous pathways exist in Scandinavia, Anglophone economies, and Japan.
Jochen Clasen
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199270712
- eISBN:
- 9780191603266
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199270716.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
The chapter discusses three periods of policy change in the field of social protection for unemployed people. It explains basic parameters of unemployment protection systems, contrasting contemporary ...
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The chapter discusses three periods of policy change in the field of social protection for unemployed people. It explains basic parameters of unemployment protection systems, contrasting contemporary systems with those which existed in the late 1970s. Making use of several indicators, it assess the scale and profile of change in each country. The different reform profiles are identified and their genesis discussed in the context of major legislative changes. It argues that the specific links between unemployment protection systems and respective national political economy structures have impacted strongly on the emerging reform profiles. Dynamic power relations within and across government parties, as well as contextual changes impeded or facilitated policies, thus explaining cross-national variations in the pace and profile of reform.Less
The chapter discusses three periods of policy change in the field of social protection for unemployed people. It explains basic parameters of unemployment protection systems, contrasting contemporary systems with those which existed in the late 1970s. Making use of several indicators, it assess the scale and profile of change in each country. The different reform profiles are identified and their genesis discussed in the context of major legislative changes. It argues that the specific links between unemployment protection systems and respective national political economy structures have impacted strongly on the emerging reform profiles. Dynamic power relations within and across government parties, as well as contextual changes impeded or facilitated policies, thus explaining cross-national variations in the pace and profile of reform.
Mathias Dewatripont, André Sapir, and Khalid Sekkat (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198293606
- eISBN:
- 9780191601262
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293607.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
This book explores the impact of trade with less developed countries (LDCs) on employment in Europe. It supports the view that trade with LDCs has had limited impact on the labour market. Among its ...
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This book explores the impact of trade with less developed countries (LDCs) on employment in Europe. It supports the view that trade with LDCs has had limited impact on the labour market. Among its main findings are that trade with LDCs would be less harmful for Europe than for the USA, that the inequality problem in Europe is not wage inequality but the widespread unemployment of unskilled workers, and that technology has contributed to unemployment. The book has nine chapters. The first seven examine the impact of LDC trade on the European labour market; the final two address the social clause problem.Less
This book explores the impact of trade with less developed countries (LDCs) on employment in Europe. It supports the view that trade with LDCs has had limited impact on the labour market. Among its main findings are that trade with LDCs would be less harmful for Europe than for the USA, that the inequality problem in Europe is not wage inequality but the widespread unemployment of unskilled workers, and that technology has contributed to unemployment. The book has nine chapters. The first seven examine the impact of LDC trade on the European labour market; the final two address the social clause problem.
Edmund S. Phelps
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198283331
- eISBN:
- 9780191596766
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198283334.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
This volume represents the publication of seven lectures––the first annual Arne Ryde Memorial lectures administered by the University of Lund––on what the author deems to be the seven leading schools ...
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This volume represents the publication of seven lectures––the first annual Arne Ryde Memorial lectures administered by the University of Lund––on what the author deems to be the seven leading schools of thought in contemporary macroeconomics. The result is a wide‐ranging appreciation of the richness of macro theory and a commentary on some of its more doubtful tenets by a scholar who has himself made contributions to all seven schools. The recurring motif is that actual economies are complicated and each school has its own important insights into them. The first four schools have in common that they regard monetary mechanisms as a key part of the engine determining the level of economic activity while the last three schools all adopt essentially non‐monetary perspectives. The first chapter considers at length the basis for Keynes's break from classical economics. The next chapter addresses the sister school called ‘monetarism’. Chapters on the New Classical school and the New Keynesian school follow. The supply side is the first stop in the non‐monetary realm and the related school, called ‘Real Business Cycle theory’, is the next. The last chapter looks at the early work of the structuralist school, which was at an early stage of development when these lectures were given.Less
This volume represents the publication of seven lectures––the first annual Arne Ryde Memorial lectures administered by the University of Lund––on what the author deems to be the seven leading schools of thought in contemporary macroeconomics. The result is a wide‐ranging appreciation of the richness of macro theory and a commentary on some of its more doubtful tenets by a scholar who has himself made contributions to all seven schools. The recurring motif is that actual economies are complicated and each school has its own important insights into them. The first four schools have in common that they regard monetary mechanisms as a key part of the engine determining the level of economic activity while the last three schools all adopt essentially non‐monetary perspectives. The first chapter considers at length the basis for Keynes's break from classical economics. The next chapter addresses the sister school called ‘monetarism’. Chapters on the New Classical school and the New Keynesian school follow. The supply side is the first stop in the non‐monetary realm and the related school, called ‘Real Business Cycle theory’, is the next. The last chapter looks at the early work of the structuralist school, which was at an early stage of development when these lectures were given.
Fabio-Cesare Bagliano and Giuseppe Bertola
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199266821
- eISBN:
- 9780191601606
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266824.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Introduces methodological tools for dynamic analysis of macroeconomic phenomena: consumption and investment choices, employment, and unemployment outcomes, and economic growth. Discrete‐time dynamic ...
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Introduces methodological tools for dynamic analysis of macroeconomic phenomena: consumption and investment choices, employment, and unemployment outcomes, and economic growth. Discrete‐time dynamic optimization under uncertainty is introduced in Ch. 1 and applied to intertemporal consumption theory, with particular attention to empirical implementation. Chapter 2 focuses on continuous‐time optimization techniques and discusses the relevant insights in the context of partial equilibrium investment models. Chapter 3 applies previous chapters’ tools to dynamic labour demand, deriving the labour market equilibrium when both firms and workers face dynamic adjustment problems. Chapter 4 studies continuous‐time equilibrium dynamics of representative‐agent economies featuring both consumption and investment choices, with applications to long‐run growth issues. The role of externalities in more recent models of endogenous growth is carefully discussed. Chapter 5 studies the determination of aggregate equilibria in markets with decentralized trading, discussing the possibility of coordination failures and multiple equilibria. A search model of the labour market, focussed on the flows into and out of unemployment, is then analyzed and the dynamics of frictional unemployment are discussed. Many exercises can be found both within and at the ends of chapters, with extended solutions.Less
Introduces methodological tools for dynamic analysis of macroeconomic phenomena: consumption and investment choices, employment, and unemployment outcomes, and economic growth. Discrete‐time dynamic optimization under uncertainty is introduced in Ch. 1 and applied to intertemporal consumption theory, with particular attention to empirical implementation. Chapter 2 focuses on continuous‐time optimization techniques and discusses the relevant insights in the context of partial equilibrium investment models. Chapter 3 applies previous chapters’ tools to dynamic labour demand, deriving the labour market equilibrium when both firms and workers face dynamic adjustment problems. Chapter 4 studies continuous‐time equilibrium dynamics of representative‐agent economies featuring both consumption and investment choices, with applications to long‐run growth issues. The role of externalities in more recent models of endogenous growth is carefully discussed. Chapter 5 studies the determination of aggregate equilibria in markets with decentralized trading, discussing the possibility of coordination failures and multiple equilibria. A search model of the labour market, focussed on the flows into and out of unemployment, is then analyzed and the dynamics of frictional unemployment are discussed. Many exercises can be found both within and at the ends of chapters, with extended solutions.
Richard M. Goodwin
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198283355
- eISBN:
- 9780191596315
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198283350.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
The control variable in the previous chapter is interpreted here as public net income‐generating expenditure. In the absence of compensatory policy, the model of the previous chapter results in a ...
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The control variable in the previous chapter is interpreted here as public net income‐generating expenditure. In the absence of compensatory policy, the model of the previous chapter results in a highly irregular time series and maximum unemployment of 12%. In contrast, almost perfect smoothing is possible by large and rapid intervention, based upon derivative control, at the early stages of the fluctuation. The addition of proportional control can ensure that equilibrium unemployment falls gradually to an appropriately low level. Problems of implementation are discussed.Less
The control variable in the previous chapter is interpreted here as public net income‐generating expenditure. In the absence of compensatory policy, the model of the previous chapter results in a highly irregular time series and maximum unemployment of 12%. In contrast, almost perfect smoothing is possible by large and rapid intervention, based upon derivative control, at the early stages of the fluctuation. The addition of proportional control can ensure that equilibrium unemployment falls gradually to an appropriately low level. Problems of implementation are discussed.
Casper van Ewijk and Michiel van Leuvensteijn (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199543946
- eISBN:
- 9780191701320
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199543946.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Increasing labour market flexibility is at the top of the European agenda. A new and challenging view is that a lack of mobility in the labour market may arise from rigidities in the housing market. ...
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Increasing labour market flexibility is at the top of the European agenda. A new and challenging view is that a lack of mobility in the labour market may arise from rigidities in the housing market. Researches in this book have been inspired by the intriguing hypothesis that homeownership may be a hindrance to the smooth working connections of labour markets, as homeowners tend to be less willing to accept jobs outside their own region. At the individual level, homeownership limits the likelihood of becoming unemployed and increases the probability of finding a job once unemployed. The transaction costs inherent in the housing market and homeownership hamper job-to-job changes and increase unemployment at the country level. All of these insinuate reform in the housing market, aimed at lowering transaction costs and providing less generous subsidies for homeowners as effective steps for reducing unemployment and improving labour market flexibility.Less
Increasing labour market flexibility is at the top of the European agenda. A new and challenging view is that a lack of mobility in the labour market may arise from rigidities in the housing market. Researches in this book have been inspired by the intriguing hypothesis that homeownership may be a hindrance to the smooth working connections of labour markets, as homeowners tend to be less willing to accept jobs outside their own region. At the individual level, homeownership limits the likelihood of becoming unemployed and increases the probability of finding a job once unemployed. The transaction costs inherent in the housing market and homeownership hamper job-to-job changes and increase unemployment at the country level. All of these insinuate reform in the housing market, aimed at lowering transaction costs and providing less generous subsidies for homeowners as effective steps for reducing unemployment and improving labour market flexibility.
Jochen Clasen
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199270712
- eISBN:
- 9780191603266
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199270716.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
The book investigates the processes of welfare state reform in the UK and Germany between the late 1970s and 2003. Adopting a programme-level perspective, it systematically compares processes of ...
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The book investigates the processes of welfare state reform in the UK and Germany between the late 1970s and 2003. Adopting a programme-level perspective, it systematically compares processes of retrenchment, expansion and restructuring in three core social policy domains. The book suggests that unemployment support and public pension programmes have been subjected to retrenchment and restructuring, while family policies have been extended in both countries. However, patterns of retrenchment and restructuring differ across countries and programmes. Arguing in favour of multi-causal explanations of reform processes and outcomes, the book stresses the relevance of three sets of explanatory factors: shifts in party policy preferences and power relations, three institutional variables and contingent factors impinging on policy direction and profiles. Within pension policy, the relevance of different institutional characteristics and the respective balance between private and public forms of retirement suggest that the concept of ‘path dependence’ is particularly instructive. By contrast, differences in programme structures and their role within national political economies prove to be most relevant for the understanding of changes in unemployment support policy. Less institutionally embedded and expanding, the trajectories of family policies have to be seen in the context of dynamic party policy preferences.Less
The book investigates the processes of welfare state reform in the UK and Germany between the late 1970s and 2003. Adopting a programme-level perspective, it systematically compares processes of retrenchment, expansion and restructuring in three core social policy domains. The book suggests that unemployment support and public pension programmes have been subjected to retrenchment and restructuring, while family policies have been extended in both countries. However, patterns of retrenchment and restructuring differ across countries and programmes. Arguing in favour of multi-causal explanations of reform processes and outcomes, the book stresses the relevance of three sets of explanatory factors: shifts in party policy preferences and power relations, three institutional variables and contingent factors impinging on policy direction and profiles. Within pension policy, the relevance of different institutional characteristics and the respective balance between private and public forms of retirement suggest that the concept of ‘path dependence’ is particularly instructive. By contrast, differences in programme structures and their role within national political economies prove to be most relevant for the understanding of changes in unemployment support policy. Less institutionally embedded and expanding, the trajectories of family policies have to be seen in the context of dynamic party policy preferences.
Peter Taylor-Gooby (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199267262
- eISBN:
- 9780191602023
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019926726X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
Modern welfare states developed primarily to meet the ‘old social risks’ that confront the mass of the population during a standard industrial life course – retirement pensions, health care services, ...
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Modern welfare states developed primarily to meet the ‘old social risks’ that confront the mass of the population during a standard industrial life course – retirement pensions, health care services, sickness and disability provision. Most analysis of the current wave of reforms focusses on these areas, and tends to emphasise retrenchment, restructuring, and decommodification. This book deals with the ‘new social risks’ that have now emerged alongside old social risks from changes in family life and work patterns – needs for child and elder care, new rights for women in relation to paid work, measures to ease the transition into paid work, particularly for unskilled people, and the problems of social exclusion arising for some groups from policies like pension privatisation. It offers an original approach of the implications for national and EU level social policy‐making and contributes to theoretical work in this area. The detailed national case studies are written by national experts and are based on analysis of policy during the past 15 years and more than 250 interviews with key policy actors. The book is organised in a common framework that enables comparison of the significance of different national welfare state regimes and political institutions.The book shows that (1) The recognition of new social risks and the structuring of policies to meet them are constrained by existing patterns of old social risk provision; (2) The politics of new social risks differs from that of old social risks. Most people are aware of needs in relation to the latter, leading to widespread pressure for more provision. The groups affected by new social risks are smaller, less politically cohesive, and less able to push for change; (3) New social risks policies offer the opportunity for governments to ‘transform vice into virtue’ by expanding the labour force and encouraging previously dependent groups (disabled and unemployed people) into productive work. For this reason, such policies are at the forefront of the EU level welfare reform agenda.Less
Modern welfare states developed primarily to meet the ‘old social risks’ that confront the mass of the population during a standard industrial life course – retirement pensions, health care services, sickness and disability provision. Most analysis of the current wave of reforms focusses on these areas, and tends to emphasise retrenchment, restructuring, and decommodification. This book deals with the ‘new social risks’ that have now emerged alongside old social risks from changes in family life and work patterns – needs for child and elder care, new rights for women in relation to paid work, measures to ease the transition into paid work, particularly for unskilled people, and the problems of social exclusion arising for some groups from policies like pension privatisation. It offers an original approach of the implications for national and EU level social policy‐making and contributes to theoretical work in this area. The detailed national case studies are written by national experts and are based on analysis of policy during the past 15 years and more than 250 interviews with key policy actors. The book is organised in a common framework that enables comparison of the significance of different national welfare state regimes and political institutions.
The book shows that (1) The recognition of new social risks and the structuring of policies to meet them are constrained by existing patterns of old social risk provision; (2) The politics of new social risks differs from that of old social risks. Most people are aware of needs in relation to the latter, leading to widespread pressure for more provision. The groups affected by new social risks are smaller, less politically cohesive, and less able to push for change; (3) New social risks policies offer the opportunity for governments to ‘transform vice into virtue’ by expanding the labour force and encouraging previously dependent groups (disabled and unemployed people) into productive work. For this reason, such policies are at the forefront of the EU level welfare reform agenda.
Giuliano Bonoli and Martin Powell
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199266722
- eISBN:
- 9780191601941
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266727.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
The chapter discusses the role of the Third Way discourse in legitimizing labour market policy reform in Britain, France, and Germany. It argues that only in Britain can a convincing causal link be ...
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The chapter discusses the role of the Third Way discourse in legitimizing labour market policy reform in Britain, France, and Germany. It argues that only in Britain can a convincing causal link be drawn between the Third Way discourse and the successful implementation of supply-side reforms. In France, societal interests institutionalized in the governance of social protection continue to act as a ‘pre-political’ bulwark against state intervention in existing arrangements. In Germany, somewhat similarly, institutional factors severely limit the potential for the centre-left to either develop a single structuring discourse or to fuse historically separate policy domains, as much of the current activation agenda supposes. To the extent that efforts have advanced in this latter respect, ad hoc exploitation of contingencies and crises has proved more effective than a Third Way discourse.Less
The chapter discusses the role of the Third Way discourse in legitimizing labour market policy reform in Britain, France, and Germany. It argues that only in Britain can a convincing causal link be drawn between the Third Way discourse and the successful implementation of supply-side reforms. In France, societal interests institutionalized in the governance of social protection continue to act as a ‘pre-political’ bulwark against state intervention in existing arrangements. In Germany, somewhat similarly, institutional factors severely limit the potential for the centre-left to either develop a single structuring discourse or to fuse historically separate policy domains, as much of the current activation agenda supposes. To the extent that efforts have advanced in this latter respect, ad hoc exploitation of contingencies and crises has proved more effective than a Third Way discourse.
Peter Taylor-Gooby
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199267262
- eISBN:
- 9780191602023
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019926726X.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
New social risks have emerged in relation to work‐life balance and securing a position in a more flexible labour market across Europe. Policy responses often involve the aspiration of ‘transforming ...
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New social risks have emerged in relation to work‐life balance and securing a position in a more flexible labour market across Europe. Policy responses often involve the aspiration of ‘transforming vice into virtue’ by reducing welfare state spending and at the same time increasing productivity. This is to be achieved by childcare and elder‐care policies and active labour market polices that get more women and unemployed people into paid work. It is difficult for governments and other policy actors to find large groups of voters who support these policies and reform typically involves compromise. However, the new social risk analysis is a corrective to the typical retrenchment analysis of old social risks such as pensions.Less
New social risks have emerged in relation to work‐life balance and securing a position in a more flexible labour market across Europe. Policy responses often involve the aspiration of ‘transforming vice into virtue’ by reducing welfare state spending and at the same time increasing productivity. This is to be achieved by childcare and elder‐care policies and active labour market polices that get more women and unemployed people into paid work. It is difficult for governments and other policy actors to find large groups of voters who support these policies and reform typically involves compromise. However, the new social risk analysis is a corrective to the typical retrenchment analysis of old social risks such as pensions.
Andreas Aust and Frank Bönker
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199267262
- eISBN:
- 9780191602023
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019926726X.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
Analyses developments in Germany and emphasises the way in which the context of a corporatist welfare state settlement and a semi‐sovereign state shapes policy making. Reform is slow and depends on ...
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Analyses developments in Germany and emphasises the way in which the context of a corporatist welfare state settlement and a semi‐sovereign state shapes policy making. Reform is slow and depends on compromises between political actors. At the same time, the structure of old social risks policies pre‐empts available resources and creates powerful constituencies which resist change. Greater political party disagreement on welfare issues in the 1990s and the emergence of a reforming Red–Green coalition were important factors in change.Less
Analyses developments in Germany and emphasises the way in which the context of a corporatist welfare state settlement and a semi‐sovereign state shapes policy making. Reform is slow and depends on compromises between political actors. At the same time, the structure of old social risks policies pre‐empts available resources and creates powerful constituencies which resist change. Greater political party disagreement on welfare issues in the 1990s and the emergence of a reforming Red–Green coalition were important factors in change.
Virpi Timonen
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199267262
- eISBN:
- 9780191602023
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019926726X.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
Nordic welfare states led the way in consolidating new social risk provision through welfare state social care and active labour market policies some two decades ago. Current provision has ...
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Nordic welfare states led the way in consolidating new social risk provision through welfare state social care and active labour market policies some two decades ago. Current provision has successfully resisted threats from the instabilities associated with the end of the Soviet system and globalisation. Key questions now are (1) will it be possible to integrate new poor groups such as migrants and refugees into the system?, and (2) will better‐off groups continue to support the levels of taxation necessary to provide high standards in collective benefits and services?Less
Nordic welfare states led the way in consolidating new social risk provision through welfare state social care and active labour market policies some two decades ago. Current provision has successfully resisted threats from the instabilities associated with the end of the Soviet system and globalisation. Key questions now are (1) will it be possible to integrate new poor groups such as migrants and refugees into the system?, and (2) will better‐off groups continue to support the levels of taxation necessary to provide high standards in collective benefits and services?
Bruno Palier and Christelle Mandin
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199267262
- eISBN:
- 9780191602023
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019926726X.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
In France, new social risk policies were not highly developed with the exception of the established tradition of childcare. Reforms were initially delayed by the strongly entrenched old social risk ...
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In France, new social risk policies were not highly developed with the exception of the established tradition of childcare. Reforms were initially delayed by the strongly entrenched old social risk system. By the late 1980s, it was accepted across the political spectrum that the existing settlement was not sustainable. New policies with a stronger emphasis on means testing and incentives and on finance through tax rather than social insurance were introduced and these have since become more significant. The emergence of modernising policies in the CFDT trade union and the role played by the employers association MEDEF were important in setting the context for change.Less
In France, new social risk policies were not highly developed with the exception of the established tradition of childcare. Reforms were initially delayed by the strongly entrenched old social risk system. By the late 1980s, it was accepted across the political spectrum that the existing settlement was not sustainable. New policies with a stronger emphasis on means testing and incentives and on finance through tax rather than social insurance were introduced and these have since become more significant. The emergence of modernising policies in the CFDT trade union and the role played by the employers association MEDEF were important in setting the context for change.
