Institutional Change in Varieties of Capitalism. Temporary Employment in Germany


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Politics - Topic: Globalization, Political Economics, grade: 1,3, University of Bamberg, course: Seminar - Challenges of Economic Policy, language: English, abstract: In the face of globalization many states have been forced to adapt to the new challenges facing them in an ever more open market. The fact that markets increasingly escape the bounds of national economies and interact in international perspectives is apparent for example in the fields of research, development and manufacturing activities. These developments towards internationalization of economic and social policies and institutions lead in many cases to policies that adapt regulation to new international challenges or in other cases deregulate markets in a process of liberalization especially in the fields of labor and financial markets as well as training of workers, wage bargaining and education. Analyzing these processes and the impact of such policy changes on the political economies, societies and institutional frameworks has been the focus of research in both economics and political science – namely the Institutionalist branches. The applicability of the VoC framework to explain institutional change has since come under criticism for oversimplifying the institutional reality and falling short of capturing the complexities of real-world changes in national political economies with their dichotomous separation into LMEs and CMEs. Hall and Thelen (2009) have however proposed an extension to the VoC framework to analyze institutional change in a more meaningful way by outlining modes of change along the assumption of institutional stability in accordance with the VoC framework.




Varieties of Capitalism


Book Description

Applying the new economics of organisation and relational theories of the firm to the problem of understanding cross-national variation in the political economy, this volume elaborates a new understanding of the institutional differences that characterise the 'varieties of capitalism' worldwide.




Open Varieties of Capitalism


Book Description

Presenting capitalisms as open, system-like configurations, this book argues four ideal-typical varieties (liberal, statist, corporatist, meso-communitarian) and analyzes the socio-economic performances of advanced capitalisms.




Institutional Change after the Great Recession


Book Description

This book combines demand-led growth models and the institutionalist approach, in order to explain the macroeconomic performance of the main European countries in recent years followed by which a coherent explanation of the institutional change since the Great Recession, including the economic policy response to the economic and financial crisis (2008) and to the debt crisis (2010) is provided. A "Comparative Political Economy" (CPE) analytical framework and provide an institutional base to the different European growth models is built, in general terms over the period 1995-2018. The results allow us to link diverse growth dynamics to the changes of the institutional framework as a consequence of the economic and financial crises. In each chapter for country case studies (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Sweden, UK and Poland) there;’s an ntroduction with a general characterization of the country and the most relevant changes that have occurred subsequently (main legislative milestones or changes in the behaviour of social agents) especially the process of dualization or deregulation of European economies. In addition, an analysis of the macroeconomic evolution and the situation of the labour market before and after the crisis from a demand-side perspective is included, concluding with the linkages between both issues and the characterization of the growth model. This book is of special interest to all the students and university professors who will use this book to be able to follow a multitude of subjects from Applied Economy to International Economic Structure but can also be useful for researchers, doctoral students and teaching staff who want to expand knowledge in the fields of comparative political economy, institutions and the European Union. In general, this book is aimed at anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of the evolution of Europe today.




Culture and Consensus in European Varieties of Capitalism


Book Description

Using two milestones in the Dutch and German political economies - Wassenaar and Alliance for Jobs respectively - this book argues that Antonio Gramsci's 'common sense' provides us with the conceptual apparatus necessary for analysing the integral role played by culture and consensus in the trajectories of national capitalisms in Europe.




The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State


Book Description

This is the comprehensively-revised second edition of a volume that was welcomed at its first appearance as 'the most authoritative survey and critique of the welfare state yet published'. Its fifty-one chapters have been written by acknowledged experts in the field from across Europe, Australia, and North America. Some chapters are brand new; all have been systematically revised, and they are right up to date. The first seven sections of the book cover the themes of Ethics, History, Approaches, Inputs and Actors, Policies, Policy Outcomes, and Worlds of Welfare. A final chapter is devoted to the future of welfare and well-being under the imperatives of climate change. Every chapter is written in a way that is both comprehensive and succinct, introducing the novice reader to the essentials of what is going on while providing new insights for the more experienced researcher. Wherever appropriate, the handbook brings the very latest empirical evidence to bear. It is a book that is thoroughly comparative in every way. The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, second edition, is a comprehensible and comprehensive survey of everything that it is important to know about the welfare state in these troubled times. It is an indispensable source for everyone who wants to know what is really going on now, and what is likely to happen next.




The Diversity of Modern Capitalism


Book Description

This book considers why institutional forms of modern capitalist economies differ internationally, and proposes a typology of capitalism based on the theory of institutional complementarity. Different economic models are not simply characterized by different institutional forms, but also by particular patterns of interaction between complementary institutions which are the core characteristics of these models. Institutions are not just simply devices which would be chosen by 'social engineers' in order to perform a function as efficiently as possible; they are the outcome of a political economy process. Therefore, institutional change should be envisaged not as a move towards a hypothetical 'one best way', but as a result of socio-political compromises. Based on a theory of institutions and comparative capitalism, the book proposes an analysis of the diversity of modern economies - from America to Korea - and identifies five different models: the market-based Anglo-Saxon model; Asian capitalism; the Continental European model; the social democratic economies; and the Mediterranean model. Each of these types of capitalism is characterized by specific institutional complementarities. The question of the stability of the Continental European model of capitalism has been open since the beginning of the 1990s: inferior macroeconomic performance compared to Anglo-Saxon economies, alleged unsustainability of its welfare systems, too rigid markets, etc. The book examines the institutional transformations that have taken place within Continental European economies and analyses the political project behind the attempts at transforming the Continental model. It argues that Continental European economies will most likely stay very different from the market-based economies, and caat political strategies promoting institutional change aiming at convergence with the Anglo-Saxon model are bound to meet considerable opposition.




The German Model


Book Description

Since the Financial Crisis in 2008 Germany has performed economically far better than most of its neighbouring countries. What makes Germany so special that nobel prize winner Krugman called it a German miracle and is this sustainable? Is it its strong economic and political institutions, in particular trade unions, which by international comparison are a solid rock in turbulent waters, its vocational training which guarantees high skilled labour and low youth unemployment, its social partnership agreements which showed large flexibility of working time arrangements during the crisis and turned the rock into a bamboo flexibly bending once the rough wind of globalization was blowing? Or was it simply luck, booming exports to China and the East, a shrinking population, or worse so, a demolition of the German welfare state? All along from miracle to fate to shame of the German model: Is there such a thing like a core of Germany? The debate on the German model is controversial within Germany. But what do neighbours think about Germany? The Nordic countries want to copy German labor market institutions. The Western countries admire it for its high flexibility within stable institutions, the Austrians have a similar model but question Germany's welfare arrangements and growth capacities. Many Eastern European countries are relatively silent about the German model. There is admiration for the German economic success, but at the same time not so much for its institutions and certainly not for its restrictive migration policy. The Southern countries see it as a preposterous pain to Europe by shaping EU policy a la Germany and forcing austerity policy at the costs of its neighbours. Can the German model be copied? And what do neighbours recommend Germany to do?




Democratic Transformations in Europe


Book Description

Democracies evolve. Their evolution is not only key to their survival; it is also a reflection of the changing environment in which they operate. This book contributes to the analysis and understanding of how democratic states have transformed over time by examining a number of challenges and opportunities that they face. With a focus on ‘Europe 31’, understood as the EU28 plus Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland, the book brings together separate strands of literature which often remain disconnected in political science narratives. Looking at citizen–state relations, the restructuring of politics and institutions of the state, and developments which reach 'beyond and below' the state, it interrogates a variety of issues ranging from the decline of parties or the re-emergence of nationalism as a political force, to liberal challenges to social democracy, terrorist threats, and climate change. The book combines these different dimensions into a comprehensive overview of the state of contemporary democracy, its challenges and opportunities, and its dynamic capacity to adapt. In other words, it deals with the perpetual threats to and transformations of democracy, and the state’s ability to protect and strengthen its democratic attributes. This text will be of key interest to scholars of European Politics, Comparative Politics, and Democracy Studies.




Business Interests and the Development of the Modern Welfare State


Book Description

This edited volume provides a synthesis on the question of business attitudes towards and its influence over the development of the modern welfare state. It gathers leading scholars in the field to offer both in-depth historical country case studies and comparative chapters that discuss contemporary developments. Composed of six archive-based historical narratives of business’ role in the development of social insurance programs in Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, and six comparative case studies, this volume also extends the study of business to policy fields that have hitherto received little attention in the literature, such as active labor market policies, educational policies, employment protection legislation, healthcare, private pension programs and work‐family policies. It illuminates why business groups have responded so very differently to demands for increased social protection against different labor market risks in different countries and over time. This text will be of key interest to students and scholars of comparative welfare, political science, sociology, social policy studies, comparative political economy and welfare history. Chapter 4 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.