Policy innovation in the Italian labour market: the influence of institutions

Gegenstand der Analyse dieses Papiers ist der Umfang von Policy-Innovationen innerhalb des italienischen Arbeitsmarkts angesichts der wachsenden Arbeitslosigkeit. Dabei geht es um die Art, wie öffentliche und private Akteure ihr Routinehandeln zu verändern und neue Programme zu entwickeln versuchen, umgegen die alarmierenden Veränderungen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt anzugehen.Im Vordergrund stehen dabei die in der jüngsten Zeit geschlossenen Solidaritäts-Abmachungen (bei denen es um Verträge mit flexibler und verkürzter Arbeitszeitgeht), die sehr bewußt von Entscheidungsträgern eingeführt wurden, um Entlassungen zu vermeiden und neue Einstellungen zu ermöglichen. Ein detaillierter Vergleich zwischen den mehrheitlich praktizierten Standardansätzen in derArbeitsmarktpolitik und den neuen Arbeitsprogrammen der 90er Jahre zeigt deutlichein anhaltendes Setzen auf alte Policy-Muster und ein niedriges Innovationsniveauin neue Policy-Ansätze. Die Arbeitgeber halten an den alten Programmen fest, da sieden Verlust von deren Anreizstrukturen befürchten. Ebenso sind öffentlicheMaßnahmen pfadabhängig vor dem Hintergrund des bestehenden Institutionengefüges von Anreizen und Einschränkungen, eine Abhängigkeit, dieinnovative Erfolge verhindert. --

Labour market policies in Italy: the 1990s and the new wave of reforms

'In den 90erJahren wurde die italienische Arbeitsmarktpolitik radikal reformiert. Die Anzahl aktiver Maßnahmen wurde erheblich erhöht, das Staatsmonopol in der Arbeitsvermittlung abgeschafft, und neue Programme für lokale Entwicklung beginnen, alte zentralistische Ansätze abzulösen. Diese Veränderungen resultierten in einem neuen politischen Kontext, der durch die Rückkehr kooperativer und konsensualer Tauschbeziehungen zwischen Regierung und Sozialpartnern, den Fall der 'Ersten Republik' und das Entstehen der 'Zweiten Republik', sowie die Handlungsspielräume im Rahmen des Europäischen Integrationsprozesses gekennzeichnet ist. Die Verkoppelung der Transformationen politischer Prozesse um den Arbeitsmarkt (politics) mit dem Wandel von 'policies' hat einen neuen Evolutionspfad für das Angehen der Arbeitslosenproblematik geschaffen, der es Italien auch zu ermöglichen scheint, sich europäischen Standards und Forderungen zu nähern.' (Autorenreferat)'In the 1990s, radical reforms of labour market policies have been introduced in Italy. The number of active policies has significantly increased, the state's monopoly on employment services has been dismantled and new programmes for local development are gradually replacing old centralised policy measures. All these changes have taken place within a new political scenario, marked by the return of co-operative and consensual exchange relationships between the government and the social partners, by the fall of the First Republic and the growth of the Second Republic, and by the constraints and opportunities brought in by the European integration process. The intertwining of the transformations in the 'politics' of the labour market with the 'policy' changes has opened up a new path in the evolution of measures to tackle unemployment, which seems to have brought Italy nearer to European standards and requests. (author's abstract

Rescued by Europe? Social and labour market reforms in Italy from Maastricht to Berlusconi

As a result of its political and economic turmoil for much of the postwar period, Italy was considered the "bad seed" in the European community. Harsh ideological divisions, chronic executive instability, inefficient bureaucracy, uneven socio-economic development, organized crime and unbalanced public finances all contributed to this negative perception. Yet a massive economic and social overhaul was launched in the 1990s as part of Italy's efforts to meet the famous Maastricht requirements in order to join the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This book examines those processes and skillfully analyzes their consequences by exploring the effect they had on governmental and social actions. "Two of Italy's foremost public policy specialists, Ferrera and Gualmini are well placed to tell the story of how Italian political élites, long oriented towards buying off opposition and vested interests by expanding a bloated public debt,were finally confronted with reality by EMU membership criteria. Rescued by Europe is both a fascinating narrative of how governments, employers and unions responded to the EMU imperatives, and an in-depth analysis of how Italy's idiosyncratic labour markets and welfare system function, both for good and ill." Martin Rhodes Professor of European Public Policy, European University Institute, Florence, Italy Maurizio Ferrera is professor of social policy at the University of Pavia, Italy, and a member of the Italian National Commission on Social Exclusion. Elisabetta Gualmini is professor of administrative science at the University of Bologna, Italy

Rescued by Europe?

As a result of its political and economic turmoil for much of the postwar period, Italy was considered the "bad seed" in the European community. Harsh ideological divisions, chronic executive instability, inefficient bureaucracy, uneven socio-economic development, organized crime and unbalanced public finances all contributed to this negative perception. Yet a massive economic and social overhaul was launched in the 1990s as part of Italy's efforts to meet the famous Maastricht requirements in order to join the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This book examines those processes and skillfully analyzes their consequences by exploring the effect they had on governmental and social actions. "Two of Italy's foremost public policy specialists, Ferrera and Gualmini are well placed to tell the story of how Italian political élites, long oriented towards buying off opposition and vested interests by expanding a bloated public debt,were finally confronted with reality by EMU membership criteria. Rescued by Europe is both a fascinating narrative of how governments, employers and unions responded to the EMU imperatives, and an in-depth analysis of how Italy's idiosyncratic labour markets and welfare system function, both for good and ill." Martin Rhodes Professor of European Public Policy, European University Institute, Florence, Italy Maurizio Ferrera is professor of social policy at the University of Pavia, Italy, and a member of the Italian National Commission on Social Exclusion. Elisabetta Gualmini is professor of administrative science at the University of Bologna, Italy