Organizational Determinants of Wage Moderation

This article contributes to the political economic literature regarding the effects of industrial relations institutions on national economic outcomes. Based on an econometric analysis of the determinants of wage moderation in sixteen industrialized countries between 1974 and 2000, it argues that the organizational characteristics of trade unions have a significant impact on wage dynamics. Controlling for a number of institutional and economic factors, the countries in which trade union confederations directly involve workers in the process of collective bargaining ratification have on average lower wage growth relative to productivity than others. The authors also find that collective bargaining coordination and contract ratification magnify each other's wage-dampening effect. Through case studies of Ireland and Italy, the article examines the causal mechanisms underlying the uncovered statistical regularities and concludes that, particularly at a time in which classic political exchange is waning, worker involvement in contract ratification allows confederation leaders to resolve conflicting claims inside their organizations at lower wage levels than are achieved by a less participatory governance proces

Organizational determinants of wage moderation

This article contributes to the political economic literature regarding the effects of industrial relations institutions on national economic outcomes. Based on an econometric analysis of the determinants of wage moderation in sixteen industrialized countries between 1974 and 2000, it argues that the organizational characteristics of trade unions have a significant impact on wage dynamics. Controlling for a number of institutional and economic factors, the countries in which trade union confederations directly involve workers in the process of collective bargaining ratification have on average lower wage growth relative to productivity than others. The authors also find that collective bargaining coordination and contract ratification magnify each other's wage-dampening effect. Through case studies of Ireland and Italy, the article examines the causal mechanisms underlying the uncovered statistical regularities and concludes that, particularly at a time in which classic political exchange is waning, worker involvement in contract ratification allows confederation leaders to resolve conflicting claims inside their organizations at lower wage levels than are achieved by a less participatory governance process

The Irish social partnership and the 'celtic tiger' phenomenon

Ireland is the miracle economy of the 1990s. In 15 years, it transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in Europe into one of the richest. Ireland’s record compares favorably not just with other, much touted examples of economic success in the last few years, like the Netherlands and the US, but also with Asian “tigers,” even before the latter’s economic setbacks of the late 1990s. Understanding the sources of Ireland’s economic success is therefore relevant for a much wider audience than just the people of the Emerald Isle.Introduction 1. The development of the Irish social partnership 2. Does social partnership matter? 3. Multinationals, social partnership, and the “Irish disease” a) The role of multinationals b) The moral economy of wages and the “Irish disease” c) The effects of social partnership 4. The politics of wage restraint in Ireland a) Pro-partnership coalitions b) The problem of compliance 5. Concluding remarks Reference

European Social Pacts Policy (the Netherlands, Ireland and Italy)

The main aims of this article are: a presentation of the theoretical framework for the analysis of the social pacts policy (taking into consideration that social pacts are phenomena which are very difficult to clearly define) and the presentation of the practice of this policy in chosen European countries (including three cases of “using” social pacts for the shaping of public policy, taking into consideration the fact that the form and content of social pacts vary from country to country). Social pacts are very special kinds of agreements between the representatives of the state and the interest groups. They can include various issues of social and economic policies, but they can also be used for solving economic difficulties and sustaining progress, including the development of the state. Social Pacts Policy is useful for a weak state and interest groups, which as a result of it can have an influence on public policy. Although, its application is not a facile process of agreement between the state and the social partners, it can have various forms and can include different goals of social and economic policies. Similarly, the range, institutionalisation and length of social pacts are not the same in all countries. Moreover, as the article indicates it refers to the economic, cultural and social circumstances, which can also cause the disappearance of the social pacts mechanism

Between Local Interests and International Solidarity: Negotiating Restructuring at General Motors Europe

At no other firm has transnational worker cooperation been taken further than at General Motors Europe. Worker representatives engaged in European wide mobilization, strikes, and collective bargaining, with the aim of “sharing the pain” of concessions and preventing plant closures. We argue that this is a case of identity work, a deliberate shift in the ideational underpinnings of union strategy, orchestrated by the European Works Council. While trade union strategy was subject to the reshaping of interests due to the objective facts of corporate restructuring, it was also subject to an additional subjective and internal political process of identity work