The polder model reviewed: Dutch corporatism 1965-2000

The Dutch Polder Model gained international reputation in the 1990s as an example of a successful and peaceful incomes management policy while coping with severe pressure. This article claims that the Polder Model has been overrated and so has its performance in terms of consensus (central agreements). The article discusses the emergence and working of this model in three parts. First, the behaviour of the relevant actors (government, trade unions and employers' organizations) during negotiations on incomes policy is examined. The government employed more often than not a corporatist strategy; however, the social partners did not comply and displayed competitive behaviour. Second, the outcome of the negotiations in terms of central agreements is analysed. The actual performance rate is low due to 'tough' bargaining between social partners, and not all central agreements were reached through a corporatist government strategy. Finally, the dominance of social democracy in government after 1994 did not increase the number of central agreements. This research demonstrates that there is no typical or successful Dutch Polder Model. Rather, the behaviour of the actors and related performance are structured by macroeconomic circumstances and exogenous influences. © 2007 Uppsala University

The contingency of corporatist influence: Incomes policy in the Netherlands

This paper examines the hypothesis that corporatist intermediation by party governments facilitates incomes policy formation and is effective in reaching agreements between employers and trade unions as well. A social democratic party in government would positively enhance this process. Investigating this for the Netherlands between 1965-2000, two puzzles emerge. The first puzzle is that coalition governments of Social and Christian Democracy fall short of expectations despite their commitment to corporatism. The second puzzle is that the relationship between Social Democracy and effective corporatist intermediation is positive but cannot sufficiently account for the variation in agreements on Dutch incomes policy. That variation can be better understood as induced by institutional change, economic development and external vulnerabilities. The Dutch case study shows that the performance of a social democratic party in government in a corporatist context is less directly effective than the literature often has suggested

The Polder Model: From Disease to Miracle? : Dutch Neo-corporatism 1965 - 2000

Keman, J.E. [Promotor

Dynamic institutional analysis: Measuring corporatist intermediation

In this paper a framework for empirical analysis is introduced that allows for a dynamic analysis of the interactions between different types of actors and institutions. We elaborate our argument by focusing on a complex phenomenon-corporatism-to show how this concept can be developed into a measure that travels across nations and time. The heuristic framework we developed adequately captures the interactive behaviour of the relevant actors within a corporatist institutional context. We demonstrate the usefulness of this framework for the analysis of policy formation by applying it to Dutch incomes policy. We contend that this heuristic framework contributes to alleviating the often discussed methodological trade-off between single case studies and cross-national comparisons. We also argue that it can bridge the gap between qualitative and quantitative approaches. Lastly, we propose that it can be used for empirical analysis of policy-making processes in other policy areas. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V