... Dornelas The evolution of social pacts in Italy: crisis or meta-morphosis?, Serafino Negrelli... more ... Dornelas The evolution of social pacts in Italy: crisis or meta-morphosis?, Serafino Negrelli and Valeria Pulignano Social pacts in Spain: from post-EMU boom to bust, Sofia A. Pérez Ireland: the evolution of social pacts in the EMU era, Rory O'Donnell, Noel Cahill and Damian ...
ABSTRACT Social benefits and transfers set up by the social partners, through bilateral initiativ... more ABSTRACT Social benefits and transfers set up by the social partners, through bilateral initiatives as well as unilateral actions by the employers, have played a growing role in the last decades. What is referred to as occupational welfare is not a new phenomenon, yet it has gained new relevance in some EU countries (in terms of total spending, benefit level and coverage of the workforces). On the one hand, these schemes have contributed to shape social dialogue between trade unions and firms, and on the other hand to revise the welfare public/private mix. While occupational welfare is thus relevant to understand recent trends in welfare states and industrial relations, relatively little research has dealt with the issue, especially from a comparative point of view. The present paper sheds light on the recent evolution of supplementary social benefits provided by social partners (2). Based on the results of the project ‘Providing Welfare through Social Dialogue: A renewed role for social partners?’ (PROWELFARE), the paper sheds light on those occupational benefits and services voluntarily provided by social partners. We call this Voluntary Occupational Welfare (VOW). The focus is on three policy areas (health care; reconciliation of work and family life, and training), in three sectors (manufacturing, public sector, and private services), and in eight countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and UK). Evidence collected through the project proves VOW is becoming relatively more widespread. It usually represents an addition rather than a substitute to statutory schemes. However VOW programmes represent a 'double-edged sword': they offer possibilities for improving workers’ conditions and life; at the same time they could create incentives to weaken the welfare state and to fragment employees’ conditions on the labour market.
This article focuses on the emergence and evolution of social pacts in European countries in the ... more This article focuses on the emergence and evolution of social pacts in European countries in the last twenty years. While, the changing constrains related to the different phases of the European Monetary Union (EMU) and actors' interests and resources are usually interpreted as the key variables affecting the evolution of social pacts, here we add a more institutionalist perspective. The analysis of four countries (Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) that experienced peak-level agreements and Greece (where social concertation has proved difficult) helps to shed light on the key role of institutional dynamics. Broad pacts on wage policy, welfare and labour market reforms need the coordination of each policy institutional settings. Yet, in case of 'uneven institutionalization', when wage policy on the one hand and welfare and labour-market policies on the other are disconnected, actors may at best agree on more limited 'ad hoc' agreements.
... Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 77-102. Marier P. (2002), 'Instit... more ... Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 77-102. Marier P. (2002), 'Institutional Structure and Policy Change, Pension reforms in Belgium, France, Sweden, and the UK', mimeo, University of Pittsburgh. Myles, J. and P. Pierson ...
This article analyses the dynamics of the pension reform process in Italy in the early 1990s. I b... more This article analyses the dynamics of the pension reform process in Italy in the early 1990s. I briefly review the key factors that opened the way to path-departure in the Italian welfare state. A revised version of the 'policy change' model, based on the concept of policy windows, helps to explain why reforms were introduced at the beginning of the 1990s and not before. Such a theoretical perspective is useful to depict how the 'Europeanization' process affected Italy, the impact of which is assessed through a 'bottom-up' perspective. A number of national and European factors mutually interacted to produce a large window for innovative changes. Socio-economic conditions, the EMU process, the demise of the First Republic, and the resurgence of concertation were key elements favouring reforms. The ability of technocratic caretakers to build consensus within the corporatist (more than the electoral) arena was decisive.
ABSTRACT Through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) the EU has extended its role on pensions (... more ABSTRACT Through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) the EU has extended its role on pensions (that is a typical redistributive and nationally-rooted policy) while respecting national competencies and diversity. Such a governing mode is a hybrid: while OMC goes in many respects ‘beyond’ regulation, regulatory instruments are integrated in it. By shedding light on the normative and theoretical complexity of the OMC on pensions, the article analyses the conflicts of interest in the process and the main strategies for their management. The present study shows that three conflict dimensions (institutional, competence-based and ideological) are managed through two strategies: ‘participation control’ tends to structure the access to the process; ‘common knowledge production’ through reasoning and discursive decision-making tends to emphasise the role of experts. The eclectic use of both strategies confirms the hybrid nature of the OMC and the permanent tension between its supposed post-regulatory nature and the progressive specialisation and control of information that tend to exclude stakeholders and the large audience the process should mobilise.
... Dornelas The evolution of social pacts in Italy: crisis or meta-morphosis?, Serafino Negrelli... more ... Dornelas The evolution of social pacts in Italy: crisis or meta-morphosis?, Serafino Negrelli and Valeria Pulignano Social pacts in Spain: from post-EMU boom to bust, Sofia A. Pérez Ireland: the evolution of social pacts in the EMU era, Rory O'Donnell, Noel Cahill and Damian ...
ABSTRACT Social benefits and transfers set up by the social partners, through bilateral initiativ... more ABSTRACT Social benefits and transfers set up by the social partners, through bilateral initiatives as well as unilateral actions by the employers, have played a growing role in the last decades. What is referred to as occupational welfare is not a new phenomenon, yet it has gained new relevance in some EU countries (in terms of total spending, benefit level and coverage of the workforces). On the one hand, these schemes have contributed to shape social dialogue between trade unions and firms, and on the other hand to revise the welfare public/private mix. While occupational welfare is thus relevant to understand recent trends in welfare states and industrial relations, relatively little research has dealt with the issue, especially from a comparative point of view. The present paper sheds light on the recent evolution of supplementary social benefits provided by social partners (2). Based on the results of the project ‘Providing Welfare through Social Dialogue: A renewed role for social partners?’ (PROWELFARE), the paper sheds light on those occupational benefits and services voluntarily provided by social partners. We call this Voluntary Occupational Welfare (VOW). The focus is on three policy areas (health care; reconciliation of work and family life, and training), in three sectors (manufacturing, public sector, and private services), and in eight countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and UK). Evidence collected through the project proves VOW is becoming relatively more widespread. It usually represents an addition rather than a substitute to statutory schemes. However VOW programmes represent a 'double-edged sword': they offer possibilities for improving workers’ conditions and life; at the same time they could create incentives to weaken the welfare state and to fragment employees’ conditions on the labour market.
This article focuses on the emergence and evolution of social pacts in European countries in the ... more This article focuses on the emergence and evolution of social pacts in European countries in the last twenty years. While, the changing constrains related to the different phases of the European Monetary Union (EMU) and actors' interests and resources are usually interpreted as the key variables affecting the evolution of social pacts, here we add a more institutionalist perspective. The analysis of four countries (Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) that experienced peak-level agreements and Greece (where social concertation has proved difficult) helps to shed light on the key role of institutional dynamics. Broad pacts on wage policy, welfare and labour market reforms need the coordination of each policy institutional settings. Yet, in case of 'uneven institutionalization', when wage policy on the one hand and welfare and labour-market policies on the other are disconnected, actors may at best agree on more limited 'ad hoc' agreements.
... Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 77-102. Marier P. (2002), 'Instit... more ... Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 77-102. Marier P. (2002), 'Institutional Structure and Policy Change, Pension reforms in Belgium, France, Sweden, and the UK', mimeo, University of Pittsburgh. Myles, J. and P. Pierson ...
This article analyses the dynamics of the pension reform process in Italy in the early 1990s. I b... more This article analyses the dynamics of the pension reform process in Italy in the early 1990s. I briefly review the key factors that opened the way to path-departure in the Italian welfare state. A revised version of the 'policy change' model, based on the concept of policy windows, helps to explain why reforms were introduced at the beginning of the 1990s and not before. Such a theoretical perspective is useful to depict how the 'Europeanization' process affected Italy, the impact of which is assessed through a 'bottom-up' perspective. A number of national and European factors mutually interacted to produce a large window for innovative changes. Socio-economic conditions, the EMU process, the demise of the First Republic, and the resurgence of concertation were key elements favouring reforms. The ability of technocratic caretakers to build consensus within the corporatist (more than the electoral) arena was decisive.
ABSTRACT Through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) the EU has extended its role on pensions (... more ABSTRACT Through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) the EU has extended its role on pensions (that is a typical redistributive and nationally-rooted policy) while respecting national competencies and diversity. Such a governing mode is a hybrid: while OMC goes in many respects ‘beyond’ regulation, regulatory instruments are integrated in it. By shedding light on the normative and theoretical complexity of the OMC on pensions, the article analyses the conflicts of interest in the process and the main strategies for their management. The present study shows that three conflict dimensions (institutional, competence-based and ideological) are managed through two strategies: ‘participation control’ tends to structure the access to the process; ‘common knowledge production’ through reasoning and discursive decision-making tends to emphasise the role of experts. The eclectic use of both strategies confirms the hybrid nature of the OMC and the permanent tension between its supposed post-regulatory nature and the progressive specialisation and control of information that tend to exclude stakeholders and the large audience the process should mobilise.
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