In this study, we examine the extent to which socio-economic institutions shape young people’s pe... more In this study, we examine the extent to which socio-economic institutions shape young people’s perceptions of labour market opportunity structures and their employment attitudes (i.e. skills and retraining). Building on the varieties of capitalism approach, we expect young people (aged 18–35) in coordinated market economies (CMEs) with encompassing welfare states to regard firm- and industry-specific skills as more important than their peers in liberal market economies (LMEs). To assess this proposition, we draw on original survey data and compare young people’s employment attitudes in five European countries: the United Kingdom (UK), which represents a typical liberal market economy, and Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland as representatives of coordinated market economies. To what extent do different training regimes in CMEs and LMEs shape individual attitudes towards skill formation? The empirical analysis shows that young people’s attitudes with regard to the specificity o...
As established in Chapter 1 there is a widespread concern about a decline in political and civic ... more As established in Chapter 1 there is a widespread concern about a decline in political and civic activity (Putnam, 1993, 1995a, b, 2000). However, this volume has been indirectly commenting on a broadly held view that group activity has ameliorated the adverse consequences of party decline. For example, Farrell and Webb (2000: 123) note that ‘Fewer individuals now take on political roles as loyal party members, perhaps preferring to participate via non-partisan single-issue groups.’ Lawson (1988) argues that major party decline correlates to a failure of linkage between the parties and the political process, and that the replacement representative vehicles (groups) have been successful because they offer a more responsive and direct form of ‘particularized’ linkage. Mair (2005) reviews a growing indifference to political matters and an erosion of party support. Authors have highlighted the significant reductions in party membership and the corresponding dramatic rise in both group numbers — and numbers in groups (see Chapter 1 for group numbers). For example, between 1950 and the mid-1990s ‘Aggregate Party Enrolment’ declined in many advanced democracies from: 1.3 million to 600,000 in France; 3.7 million to 1.9 million in Italy; and 3.4 million to 800,000 in the UK (Scarrow, 2000: 89). The Eurobarometer reported only 3% of EU citizens as holding a party membership — the figure for France, Italy and the UK was 2%.! As noted in Chapter 1, in the UK, the last 50 years has witnessed Labour Party membership fall from 1 million to 280,000 and the Conservatives from 3 million to 318,000 (Butler and Kavanagh, 1992; Ware, 1996; Webb, 1994; The Guardian 28 January, 2002).2
Following the discussion of the growing professionalization in groups, this chapter presents two ... more Following the discussion of the growing professionalization in groups, this chapter presents two new sorts of evidence from surveys. First, it documents responses from group managers giving a top—down insider perspective on joining. Secondly, it reports on a survey of (environmental) non-members. This work matches group members with nonmembers (who have joined other types of group, but not environmental bodies) with similarly strong pro-environmental views. Olson’s views are usually discussed (inappropriately) in terms of surveys of members — i.e. those who Olson thought were exceptional in that they were acting in contradiction to his prediction of free-riding. This population of nonmembers thus offers a better chance to explore the extent to which free-riding is a fatal flaw for group-based participation.
Résumé/Abstract L'article attire l'attention sur les problèmes découlan... more Résumé/Abstract L'article attire l'attention sur les problèmes découlant de la classification traditionnelle des groupes de pression en groupes de pression publics et groupes de pression privés. Il analyse différents types de groupes de pression publics et rend compte ...
Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties, Jul 1, 2006
Abstract This article contributes to the discussion of one component of the crisis in political... more Abstract This article contributes to the discussion of one component of the crisis in political participation by looking at (non‐) participation in groups. The starting point is that political science has a heavy gauge tool for accounting for such low inactivityOlson's (1965) free ...
This article examines the contemporary agricultural policy‐making environment in Britain and sugg... more This article examines the contemporary agricultural policy‐making environment in Britain and suggests that the growing complexity of interest articulation and policy making has eroded NFU dominance as a peak association. We would suggest that it is this clientelistic attitude to agriculture rather than a specific relationship with one interest group (however influential) that shapes the agricultural agenda. This article rejects a version of events which sees policy outputs as being the result of exclusive MAFF/NFU interactions as exaggerating policy‐making closure, and the exclusion of environmental and other externality interests. It portrays the policy sector as fragmented and competitive, with a wide cast list of pressure participants all vying for policy influence. It identifies flexible policy communities operating at the sub‐sectoral level, and within such arrangements the NFU often has to defer to the specialist or niche expertise of single commodity groups or agricultural processing companies.
We are grateful for an opportunity to comment on the Cavanagh et al. response to our article. We ... more We are grateful for an opportunity to comment on the Cavanagh et al. response to our article. We hope that their note will encourage close reading of our article and we believe that some of the apparent differences between us dissolve with a better appreciation of our ...
... by their members in Brussels, they have nevertheless assumed an important role in the ... Eur... more ... by their members in Brussels, they have nevertheless assumed an important role in the ... Euro-watchers that the Commission would come to depend on well-organized groups operating ... Thus there is a familiar information deficit which often exists between agencies and interests. ...
Over the past few decades conflicting theories have emerged in the social sciences with regard to... more Over the past few decades conflicting theories have emerged in the social sciences with regard to the bases of public opinion. This chapter discusses the phenomenon of the creation of opinions through examining the case of the environment, but the issue is broad. It questions the commonplace Truman (1951)1 assumption that group membership relates to some spontaneous expression of opinion, or defence or promotion of some interest. This was of course the assumption that Olson (1965) and others (e.g. Hardin, 1995, 2003) set out to undermine with the free-rider observation.
The article begins by comparing the use of terms such as policy community and sub government by d... more The article begins by comparing the use of terms such as policy community and sub government by different authors and in different (JS. and UK) political science traditions. Although accepting the major body of work that points to the erosion of sub governments, the authors argue that too much emphasis on the complexity and volatility of policy making masks underlying tendencies to stability and bargaining The need for the resolution of conflict both leads to perennial attempts to reconstruct islands of stability and to attempts to "solve" unique disputes by adopting some of the features that have been traditionally associated with sub governments. The authors identify the key characteristics of stable arrangements and attempt to explain their evolution by identifying the benefits of these arrangements for policy makers.
Two neighbours may agree to drain a meadow, which they possess in common; because ‘tis easy for t... more Two neighbours may agree to drain a meadow, which they possess in common; because ‘tis easy for them to know each other’s mind; and each must perceive, that the immediate consequence of his failing in his part, is, the abandoning of the whole project. But ‘tis very difficult, and indeed impossible, that a thousand persons shou’d agree in any such action; it being difficult for them to concert so complicated a design, and still more difficult for them to execute it; while each seeks a pretext to free himself of the trouble and expence, and wou’d lay the whole burden on others (David Hume [1739–1740] cited in Hardin, 2003: 3).
Much discussion of the role of groups has a caricature feel. On the one hand, there is celebratio... more Much discussion of the role of groups has a caricature feel. On the one hand, there is celebration of the democratic merits of old-fashioned, cosy (bottom—up) organizations where, in theory at least, there is policymaking initiative at the local level and meaningful accountability of leaders to members. This is seen as ‘good’, as is the comparatively structureless participation of turning out on big demonstrations such as Make Poverty History in the UK in 2005. On the other hand, there is the less ‘respectable’ Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) participation that is seen as self-interested, or involvement that is ‘thin’ — simply monetary — that is chequebook participation. Both the latter are poorly regarded compared with ‘real’ participation.
In this study, we examine the extent to which socio-economic institutions shape young people’s pe... more In this study, we examine the extent to which socio-economic institutions shape young people’s perceptions of labour market opportunity structures and their employment attitudes (i.e. skills and retraining). Building on the varieties of capitalism approach, we expect young people (aged 18–35) in coordinated market economies (CMEs) with encompassing welfare states to regard firm- and industry-specific skills as more important than their peers in liberal market economies (LMEs). To assess this proposition, we draw on original survey data and compare young people’s employment attitudes in five European countries: the United Kingdom (UK), which represents a typical liberal market economy, and Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland as representatives of coordinated market economies. To what extent do different training regimes in CMEs and LMEs shape individual attitudes towards skill formation? The empirical analysis shows that young people’s attitudes with regard to the specificity o...
As established in Chapter 1 there is a widespread concern about a decline in political and civic ... more As established in Chapter 1 there is a widespread concern about a decline in political and civic activity (Putnam, 1993, 1995a, b, 2000). However, this volume has been indirectly commenting on a broadly held view that group activity has ameliorated the adverse consequences of party decline. For example, Farrell and Webb (2000: 123) note that ‘Fewer individuals now take on political roles as loyal party members, perhaps preferring to participate via non-partisan single-issue groups.’ Lawson (1988) argues that major party decline correlates to a failure of linkage between the parties and the political process, and that the replacement representative vehicles (groups) have been successful because they offer a more responsive and direct form of ‘particularized’ linkage. Mair (2005) reviews a growing indifference to political matters and an erosion of party support. Authors have highlighted the significant reductions in party membership and the corresponding dramatic rise in both group numbers — and numbers in groups (see Chapter 1 for group numbers). For example, between 1950 and the mid-1990s ‘Aggregate Party Enrolment’ declined in many advanced democracies from: 1.3 million to 600,000 in France; 3.7 million to 1.9 million in Italy; and 3.4 million to 800,000 in the UK (Scarrow, 2000: 89). The Eurobarometer reported only 3% of EU citizens as holding a party membership — the figure for France, Italy and the UK was 2%.! As noted in Chapter 1, in the UK, the last 50 years has witnessed Labour Party membership fall from 1 million to 280,000 and the Conservatives from 3 million to 318,000 (Butler and Kavanagh, 1992; Ware, 1996; Webb, 1994; The Guardian 28 January, 2002).2
Following the discussion of the growing professionalization in groups, this chapter presents two ... more Following the discussion of the growing professionalization in groups, this chapter presents two new sorts of evidence from surveys. First, it documents responses from group managers giving a top—down insider perspective on joining. Secondly, it reports on a survey of (environmental) non-members. This work matches group members with nonmembers (who have joined other types of group, but not environmental bodies) with similarly strong pro-environmental views. Olson’s views are usually discussed (inappropriately) in terms of surveys of members — i.e. those who Olson thought were exceptional in that they were acting in contradiction to his prediction of free-riding. This population of nonmembers thus offers a better chance to explore the extent to which free-riding is a fatal flaw for group-based participation.
Résumé/Abstract L'article attire l'attention sur les problèmes découlan... more Résumé/Abstract L'article attire l'attention sur les problèmes découlant de la classification traditionnelle des groupes de pression en groupes de pression publics et groupes de pression privés. Il analyse différents types de groupes de pression publics et rend compte ...
Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties, Jul 1, 2006
Abstract This article contributes to the discussion of one component of the crisis in political... more Abstract This article contributes to the discussion of one component of the crisis in political participation by looking at (non‐) participation in groups. The starting point is that political science has a heavy gauge tool for accounting for such low inactivityOlson's (1965) free ...
This article examines the contemporary agricultural policy‐making environment in Britain and sugg... more This article examines the contemporary agricultural policy‐making environment in Britain and suggests that the growing complexity of interest articulation and policy making has eroded NFU dominance as a peak association. We would suggest that it is this clientelistic attitude to agriculture rather than a specific relationship with one interest group (however influential) that shapes the agricultural agenda. This article rejects a version of events which sees policy outputs as being the result of exclusive MAFF/NFU interactions as exaggerating policy‐making closure, and the exclusion of environmental and other externality interests. It portrays the policy sector as fragmented and competitive, with a wide cast list of pressure participants all vying for policy influence. It identifies flexible policy communities operating at the sub‐sectoral level, and within such arrangements the NFU often has to defer to the specialist or niche expertise of single commodity groups or agricultural processing companies.
We are grateful for an opportunity to comment on the Cavanagh et al. response to our article. We ... more We are grateful for an opportunity to comment on the Cavanagh et al. response to our article. We hope that their note will encourage close reading of our article and we believe that some of the apparent differences between us dissolve with a better appreciation of our ...
... by their members in Brussels, they have nevertheless assumed an important role in the ... Eur... more ... by their members in Brussels, they have nevertheless assumed an important role in the ... Euro-watchers that the Commission would come to depend on well-organized groups operating ... Thus there is a familiar information deficit which often exists between agencies and interests. ...
Over the past few decades conflicting theories have emerged in the social sciences with regard to... more Over the past few decades conflicting theories have emerged in the social sciences with regard to the bases of public opinion. This chapter discusses the phenomenon of the creation of opinions through examining the case of the environment, but the issue is broad. It questions the commonplace Truman (1951)1 assumption that group membership relates to some spontaneous expression of opinion, or defence or promotion of some interest. This was of course the assumption that Olson (1965) and others (e.g. Hardin, 1995, 2003) set out to undermine with the free-rider observation.
The article begins by comparing the use of terms such as policy community and sub government by d... more The article begins by comparing the use of terms such as policy community and sub government by different authors and in different (JS. and UK) political science traditions. Although accepting the major body of work that points to the erosion of sub governments, the authors argue that too much emphasis on the complexity and volatility of policy making masks underlying tendencies to stability and bargaining The need for the resolution of conflict both leads to perennial attempts to reconstruct islands of stability and to attempts to "solve" unique disputes by adopting some of the features that have been traditionally associated with sub governments. The authors identify the key characteristics of stable arrangements and attempt to explain their evolution by identifying the benefits of these arrangements for policy makers.
Two neighbours may agree to drain a meadow, which they possess in common; because ‘tis easy for t... more Two neighbours may agree to drain a meadow, which they possess in common; because ‘tis easy for them to know each other’s mind; and each must perceive, that the immediate consequence of his failing in his part, is, the abandoning of the whole project. But ‘tis very difficult, and indeed impossible, that a thousand persons shou’d agree in any such action; it being difficult for them to concert so complicated a design, and still more difficult for them to execute it; while each seeks a pretext to free himself of the trouble and expence, and wou’d lay the whole burden on others (David Hume [1739–1740] cited in Hardin, 2003: 3).
Much discussion of the role of groups has a caricature feel. On the one hand, there is celebratio... more Much discussion of the role of groups has a caricature feel. On the one hand, there is celebration of the democratic merits of old-fashioned, cosy (bottom—up) organizations where, in theory at least, there is policymaking initiative at the local level and meaningful accountability of leaders to members. This is seen as ‘good’, as is the comparatively structureless participation of turning out on big demonstrations such as Make Poverty History in the UK in 2005. On the other hand, there is the less ‘respectable’ Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) participation that is seen as self-interested, or involvement that is ‘thin’ — simply monetary — that is chequebook participation. Both the latter are poorly regarded compared with ‘real’ participation.
Uploads
Papers by William Maloney