Social concertation in times of austerity : European integration and the politics of labour market reforms in Austria and Switzerland / Alexandre Afonso.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Afonso, Alexandre.

Series:

Changing welfare states

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Industrial relations--Austria.

Industrial relations.

Labor mobility.

Austria.

Industrial relations--Switzerland.

Labor mobility--Austria.

Labor mobility--Switzerland.

Switzerland.

Genre:

Academic theses.

Physical Description:

258 pages : 7 fig., 6 tables ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2013.

Summary:

Why and when do governments negotiate with trade unions and employers about labour migration policy in two countries, Social Concertation in Times of Austerity: European Integration and the Politics of Labour Market Reforms in Austria and Switzerland shows that governments involve organised interests in policy-making when they are faced with party-political divisions, or when policy reforms are likely to have risky electoral consequences. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The Strange Survival of Social Concertation in Times of Austerity 15

1 The Puzzle 15

2 The Argument in Brief 20

3 Outline of the Book 22

2 Social Concertation as a Political Strategy 25

1 Gone with the Wind? The Transformations of Corporatism in Europe 25

2 Describing and Explaining Social Concertation 36

3 A Theory of Political Choice for Social Concertation 44

4 Summary 52

3 European Integration, Domestic Politics and Social Concertation 53

1 Internationalisation and Social Concertation: A Prelude 54

2 The Dynamic of Supranational Market-Making in the EU 56

3 The Contested Impact of European Integration on Social Concertation 58

4 European Integration and the Politics of Social Concertation 63

5 Summary 73

4 Methods and Cases 75

1 Measuring Social Concertation 75

2 Explaining Social Concertation: Process-Tracing 77

3 Explaining Social Concertation: Comparing Cases 80

4 Strategies of Data Collection 88

5 Summary 89

5 The Context of Social Concertation in Switzerland and Austria 91

1 Switzerland: Veto Points, Right-Wing Dominance and the Emergence of the Swiss People's Party 93

2 Austria: Corporatism and the Exhaustion of "Proporz" 103

3 Summary 109

6 Social Concertation and Cross-Border Labour Mobility 111

1 Cross-Border Labour Mobility and EU Enlargement 113

2 Austria: Cross-Class Consensus Under a Common Threat 120

3 Switzerland: The Strong Weapons of the Weak 132

4 Summary 154

7 Social Concertation and Unemployment Policy Reforms 155

1 The Politics of Unemployment Policy 156

2 Austria: The Limits of Unilateral Policymaking 159

3 Switzerland: Welfare State Retrenchment and the Radical Right-Wing Push 174

4 Summary 193

8 Synthesis and Comparative Outlook 195

1 Assessing Explanatory Variables 195

2 Limitations and Comparative Evidence 201

3 Conclusion: Securing Consent in Times of Austerity 211.

Notes:

Originally presented as the author's thesis (Ph. D. - Lausanne).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9789089643957

9089643958

OCLC:

856014174