The State and the Labor Market

In the two decades before the mid-1970s, macroeconomic policies in Western Europe were frequently accompanied by policies of direct wage restraint in the pursuit of acceptable levels of employment, inflation, and international competitiveness. The same period witnessed a proliferation of social welfare programs, elements of which were sometimes commingled with demand management and pay policies in trilateral bargaining processes involving gov­ ernments, unions, and employers. In the wake of such subsequent develop­ ments as the oil price shocks, sharply intensified international competition, and slowing of growth rates in productivity, however, governments resorted more frequently to deflationist macroeconomic policies and also to policies aimed directly at increasing IIflexibility" in wage determination and the de­ ployment of labor by the firm. It is a major theme of this very interesting book that these labor market policies have not been demonstrably (or at least sufficiently) effective in com­ bating the high rates of unemployment which have been prevalent in most of the countries of Western Europe since the late 1970s. This theme emerges from the chapters on labor market developments and policies in six countries of Western Europe, the United States, and Hungary (a welcome addition to this type of scholarship), as well as another set of chapters'devoted to specific policy areas. In effect, Samuel Rosenberg and his colleagues-an interna­ tional team of nineteen economists and sociologists-are repeating in con­ crete terms a sermon preached by Keynes over a half century ago.

I. Introduction.- 1 Labor Market Restructuring in Europe and the United States: The Search for Flexibility.- I. Labor Market Segmentation.- II. What is Labor Market Flexibility?.- III. The Rationales for Labor Market Flexibility.- IV. The State and Labor Market Flexibility.- V. The Plan of the Book.- VI. References.- II. Government Policy and the Labor Market: Country Studies.- 2 Government Policy and the Labor Market: The Case of the United Kingdom.- I. Introduction.- II. Government Policy and the Labor Market.- A. Macroeconomic Policy: Unemployment, Inflation, and Income Distribution.- B. Labor Market and Industrial Policies.- C. Industrial Relations Policy.- D. Social Security and Family Policy.- III. Limits to Government Policy: Political and Industrial Responses.- A. Political Responses.- B. Industrial Responses.- IV. Conclusion.- V. References.- 3 Fissure and Discontinuity in U.S. Labor Management Relations.- I. The Characteristics of the Postwar System.- II. The Pressures of the Last Decade.- III. Environmental Pressures.- IV. The Resolution of the Crisis.- V. References.- 4 The Restructuring of the Labor Market, the Labor Force, and the Nature of Employment Relations in the United States in the 1980s.- I. Structural Change: Jobs and Workers.- II. The Labor Market and Social Policy Agenda.- A. Increased Unemployment.- B. Declining Real Minimum Wage.- C. Unemployment Insurance.- D. Trade Adjustment Assistance.- E. Public Service Employment.- F. Welfare.- III. Industrial Relations Policy—Weakening and Busting Unions.- IV. The Changing Nature of Employment Relations.- A. Wage Bargaining.- B. Changes in Work Rules and Job Security Arrangements.- C. The Growth of Contingent Employees.- V. Conclusion.- VI. References.- 5 Employment Policy, the State and the Unions in the Federal Republic of Germany.- I. Introduction.- II. Unemployment Policy.- III. Employment Security and Worker Protection Policy.- IV. Policies toward the Level and Structure of Wages.- A. Wage-Level Policy.- B. Wage Structure Policy.- V. Work Time Reduction.- VI. A Scheme for Analysis and Interpretation.- VII. References.- 6 Reregulating the Labor Market amid an Economic and Political Crisis: Spain, 1975–1986.- I. Introduction.- II. Institutional Background.- III. Wage Control Policy.- IV. The Regulation of Layoffs and Job Security.- V. Conclusion.- VI. References.- 7 The State, the Unions, and the Labor Market: The Italian Case, 1969–1985.- I. Introduction.- II. Pansyndicalism, 1968–1975.- III. The Government of National Solidarity, 1975–1980.- IV. Success and Failure of Trilateral Bargaining, 1980–1985.- V. Conclusion.- VI. References.- 8 State Regulation, Enterprise Behavior and the Labor Market in Hungary, 1968–1983.- I. Introduction.- II. The Effects of the Economic Reform on Enterprise Behavior in the Labor Market, 1968–1971.- A. Profit-Oriented Enterprises and the Liberalization of the Labor Market.- B. Enterprises’ Labor Market Strategies—Adjustments to Competition.- C. Weak Market Mechanisms and Enterprises Bargaining with the State: Impediments for Reform.- III. Recentralization and the Labor Market: The Emergence of the System of Hidden Plan Targets and State Interventions in the Labor Market.- A. Recentralization and Uncertainty of the Rules of the Game.- B. Tensions in the Labor Market, Enterprise Adaptation, and State Intervention.- IV. Economic Stagnation and the Labor Market, 1979–1983.- A. Indebtedness, Restrictions, and Fear of Unemployment.- B. The Liberalization of the “Second Economy”.- V. Concluding Remarks.- VI. References.- III. Youth, Antidiscrimination, and Working-Time Policies.- 9 Youth Interventions, Job Substitution, and Trade Union Policy in Great Britain, 1976–1986.- I. Work Experience and Youth Interventions.- II. The Content of Trade Union Response.- A. The Opposition.- B. TUC Strategy: Regulated Inclusion.- III. The Outcomes of Union Regulation.- A. YTS in Operation.- B. Union Coverage and Bargaining.- C. Substitution.- IV. Evaluation and Conclusion.- V. Appendix: Derivation of Work Experience Intensities.- VI. References.- 10 The Reagan Administration and the Regulation of Labor: The Curious Case of Affirmative Action.- I. History of Affirmative Action.- II. Effectiveness of Affirmative Action.- III. The Reagan Administration Response.- IV. Why Support Goals and Timetables?.- V. Protective Reasons.- VI. Positive Reasons.- VII. Opposition to Goals and Timetables.- VIII. Conclusion.- IX. References.- 11 Work-Sharing Public Policy in France, 1981–1986.- I. The Work-Sharing Debate in France in the Early 1980s.- II. The Quantitative Evaluation of French Work-Sharing Public Policy, 1981–1986.- A. The Macroeconomic Framework.- B. Workweek Reduction: The Break in 1982.- C. The Quantitative Impact of Work-Sharing Policy.- D. Forms of Reduction of Working Time after 1985.- III. The Qualitative Evaluation: The Reduction of Working Time within the Firm.- A. Negotiating Work Sharing.- B. The Multidimensionality of Working-Time Reduction.- IV. Conclusion.- V. References.- 12 Part-Time Employment: A Response to Economic Crisis?.- I. Introduction.- II. Unemployment Policy.- A. Part-Time Work.- B. Reduction of Working Time.- III. The Development and Nature of Part-Time Work in Norway.- A. The Development of Part-Time Work.- B. The Nature of Part-Time Work.- IV. Part-Time Work and Employment and Social Policy.- A. Part-Time Work as Employment Policy.- B. Part-Time Work in an Incomes Policy Perspective.- C. Part-Time Work and Family Policy.- V. Conflicting Interests.- VI. Conclusion.- VII. References.- IV. Conclusion.- 13 The State and the Labor Market: An Evaluation.- I. State Policies for Labor Market Flexibility.- II. The Employment Effects of Labor Market Flexibility.- III. The Dark Side of Labor Market Flexibility.- IV. The State and Labor Market Flexibility: Some Issues for the Future.- V. References.