Dualisation as Class Conflict: The Case of Labour Market and Vocational Training in Germany

2021 ◽  
pp. 31-49
Author(s):  
Chiara Benassi ◽  
Niccolò Durazzi
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Vocational Training ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Stable Equilibrium ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Labour Market Reforms ◽  
Service Sectors

Popular accounts of labour market reforms in Western Europe have identified a process of dualisation over the last three decades, whereby service sector employ-ment has been deregulated while workers in the core manufacturing sector still en-joy high levels of employment protection and high wages. Two different labour market logics are thought to be in place between core and peripheral sectors and to co-exist in a stable equilibrium nurtured by the co-incidence of interests between capital and labour in core manufacturing sector, who jointly acted to safeguard workers in core sectors at the expense of peripheral service sectors. Building on the case studies of labour market and vocational training reform in Germany, this ar-ticle challenges this account. It is argued that processes of dualisation are best conceptualised as the contested outcome of a political conflict between capital and labour. Dualisation is not a stable equilibrium but rather the result of bargain-ing processes between employers who push for liberalization and unions who try to prevent it or - at least - mitigate it.

Understanding the positions taken by moderate union confederations and centre-left parties during labour market reforms in Portugal and Spain: Why the configuration of left parties and trade union confederations matters

2021 ◽  
pp. 095968012110057
Author(s):  
Paulo Marques ◽  
Dora Fonseca
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Stable Equilibrium ◽  
Market Reforms ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Labour Market Reforms ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Radical Left

The insider-outsider politics approach conjectures that moderate unions and centre-left parties safeguard the interests of insiders and neglect outsiders in labour market reforms. This article challenges this hypothesis. By comparing the positions taken by centre-left parties and moderate union confederations during labour market reforms in Portugal and Spain (1975–2019), it shows that while they may indeed protect insiders, they sometimes do the opposite. To explain this, the article argues that more attention must be paid to the configuration of left parties and confederations. In Portugal, where communist and radical left parties were strong, the centre-left was afraid of losing outsiders’ electoral support, and thus it did not follow a pro-insider strategy. This was reinforced by the fact that the centre-left had to face the opposition of a strong class-oriented confederation that was not willing to commit to two-tier reforms. This was not what happened in Spain. The centre-left, supported by a union confederation, undertook a two-tier reform in 1984 because there was a different configuration of left parties and confederations. Notwithstanding, this was not a stable equilibrium because this confederation changed its position over time when it realized the negative consequences of these reforms. Henceforth, their strategy became more pro-outsider.

scholarly journals Productivity Performance of the Service Sectors in European Union Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-22
Author(s):  
Joanna Wyszkowska‑Kuna
Keyword(s):  
Productivity Growth ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Factor Productivity ◽  
New Member States ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Tfp Growth ◽  
Service Sectors ◽  
Communications Services ◽  
The Eu

Economic development has resulted in structural transformation towards economies based on services, which has raised some concerns about the limited opportunities for sustaining productivity growth. The aim of this paper is to examine total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the service sector in comparison with total industries and the manufacturing sector, as well as within the service sector. The study is based on the data from the EU‑KLEMS database (2017), and it covers the years 1995–2015. It refers to EU countries, making it possible to carry out a comparative analysis between countries, in particular between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ member states. The study demonstrates that productivity growth in services was significantly lower than in manufacturing, but compared with total industries, the disparity was not significant. Productivity growth was usually higher in the ‘new’ EU countries than in the ‘old’ ones, except for information and communications services, which, on the whole, were the main driving force behind the productivity growth in services.

scholarly journals Legal change and labour market restructuring in Western Europe and the US

1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Deakin
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Employment Relationship ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Employment Rights ◽  
Market Restructuring

The major changes that have taken place in the New Zealand labour market since 1984, and which are reflected in recent changes to the welfare system, are not unique and follow trends that have developed in other OECD countries in the last decade. One of the most significant of these trends is legislative and other moves to encourage greater "efficiency" in the labour market. Deregulation, involving the withdrawal of legal guarantees of employment protection and union organization, is only one of the techniques which governments have used in an attempt to promote labo,ur market flexibility over the past decade. In continental Europe new forms of employment and the flexibilization of working time have been encouraged without dismantling the framework of employment rights. In many cases this has involved an extended role for collective bargaining and worker representation at plant and company level. In the US and Britain, by contrast, flexibility has been pursued at the cost of destabilizing the employment relationship, undermining training and job quality.

Relational Dynamics and Outcomes in Small and Large Service Organizations

2013 ◽  
pp. 363-375
Author(s):  
Siti Haryati Shaikh Ali ◽  
Nelson Oly Ndubisi
Keyword(s):  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Relational Dynamics ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Service Sectors

The rapid growth of the service sector and servitization of the manufacturing sector have both contributed to rising competition and have forced managers to look for effective ways to differentiate their services from competitors and competitive edge. Consequently, the value of establishing closer and lasting relationship with customers have come to the fore, and researchers as well as industry practitioners are trying to better understand the best strategies for achieving this goal. This paper evaluates two strategies firms have adopted in trying to build lasting relationship with customers, namely respect and rapport. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the concept of respect and rapport and how they affect customer loyalty. The study draws from existing literature and surveys customers of two service sectors in Asia. The research hypotheses connecting the three dimensions of respect and two dimensions of rapport with customer loyalty were tested using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. These findings lead to research and managerial implications that conclude the chapter.

scholarly journals Analisis Transformasi Struktur Ekonomi 7 Provinsi di Wilayah Jawa dan Bali (Pendekatan LQ dan Shift Share)

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-200
Keyword(s):  
Labor Productivity ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Job Creation ◽  
Economic Structure ◽  
The Other ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Service Sectors

This study is aimed to: (a) analyze changes in the economic structure of Java and Bali from 2010 to 2019, (b), understand to what extent the level of specialization of economic sectors in the Java and Bali Region that utilizes the base or the leading sector, and (c) understand on economic sectors that are growing progressively and have high competitiveness in the Java and Bali Regions. This study uses the LQ method and shift share analysis. Results show that the economy of Java-Bali from 2010 to 2019 did not experience much shift in the economic structure. In general, sectors that became the source of growth in 2010 in each province in Java-Bali remained the base sector/sources of growth in 2019. The shift share analysis shows that the Manufacturing sector in most provinces in Java-Bali is in quadrant III, which means that it grows slowly and its commodities lack of competitiveness. Meanwhile, the Communication and Information sector is mostly in quadrant II, which means this sector is growing progressively but lacks of competitiveness. Likewise with the Transportation and Warehousing sector, in most provinces this sector is able to grow progressively, but this sector lacks good competitiveness (quadrant II). On the other hand, the Service sectors in most provinces have grown progressively and have good competitiveness (quadrant I). The implication of this finding is the presence of symptoms of premature deindustrialization in Java-Bali, since the Services sector is growing faster, more progressive with a contribution to GDRP exceeds the Manufacturing sector, whereas the Manufacturing sector is not mature yet. Premature deindustrialization in Java-Bali has the potential to reduce job creation in the manufacturing sector and increase the risk of unemployment. Although the Service sector is growing progressively and competitively; However, if we look at the labor productivity, it appears that the labor productivity of the Service sector is much smaller than the labor productivity of the Manufacturing sector

The Politics of Change. Coalitional politics and labour market reforms during the sovereign debt crisis in Portugal

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
RUI BRANCO ◽  
DANIEL CARDOSO
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Coalition Building ◽  
Market Reforms ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Sovereign Debt Crisis ◽  
Labour Market Reforms ◽  
Coalitional Politics

Abstract This article describes and explains labour market reforms in Portugal during the sovereign debt crisis from 2011 to 2014. Policy outputs were not homogenous, but differentiated between a first phase where recalibration co-existed alongside hard liberalising measures and a second phase, from late 2012, where recalibration was dropped and liberalisation further deregulated employment protection and security and eroded collective bargaining. This variation is explained by the changing coalitional politics and blame allocation underpinning policymaking under conditionality. Initial reforms resulted from a broad informal political coalition spanning the governing centre-right parties, the main opposition party, a trade union and employer confederations; its breakdown in late 2012 led to the executive’s increasing centralisation, the shut down of social concertation, and more radical policy outputs. The article shows that cooperation between government and opposition and government and social partners is possible even under external conditionality, how coalition politics affects the nature and direction of reforms, and highlights how political dynamics of blame allocation drive the process of coalition building and breakdown.

The (negative) impact of supply-side labour market reforms on productivity: an overview of the evidence1

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 445-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred Kleinknecht
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Market Reforms ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Labour Market Reforms ◽  
The Usa

Abstract In spite of impressive stories about artificial intelligence or Industry 4.0, the USA, Japan and Western Europe experience a severe productivity crisis since about 2005. This article fills a gap in recent attempts at understanding the productivity crisis, arguing that there is a negative impact of supply-side labour market reforms on innovation and productivity. The negative impact of more flexible labour relations is significant in medium-high and high-tech sectors with a high ‘cumulativeness’ of knowledge, that is if the historical accumulation of firm-specific and often tacit knowledge is important for innovative competencies. In low-tech sectors as well as for high-tech entrepreneurship, where cumulativeness of knowledge is low, there is little or no effect.

scholarly journals Technological Trends in the Manufacturing and Service Sectors. The Case of Montenegro

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-133
Author(s):  
Nina Vujanović
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Technological Efficiency ◽  
Service Sectors ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Technological Improvements ◽  
Further Development

Abstract Technological efficiency is one of the main factors of economic growth in modern history. Technologies have traditionally been important for manufacturing sector, but the age of digitalization has also made service sector increasingly rely on modern technologies. There are not many studies measuring the technological trends of these two sectors. This study uses the micro approach of the dynamic panel to measure productivity of the manufacturing and service sectors in Montenegro during 2010 to 2019, between the two global economic crises, using firm level data. The results indicate a clear upward technological trend in manufacturing but not in the service sector. Divergent technological trends are found amongst the manufacturing and service industries that require different level of technologies and knowledge in their production processes. The study concludes that there is a room for further technological improvements in both sectors and proposes concrete policy measures for further development.

scholarly journals Regional dimension of firm level productivity determinants: the case of manufacturing and service firms in Ukraine

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (52) ◽  
pp. 81-95
Author(s):  
Andrzej Cieślik ◽  
Jan Jakub Michałek ◽  
Iryna Gauger
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Entire Country ◽  
Service Sectors ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract The main goal of this paper is to empirically investigate the regional dimension of productivity determinants for 24 regions of Ukraine using micro-level dataset for individual firms in 2013. The novelty of our analysis is the comparison of the determinants of productivity in the manufacturing and service sectors. We estimate both pooled regressions for all regions and separate regressions for particular regions. The estimation results obtained for the entire country demonstrate that the majority of our explanatory variables are statistically significant for the manufacturing sector and all are statistically significant for the service sector although at different levels of significance. At the same time, the estimation results obtained separately for each region show a large degree of heterogeneity across the regions and sectors and the lack of scale economies at the firm-level.

scholarly journals Forming Social Partnership Policy in Vocational Training of Service Sector Specialists in Germany and Austria

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 55-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadiya Kredenets
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Response ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Vocational Training ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Social Partnership ◽  
Partnership Development ◽  
Effective System ◽  
Market Needs

Abstract The article deals with the problem of forming social partnership policy in vocational training of service sector specialists in Germany and Austria. The foreign and domestic pedagogical experience in establishing an effective system of social partnership in vocational education has been analyzed. The author has considered main factors of social partnership development in vocational education that influence the forming of normative and legal support; a multilevel structure of government management, powers of employers and trade unions, regional economic development authorities of local government (industrial, commercial, trade, agricultural units), professional orientation of future specialists vocational education institutions and enterprises where specialists are trained; continuous monitoring of labour market needs and dynamic response to its changes; mechanisms of multivariate and multilevel approach to vocational education funding. Based on the analysis of scientific and reference sources the author has concluded that the main feature of vocational education in Germany and Austria is the participation of social partners who make common decisions and bear responsibility for normative and legal support; a multilevel management structure; monitoring of labour market needs and dynamic response to its changes; an optimal combination of theoretical and practical vocational training of future specialists.

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