Title: Liberalization and the Left in Western Europe: An Exploratory Analysis of Labour Market Reforms in Italy and the UK
Abstract: It is well known that Italy and the UK belong to two very different welfare regime ‘families’: the former a classically ‘Bismarckian’ system of social protection, the latter with ‘Beveridgean’ social security arrangements. Moreover, the policymaking context is also very different in the two cases: Italy has a degree of corporatist policy-making and unstable and divided governments, whereas in the UK trade unions are largely excluded from policy processes, and governments are strong and cohesive. In spite of these differences, labour market policies in the two countries have tended to converge over the last decade and a half. Italy has embarked on the privatization and decentralization of its job centres, incorporated a ‘workfare’ logic into the allocation of unemployment support, and introduced a range of flexible employment contracts. In the UK, recent reforms have introduced a statutory minimum wage, enhanced trade union participation in the workplace, and improved the rights of temporary workers. In sum, from very different starting points the two countries have been moving closer together in labour market and welfare policy. A plausible hypothesis to explain this puzzle is that the initiatives at the European level - notably the European Employment Strategy - have provided a push for all EU countries to converge on a ‘flexicurity’ model. However, the UK’s Euroskeptic traditions and focus on experiences in the Anglo-Saxon world mean that EU initiatives have had limited impact there. So the puzzle in part remains: why the convergence? In this paper we examine comparatively the recent experience of the two countries and seek explanations for this convergence. We focus on the periods of centre-left government in the two countries during the 1990s and 2000s, and analyze what the labour market reforms pursued by left parties tell us about the state of the European left at the beginning of the 21st century.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-08-15
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot