Power and Institutions in Industrial Relation Regimes. Political Science
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PerOla Öberg and Torsten Svensson (eds) Power and institutions in industrial relation regimes Political science perspectives on the transition of the Swedish model ARBETSLIV I OMVANDLING WORK LIFE IN TRANSITION | 2005:12 ISBN 91-7045-763-8 | ISSN 1404-8426 National Institute for Working Life The National Institute for Working Life is a na tional centre of knowledge for issues concerning working life. The Institute carries out research and development covering the whole field of working life, on commission from The Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications. Research is multi disciplinary and arises from problems and trends in working life. Communication and information are important aspects of our work. For more informa tion, visit our website www.arbetslivsinstitutet.se Work Life in Transition is a scientific series published by the National Institute for Working Life. Within the series dissertations, anthologies and original research are published. Contributions on work or ganisation and labour market issues are particularly welcome. They can be based on research on the deve lopment of institutions and organisations in work life but also focus on the situation of different groups or individuals in work life. A multitude of subjects and different perspectives are thus possible. The authors are usually affiliated with the social, behavioural and humanistic sciences, but can also be found among other researchers engaged in research which supports work life development. The series is intended for both researchers and others interested in gaining a deeper understanding of work life issues. Manuscripts should be addressed to the Editor and will be subjected to a traditional review proce dure. The series primarily publishes contributions by authors affiliated with the National Institute for Working Life. ARBETSLIV I OMVANDLING WORK LIFE IN TRANSITION Editor-in-chief: Eskil Ekstedt Co-editors: Marianne Döös, Jonas Malmberg, Anita Nyberg, Lena Pettersson and Ann-Mari Sätre Åhlander © National Institute for Working Life & authors, 2005 National Institute for Working Life, SE-113 91 Stockholm, Sweden ISBN 91-7045-763-8 ISSN 1404-8426 Printed at Elanders Gotab, Stockholm Foreword Lars Magnusson, Professor of Economic History and Programme Director The project ‘The Swedish model in Transition’ was launched by Sweden’s National Institute for Working Life in collaboration with the Faculty of Social Sciences at Uppsala University in 1996. During its first phase, it was mainly a research school for approximately fifteen doctoral students and a small number of post-doctoral researchers. The overall aim of the programme was to strengthen Swedish research within the field of working life and the labour market. It was initially conceived as a cross-disciplinary programme, and encompassed scholars and students from a wide range of social science disciplines. When, two years ago, the programme was renewed – under the perhaps more prosaic name ‘The Programme for Labour Market and Industrial Relations Research’ – its post- doctoral character was strengthened. It now includes three senior researchers and two post-doctoral researchers as well as three doctoral students in political science and economic history. So far, the programme has generated more than a dozen doctoral dissertations and a large number of publications. Over the years, an annual seminar has been held, which has contributed to the strengthening of working life and labour market research in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Upp- sala University. The general idea underlying the research initiative was to explore recent de- velopments on the Swedish labour market and its system of industrial relations – the frequently discussed ‘Swedish model’. We wanted to know whether there is any truth in the often alleged notion of the demise of this renowned, but seldom precisely formulated, model. We asked whether the Swedish labour market today has any fundamentally different traits than previously. If so, how have the changes affected the industrial relations system, ie relations between the social partners? Like most other research, ours may not so far have provided final an- swers to questions of this kind. However, we have been able, at least in part, to present a much richer picture. To this extent, we have contributed to greater understanding of the process of change in Sweden that originated with the severe unemployment crisis of the early 1990s and continues today. The Swedish labour market is currently characterised by problems that originate from the intensifi- cation of international market competition, which include a higher rate of unem- ployment and market mismatches. The general business environment of today is, at least in certain aspects, radically different from the heyday of the Swedish model. Also, institutional change has influenced the workings of the industrial relations system (where the withdrawal of the central employer organisation from organised collaboration within the old tripartite system has been pivotal), of the labour market, and of the welfare sector. However, it is still too early to say that we are witnessing the demise of the Swedish model. Undoubtedly, there is much change, but there is also much resistance to change and continuation of the pro- cesses of path dependency. This volume consists of a set of essays written by political scientists who have been involved in the programme as doctoral students or post-doctoral resear- chers, and attempts to present some of the contributions and insights gained so far. It will be followed by a second volume presenting the research findings of the economic historians and economists involved. The aims of the current publi- cation are to provide better understanding of recent developments on the Swedish labour market and to stimulate further research and discussion on this topic. It is my sincere contention that our joint research efforts have generated many new empirical and theoretical results, which may promote the development of a more cross-disciplinary approach to labour market and industrial relations research. To the extent that we have succeeded in this, the great deal of work put in by so many within the framework of the programme has been worth its while. Contents Foreword Lars Magnusson, Professor of Economic History and Programme Director Introduction 1. Power over, within and through institutions 1 Torsten Svensson and PerOla Öberg Power over institutions 2. Explaining wage coordination 13 Karl-Oskar Lindgren 3. Gender equality politics: ideas and strategies 57 Christina Bergqvist 4. Undermining corporatism 77 Joakim Johansson Power within institutions 5. Classes, sectors and political cleavages 107 Kåre Vernby 6. Power and trust: mechanisms of cooperation 127 Torsten Svensson and PerOla Öberg Power through institutions 7. Organised labour and varieties of capitalism 161 Sven Oskarsson 8. Unemployment, workplace democracy and political participation 189 Per Adman 9. Equal pay and the impact of the European Union 199 Tanja Olson Blandy Chapter 1. Power over, within and through institutions Torsten Svensson and PerOla Öberg Power is often in focus in investigations undertaken from a political science perspective. As contributions to this book show, this is also the case when poli- tical scientists study the labour market. The outcomes of power struggles are, of course, dependent on ‘the rules of the game’, or what is now usually called the design of institutions. This volume considers struggles over institutional design, how conflicts and cooperation occur within institutions, and how some institu- tions may disable or enable actors within industrial relations regimes. Power over institutions: wage negotiation, equality and corporatism There has been a renewed interest in institutions since the 1980s, within both social science in general and political science in particular. In most studies, insti- tutional differences are used as an explanation for some variation of interest to the researcher. Expressions such as ‘institutions matter’ or ‘rediscovering institu- tions’ are frequently employed to insist on the importance of political or econo- mic arrangements as determinants of behaviours and various social phenomena (Rothstein, 1998, p. 139ff). The same trend is evident among economists, where we find a growing interest in the effects of political institutions on economic policy and public finance, thus enabling talk of a ‘new political economy’ (Pers- son, 2002; Persson et al., 2000; Gilles, 2000). Within the sphere of industrial relations, such development is reflected in a growing body of literature con- cerned with the importance of bargaining systems. Most studies in this arena take institutions as given, and focus on variation on one or another measure of wel- fare. The discussion emanating from Calmfors’ and Driffill’s (1988) study of the effects of unemployment and inflation provides a good example. Such endeavour seems to be both reasonable and fruitful. Institutions are, by definition, enduring entities that demarcate, restrict and enable human action. Therefore, the existence of a certain institution can have tremendous implications for the behaviours of the actors concerned, and also has great social, economic and political effects. But, at the same time, even though institutions are stable, they are chosen by humans in the first instance; they exist only for so long as they are accepted by the majority, and they do change from time to time. From a rationalistic