Fredrik Engelstad, Anniken Hagelund (Eds.) Cooperation and Conflict the Nordic Way. Work, Welfare, and Institutional Change in Scandinavia Fredrik Engelstad, Anniken Hagelund (Eds.) Cooperation and Conflict the Nordic Way Work, Welfare, and Institutional Change in Scandinavia Managing Editor: Andrea S. Dauber Associate Editor: Dieter Bögenhold Published by De Gruyter Open Ltd, Warsaw/Berlin Part of Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Munich/Boston This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 license, which means that the text may be used for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. Copyright © 2015 Fredrik Engelstad, Anniken Hagelund ISBN: 978-3-11-044427-8 e-ISBN: 978-3-11-044428-5 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. Managing Editor: Andrea S. Dauber Associate Editor: Dieter Bögenhold www.degruyteropen.com Cover illustration: © Sébastien Bonaimé Contents Preface XII Fredrik Engelstad, Anniken Hagelund 1 Introduction: Institutional Change in Neo-Corporatist Society 1 1.1 Scandinavian Specificities 3 1.2 Understanding Institutional Change – Theoretical Inspirations 6 1.3 The Politics of Compromise 10 1.4 Stability or Disintegration? 13 References 15 Cathie Jo Martin 2 Negotiation and the Micro-Foundations of Institutional Change 17 2.1 Models and Determinants of Institutional Change 19 2.2 The Micro-Foundational Underpinnings of Institutional Change 22 2.2.1 Prototypes of Negotiation 23 2.2.2 Negotiation Myopia 24 2.2.3 Rules to Overcome Negotiation Myopia 25 2.2.4 Rules for Collective Engagement and the Institutions of Consensual Democracies 27 2.2.5 Rules for Collective Political Engagement and Institutional Change 28 2.3 Conclusion 31 References 33 PART I: Working Life Institutionalization – Negotiating Large Scale Social Change Fredrik Engelstad 3 Property Rights, Governance, and Power Balances 36 3.1 Mechanisms of Institutional Change 37 3.2 A Brief Note on Property Rights 39 3.3 The Empirical Landscape: Background 40 3.4 Case 1: Job Related Co-Determination 41 3.5 Case 2: Employee Participation in Top-Level Decision-Making 45 3.6 Case 3: Gender Quotas to Boards of Directors 48 3.7 Concluding on Mechanisms and Power Relations 51 References 54 Eivind Falkum 4 Institutionalization and Dynamic Change of Institutions – the Basic Agreement and Tripartite Structures in Norway 56 4.1 Theoretical Perspectives on Institutional Design, Development and Resilience 57 4.2 Institutionalization of Working Life 58 4.3 The First Ideas of Economic Democracy 59 4.4 Designing the Basic Agreement in 1935 61 4.5 Institutional Design of Tripartite Structures 64 4.6 Changes in Institutional Contexts 65 4.7 Industrial Democracy and Experimental Design of Workers’ Participation 67 4.8 The Change of the Basic Agreement in 1966 69 4.9 Positive and Negative Feedback of Institutional Change 70 4.10 Institutional Design and Designers 71 4.11 Path Dependencies, Resilience and Institutional Matrix 73 References 75 Inger Marie Hagen 5 Participation and Co-Determination: Why Some Arrangements Fail and Others Prevail 77 5.1 Spheres of Democracy 79 5.2 Company Assembly and Employee Representation on the Board 81 5.2.1 Company Assembly and Corporate Governance 84 5.3 ”The Democratic Company Assembly” in 2014 85 5.3.1 Coverage 1: Company Assemblies 85 5.3.2 Coverage 2: Board members 86 5.3.3 Contested Arrangements? 88 5.4 Several Attempts – One Success? 89 5.4.1 1920 and 1945 90 5.5 Institutional Change and Consistence 92 5.5.1 Effects of Legal Changes 92 5.5.2 Layering 93 References 95 Mari Teigen 6 The Making of Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards in Norway 96 6.1 Theoretical Perspectives 97 6.2 A Note on the Data 98 6.3 National Preconditions and Processes 99 6.3.1 The Norwegian Gender Equality Policy Institution 101 6.3.2 Positive Action and Gender Quota Arrangements in Norway 101 6.3.3 Employee Representation on Corporate Boards 103 6.3.4 Deregulation Meets the Institutionalization of Gender Equality Policies 104 6.3.5 Women in Management 106 6.3.6 The Public Debate on Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards 106 6.3.7 The Policy Agency Context 109 6.4 Discussion 111 6.5 Conclusion 113 References 115 Cathrine Holst 7 Institutional Variation and Normative Theory: Lessons from a Local Equal Pay Controversy 118 7.1 Is Equal Pay Justified? The Standard Academic Debate on Comparable Worth 119 7.1.1 Standard Contra Arguments 119 7.1.2 Standard Pro Arguments 121 7.2 A Local Controversy: Equal Pay in a Scandinavian Context 123 7.2.1 Additional Contra Concerns and Arguments 124 7.2.2 Additional Pro Concerns and Arguments 126 7.3 Why is the Local Controversy Seemingly Richer? 128 7.4 Lessons for Normative Theory 131 References 132 PART II: Institutional Change in Work and Vocational Education Dag Olberg 8 Regulating the Temporary Layoff Institution – Coalitions and Drift 136 8.1 Introduction 136 8.1.1 Chapter Outline 137 8.1.2 Research Questions 137 8.1.3 Data 138 8.2 The Crisis – Overcapacity, Working Time and Employment Relations 139 8.2.1 European Comparative Institutional Perspectives 139 8.2.2 Nordic Comparison 140 8.2.3 The Norwegian Temporary Layoff Institution 142 8.3 Regulatory Changes – Variations According to Labour Market Situation 143 8.3.1 The Ebb and Flow of Regulatory Changes 143 8.3.2 Regulations 2009 – The Role of the Social Partners 144 8.3.3 The Extent of Temporary Layoffs 145 8.3.4 Regulations and Re-Regulation – 2012 146 8.3.5 Change in Practices – Unemployment Benefits and Temporary Layoffs 147 8.3.6 The Accord 148 8.4 The Temporary Layoff Institution and the Role of the Social Partners 149 8.4.1 Political Coalitions – Bipartite Coalitions Within the Tripartite Model 149 8.4.2 Interest Construction – Mobilization and Power, Renegotiations 150 8.5 Conclusion 153 References 155 Jørgen Svalund 9 Cooperation and Power in Labour Adjustment Choices: A Nordic Perspective 157 9.1 Analytical Framework 159 9.1.1 Institutions, Agency and Outcomes 159 9.1.2 Labour Adjustment Strategies in the Face of Institutional Regulations 159 9.1.3 Power and Compromises Within Long-Term Reciprocal Relationships 160 9.2 Data 161 9.3 Labour Adjustments in the Nordic Countries: Institutional Characteristics and Alternatives 162 9.3.1 Dismissal Regulation 162 9.3.2 Regulation of Temporary Layoffs 163 9.3.3 Unemployment Benefits and Early Retirement Systems 163 9.4 Power, Cooperation and Institutions within Three Industries in Norway 164 9.4.1 Manufacturing 165 9.4.2 Construction 166 9.4.3 Newspapers 168 9.5 Power, Cooperation and Institutions Within Manufacturing in the Nordic Countries 169 9.5.1 Denmark: Dismissals as an Employer Prerogative – Employer Choices without Union Interference 170 9.5.2 Finland: High Level of Employer Discretion during Dismissals Combined with Limited Veto Possibilities 171 9.5.3 Sweden: Lack of Temporary Layoff Mechanism Combined with Strict Dismissal Rules Laid Ground for Union Power 172 9.6 Discussion and Conclusion 173 References 177 Heidi Nicolaisen, Sissel C. Trygstad 10 Preventing Dualization the Hard Way – Regulating the Norwegian Labour Market 179 10.1 Dualization of Working Conditions and Labour Relations? 180 10.1.1 Methods and Data 181 10.2 Analytical Perspectives on the Prospects of Change 182 10.3 The Foundation of the Norwegian Industrial Relations Model 184 10.3.1 The Cleaning Industry – on the Margins of the Norwegian Model of Labour Relations 185 10.3.2 The Structure 185 10.3.3 The Workforce 185 10.3.4 The Labour Relations 186 10.3.5 The Competition 186 10.3.6 Different Degrees of Decency 187 10.4 Measures to Prevent Dualization 188 10.4.1 Extension of Collective Agreements 189 10.4.2 Approvals and ID Cards 189 10.4.3 A Mix of Soft and Hard Regulations 190 10.5 The Introduction of Hard Regulations – A Window of Opportunity 190 10.5.1 The Change Capacity of Hard Regulations – The First Experiences 192 10.5.2 Something Has Already Worked 194 10.6 Discussion and Concluding Remarks 195 References 199 Torgeir Nyen, Anna Hagen Tønder 11 Cooperation and Reform in Vocational Education and Training 201 11.1 Historical Background: A Strong Coalition Between Employers in Crafts and Industry 204 11.1.1 Apprenticeship Training in Industry Regulated in Collective Agreements 204 11.1.2 The Post-War Period: The State Takes a More Active Role 206 11.1.3 The 1980s: Revitalization of Apprenticeship Training 208 11.1.4 Reform 94: Apprenticeship Training an Integral Part of Upper Secondary Education 209 11.1.5 Reform 06: Broader Courses with Opportunities for Specialization 211 11.1.6 Recent Developments 211 11.1.7 Institutional Changes 213 References 216 PART III: Negotiations in Welfare State Institutions Anniken Hagelund, Axel West Pedersen 12 To Reform or Not to Reform? Explaining the Coexistence of Successful Pension Reform and Sick Pay Inertia in Norway 220 12.1 Introduction 220 12.2 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Policy Reform 221 12.3 Case I: Sickness Insurance 223 12.4 Case II: Pension Reform 225 12.5 Actor Constellations and Strategic Games 227 12.6 Institutional Dynamics and Path Dependency 231 12.7 Discourse and Framing 233 12.8 Conclusion 236 References 240 Mia Vabø 13 Changing Welfare Institutions as Sites of Contestation 242 13.1 The Contested Character of Welfare Service Institutions 243 13.2