Abstract
AbstractGerman public sector wage restraint has been explained through the presence of a specific type of inter‐sectoral wage coordination in the industrial relations system—that is, export sector‐led pattern bargaining. First, as a literature‐assessing exercise, this paper reviews the literature in industrial relations and comparative political economy (CPE) and finds that (i) the origins and mechanics of inter‐sectoral wage coordination through pattern bargaining have never been laid out clearly; (ii) that the mechanisms of the pattern bargaining thesis have never been tested empirically; and (iii) that the CPE literature reveals an export‐sector bias. Second, as a theory‐testing exercise, hoop tests are performed to verify the pattern bargaining hypothesis. The key finding is that Germany cannot be considered a case of export sector‐driven pattern bargaining, opening a new research agenda for the study of public sector wage setting centred on public sector employment relations, public finance, public administrations and the politics of fiscal policy.
Highlights
German public sector wage restraint has been explained through the presence of a specific type of inter-sectoral wage coordination in the industrial relations system— that is, export sector-led pattern bargaining
The ultimate contribution the paper provides is an empirical falsification of the widespread belief according to which wage restraint in the German public sector1 can be explained through the features of this structure for the coordination of collective bargaining
This pattern bargaining system has long been acclaimed in industrial relations and comparative political economy (CPE) scholarship for its alleged capacity to ensure the transmission of wage restraint from the export-oriented industries to those sheltered from competition in international markets
Summary
This paper has both a literature-assessing and a theory-testing ambition It deals with the study of export sector-led pattern bargaining as a specific type of inter-sectoral wage coordination institution. Germany is famously championed for featuring an export sector-led patternbargaining type of wage coordination across different bargaining units in the various sectors of its economy.. Germany is famously championed for featuring an export sector-led patternbargaining type of wage coordination across different bargaining units in the various sectors of its economy.2 This pattern bargaining system has long been acclaimed in industrial relations and comparative political economy (CPE) scholarship for its alleged capacity to ensure the transmission of wage restraint from the export-oriented industries to those sheltered from competition in international markets. The concluding section wraps up the findings and discusses elements for an alternative research agenda on public sector wage setting
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