Labour Market Governance Research Articles

K.R. Shyam Sundar: Critical Essays on Labour Codes, Labour Institutions and Labour Market Governance in the Post-Covid-19 Times in India

K.R. Shyam Sundar: Critical Essays on Labour Codes, Labour Institutions and Labour Market Governance in the Post-Covid-19 Times in India

Governance Challenges and Opportunities for the International Labour Organization in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract The International Labour Organization has confronted several governance challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article looks at the impact of the pandemic on both the internal operations of this unique tripartite UN Specialized Agency and on the ILO’s substantive work on labour market and social protection governance. It explores how international labour standards and their monitoring offer human rights pointers for addressing the crisis. The article highlights interaction (not always coherent) between the ILO and other organizations in connection with COVID-19 and economic recovery. It foreshadows initiatives on how to ‘build back better,’ with the ILO again seeking a strengthened multilateral role in support of its social justice mandate, as informed by resolutions adopted by the International Labour Conference. The article also touches on the pandemic’s impact on the functioning of the ILO Administrative Tribunal, which adjudicates employment disputes for many international organizations.

The local governance of active inclusion: A field for social partner action

The idea of ‘active inclusion’ was embraced by the European Commission in 2008 and supported financially through the European Social Fund, inspiring national and subnational reforms throughout Europe. This article analyses the role played by social partners in its implementation, using three comparative case studies to assess its transposition at the local level in Spain, France and Sweden. Despite convergence in the vocabulary used by actors involved in labour market governance, translation into local measures is different, with significant implications for policy-making. To explain the varieties of active inclusion, I focus on the interplay between structure and the agency of competing local political and social actors who participate in labour market governance.

On Detention and Skill: Reflections on Immigrant Incarceration, Bodying Practices, and the Definition of Skill

The use of detention as a tool of immigrant enforcement has grown in the United States and around the world. In this article, I examine the practices used to structure the physical detention of immigrants and explore the role that carceral immigrant control plays as a form of labor market governance. I argue that the same security and detention practices that equate being out of status with criminality are also used to tag immigrants as unskilled. Through the delineation of skill categories, which are vested with certain political rights, I posit that this carceral enforcement of skill categories shapes how immigrants are able to navigate the labor market, with particular attention to the implications for recipients of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) protections.

Matching Inefficiencies, Labor Market Flexibility and Local Democracy in Spain

By applying a stochastic production frontier approach to the matching process of unemployed and vacancies, this paper provides novel detailed insights into the process of job creation in Spain over the 2006-2012 period. The methodology produces estimates of the relative importance of demand and supply factors for the creation of new jobs, and of regional inefficiencies of job creation. This paper represents a first attempt to test whether a more flexible labour market as designed by the 2010 reform affects the matching efficiencies. We also investigate the possible link existing between local democracy (as factor influencing labour market governance) and inefficiency, handling endogeneity. Results suggest that the matching process was inefficient before the 2008 crisis. Efficiency increased during recession/rebound probably as consequence of policies aims to strengthen the economic system. In particular, the 2010 reform appears to have improved on average the matching efficiencies. Local democracy positively influences efficiency (and the effect is substantially higher when endogeneity in the inefficiency is handled). Despite these considerations, regional disparities in matching efficiencies persisted over time. Therefore, these results support the recommendation of further reducing matching inefficiencies before implementing policies aimed to increase the stock of vacancies at least in regions characterized by persistent inefficiencies.

The Runaway Production Complex? The Film Industry as a Driver of Urban Economic Revitalization in the United States

Cities and states across the United States have turned to cultural industries to revitalize their economies, but we argue that the dynamics of agglomeration and labor market governance are crucial to the prospects for local economic growth from these sectors. This paper analyzes recent changes in the American film industry, traditionally a “high road” model of flexible production and employment. We examine the rapid rise of state tax incentives and spatial dispersal of production within the United States, the destabilization of traditional industrial complexes in California and New York, and the development of new centers in states like Louisiana and New Mexico. Our findings suggest that the spatial fragmentation of the industry is undermining established forms of regulation, introducing a new volatility in the labor market, and challenging the ability of localities to benefit from growth in the industry.

Labour Market Governance and the Creation of Outsiders

AbstractUsing case‐study data, the article examines the contention that protective labour market policies and trade union action are responsible for growing divisions between labour market ‘insiders and outsiders’. Case studies are reported on developments in collective bargaining in the hospitals and engineering sectors from seven western and central European countries. The article finds that managerial strategies, and interactions between management and unions, have to be considered to give a full account of the growth of precarious employment.

Unemployment Benefits, Activation and the Interaction between Levels of Government: Experiences with Moral Hazard in Multi-Tiered Labour Market Governance Systems

Unemployment Benefits, Activation and the Interaction between Levels of Government: Experiences with Moral Hazard in Multi-Tiered Labour Market Governance Systems

When Social Partners Unite – Explaining Continuity and Change in Austrian and Dutch Labour Market Governance

AbstractWhy do Austria and the Netherlands, two highly corporatist, coordinated, consensual countries diverge with respect to the involvement of social partners in their Public Employment Service? By comparing and contrasting the competing predictions of the power‐resource, employer‐centred and social partnership approaches, we identify a key omitted variable that can explain the observed variations: the ability of the social partners to unite on reform positions. We demonstrate that when the social partners are divided, their collective power is reduced and partisan‐based policy outcomes become more pronounced. In turn, when the social partners jointly favour a particular outcome, their collective power increases and they can override governmental reform plans, even if the government holds a large legislative majority. These findings highlight the causal importance of power relations between and within the social partners for institutional continuity and change.

There and back again: convergence towards the competition state plan

The competition state thesis was first penned nearly 20 years ago against a backdrop of Thatcherism transitioning to Blairism. It describes a scenario in which advanced welfare states, stripped of resources and legitimacy, are disempowered to such an extent that they are replaced by the competition state. It is posited that no longer is the state primarily concerned with decommodifying citizens. Marked by lower social spending, lower tax, a reliance on active labour market programmes and governance through flexible networks consisting of state and non-state actors, institutions and organisations, the competition state is fundamentally geared towards ensuring the conditions for a successful global market economy. Previous work argued that empirical analysis of the competition state suggested that the competition state took more than one form but that it was a very real phenomenon. This paper seeks to query whether such conclusions can be maintained when a longitudinal approach is taken. Evidence would suggest yet again that there is no single approach to social policy; however, it would appear that, for all the diversity that exists within the political economy of welfare states, the impact of the competition state is always present.

Labor Market Governance and Regional Development in The Philippines: Uneven Trends and Outcomes

Globalization has fuelled the desire for simplicity and flexibility in rules and processes within nations. de Soto (2000) calls for the simplification of rules to enable people to join the formal economy. Friedman (2005) echoes the need for simpler rules, to attract business and capital. Market-based approaches to governing have been adopted in many nations due to globalization. Recent developments demonstrate that such approaches fail. Globalization may lead to impoverishment in the absence of proper forms of governance (Cooney 2000). That is why it has the tendency to become a race to the bottom. Regulatory measures can be costly, and the costs of doing business are uneven across nations. This unevenness is being used as a comparative advantage. Others call this regulatory competition (Smith-Bozek 2007) or competitive governance (Schachtel and Sahmel 2000), which is similar to the model of Charles Tiebout. Collaborative governance is an approach that governments could use in lieu of the competitive method. Mechanisms that enable stakeholders to exchange information, harmonize activities, share resources, and enhance capacities (Himmelman 2002) are needed. Philippine public policy encourages a shift in modes of realizing labor market governance outcomes from command to collaboration (Sale and Bool 2010B; Sale 2011). Is labor market governance and regional development in the Philippines collaborative? Or is the opposite - competitive governance (Tiebout model) - more evident? What is the dominant approach? This preliminary research tackles these questions by looking at recent data on average and minimum wages, wage differentials, trade union density, collective bargaining coverage, small and bigger enterprises, employment, unemployment and underemployment, inflation, poverty incidence, labor productivity, family income, among others, across regions of the country. The issue is studied in the context of legal origins. Cultural explanations are broached.

Japan’s Experience with Fiscal Policy in the 1990s in the Aftermath of the Bubble Economy

Nakao examines the evolution of Japanese fiscal policy in the Nineties and its current challenges. His account begins with an analysis of the collapse of the financial bubble at the beginning of the Nineties. He argues that the prolonged economic slump of the last decade largely depends on the effects of wealth losses on consumption and investment decisions and on balance sheet problems of financial and non-financial corporations. These problems were exacerbated by several structural factors, ranging from population ageing to the inflexibility of labour market and corporate governance. Nakao notes that Japanese authorities took an active approach. Many large fiscal packages were introduced to boost the economy determining a sizeable increase in public capital expenditure. Interest rates were reduced. Wide-ranging structural reforms were promoted. However, fiscal expansion did not succeed in reviving the economy. The multiplier effect of public works decreased. Public debt accumulation may have determined expectations of future tax increases; the productivity of the additional public works may have been rather limited. Nakao considers that policies that merely support demand cannot improve economic expectations. He advocates radical structural reforms and a rationalisation of public expenditure, including a better selection of capital projects. An increase of revenues, now relatively low as a ratio to GDP, may also be helpful in improving the budget balance. The author concludes that Japanese technology, saving ratio and well-educated labour force indicate that the country can successfully overcome its current problems.

The end of the UK's liberal collectivist social model? The implications of the coalition government's policy during the austerity crisis

This paper reviews change and continuity in social policy up to summer 2011, contrasting the liberal collectivist approach of New Labour with the reinforced neoliberalism of the coalition government. Given the ongoing uncertainty of economic conditions and the obvious difficulty of forecasting the stability of coalition policy, it is not possible to arrive at a firm conclusion as to the sustainability of the recent change of policy direction. Nevertheless, in a critical assessment of policy in three areas—labour market governance, the life course and the public sector—the paper argues that the UK is witnessing an intensified neoliberal policy emphasis, a redrawing or abolition of minimum standards and failures to meet changing patterns of social needs. While the collectivist elements of New Labour’s social policy approach were contradictory in many respects, the coalition government through a withdrawal of the state and obtuse pronouncements about the big society is seeking to embed in the UK a stronger neoliberal approach to social policy. Flawed assumptions about the scope for traditional families and localised big society programmes to compensate for state withdrawal mean the trajectory of change is not clear-cut; preferences for collectivist and publicly accountable solutions to issues of social policy are unlikely to be easily eroded. However, ongoing policy change during the austerity crisis is already inflicting radical change with adverse impacts upon many groups of society.

The 2008 financial-economic crisis and spatial transformation of the St. Petersburg agglomeration

The paper analyzes the degree and directions the 2008 global financial-economic crisis has had on the land transformation processes in the St. Petersburg monocentric agglomeration. It considers the approaches to definition of agglomeration boundaries and notes that the crisis has greatly affected the functioning of the St. Petersburg agglomeration. The examined spheres of life activity include land development, population migration, the labor market, investment activity, and federal and municipal governance. The major conclusion is that the crisis has intensified the agglomeration processes.

Germany after a Decade of Social Democrats in Government:The End of the Continental Model?

In this paper, it is argued that Germany has undergone a series of large-scale institutional changes under 11 years of Social Democratic governance, weakening all of its core Continental principles and effectively triggering a process of regime hybridisation. Elements of these reforms include the recalibration of its labour market governance system, as well as a two-fold path-correction toward (a) a Nordic ideal type through the introduction of an activation pillar, a comprehensive, state-led childcare strategy, and a desire to improve lifelong learning opportunities, and (b) a liberal welfare ideal type through the curtailment of status-preserving privileges, increased benefit conditionality, and (more hesitantly) a move toward a relaxation of employment protection legislation, especially for labour market ‘outsiders’. As the path corrections toward the Nordic ideal type came far too late in the Social Democrats' reign, the party leadership lost the trust of many voters, its party base, and the union movement.

The Governance in Matters of Labour Market in Romania - The Territorial Assessment of the Institutional Actors and Tools

Governance in the job market covers all the policies, norms, laws, regulations, institutions and process which influence labour offer and demand. The present paper is focused on the territorial approach of the institutional actors involved in labour market governance, including unemployment. The article underlines the relationships between the labour market governance on the national level and the governance on the EU level. The organisation of the institutional actors in labour market field is characterised by the individualisation of the three distinct levels, each actor having specific attributes, different from a level to another level. The territorial assessment of the institutional actors and tools in labour market governance (including unemployment) is obvious in the case of inferior level of the pyramidal structure of institutional framework, in fact, the territorial structures of the National Employment Agency (the County Employment Agencies, the Local Employment Agencies and the Working Points).

Governance and the Labour Market in South Africa

This article builds on the notion of governance to analyze a labour market phenomenon that addresses a critical interface between bipartite and tripartite cooperation in South Africa. It examines one significant example of successful bipartite cooperation in support of national level tripartite dialogue around social and economic issues. In doing so, this article assesses the contribution of the Millennium Labour Council (MLC) to labour peace and how this institution interfaces with the main national social dialogue institution, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC). This article provides empirical evidence to support the point of view that constructive labour-management cooperation can fortify tripartite dialogue in its contribution to labour market governance and, indirectly, national level governance. This article emphasizes the importance of strong and independent workers’ and employers’ organizations in advancing the contribution of tripartite cooperation to national socioeconomic development.

City-Regions: New Geographies of Uneven Development and Inequality

Etherington D. and Jones M. City-regions: new geographies of uneven development and inequality, Regional Studies. Recent years have witnessed a burgeoning literature on the ‘new regionalism’. Protagonists have made persuasive arguments about regions as successful models of economic and social development. This paper argues that the championing of ‘city-regions’ provides an opportunity for taking these debates further. It draws on research taking place on the Sheffield City-Region, UK, and particularly discusses the interrelationships between competitiveness, work–welfare regimes – those policies and strategies dealing with labour market governance and welfare state restructuring – labour market inequalities and low pay. The paper suggests that city-regions reinforce, and have the potential to increase, rather than resolve, uneven development and socio-spatial inequalities. Etherington D. et Jones M. Les Cités-Régions: de nouvelles géographies du déséquilibre et de l'inégalité, Regional Studies. Pendant les dernières années, on a témoigné de la croissance d'une documentation sur le ‘nouveau régionalisme’. Les partisans ont prôné la région comme modèle du développement économique et social. Cet article cherche à affirmer que se faire le champion des ‘cités-régions’ donne la possibilité d'approfondir ce débat. En puisant dans les recherches faites à propos de la cité-région de Sheffield, on discute en particulier de la corrélation entre la compétitivité, les actions travail-assistance sociale – à savoir, les politiques et stratégies qui traitent de la maîtrise du marché du travail et de la restructuration de la protection sociale – les inégalités sur le marché du travail et les petits salaires. L'article laisse supposer que les cités-régions renforcent, et ont le potentiel d'augmenter plutôt que de résoudre, le déséquilibre et les inégalités socio-géographiques. Nouveau régionalisme Régionalisation Cités-Régions Marchés du travail Inégalité Petits salaires Etherington D. und Jones M. Stadtregionen: Neue Geografien von ungleichmäßiger Entwicklung und Ungleichheit, Regional Studies. In den letzten Jahren ist eine aufkeimende Literatur über den ‘neuen Regionalismus’ entstanden. Ihre Autoren haben Regionen mit überzeugenden Argumenten als erfolgreiche Modelle der wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Entwicklung dargestellt. Wir argumentieren, dass die Förderung von ‘Stadtregionen’ eine Chance bietet, um diese Debatten einen Schritt weiter zu führen. Für unseren Beitrag nutzen wir Forschungsarbeiten in der Stadtregion von Sheffield und erörtern insbesondere die wechselseitigen Beziehungen zwischen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit, Arbeits- und Sozialplänen (also den Politiken und Strategien zur Lenkung des Arbeitsmarkts und zur Umstrukturierung des Sozialstaats), Ungleichheit auf dem Arbeitsmarkt und Niedriglöhnen. Wir argumentieren, dass Stadtregionen eine ungleichmäßige Entwicklung und sozioräumliche Ungleichheit verstärken und potenziell noch erhöhen, statt sie abzubauen. Neuer Regionalismus Dezentralisierung Stadtregionen Arbeitsmärkte Ungleichheit Niedriglöhne Etherington D. y Jones M. Ciudad-regiones: nuevas geografías, desarrollo desequilibrado y desigualdades, Regional Studies. En los últimos años hemos observado una literatura floreciente sobre el ‘nuevo regionalismo’. Los autores han defendido las regiones con argumentos persuasivos de modelos prósperos del desarrollo económico y social. Aquí defendemos que al apoyar las ‘ciudad-regiones’ se brinda la oportunidad de ampliar estos debates aún más. Basamos nuestros datos en estudios llevados a cabo en la ciudad-región de Sheffield y abordamos en particular las interrelaciones entre competitividad, las políticas sobre trabajo y bienestar (es decir, las políticas y estrategias para la gobernanza del mercado laboral y la reestructuración del estado del bienestar), las desigualdades del mercado laboral y los salarios bajos. En este artículo sugerimos que las ciudad-regiones refuerzan, y potencialmente aumentan, el desequilibrio del desarrollo y las desigualdades socio espaciales en vez de evitarlo. Nuevo regionalismo Transferencia de competencias Ciudad-regiones Mercados de trabajo Desigualdad Salarios bajos

Employment relations in Zambia

PurposeThe paper aims to explore the impact of economic transformation on employment relations and the effect on the role and behaviour of unions and employers' organizations in Zambia.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a review of existing studies on economic and political developments, backed by published and unpublished primary sources, as well as structured interviews with leaders of the tripartite partners.FindingsThe transformation of policy from centrally planned to market economy has by design or default undermined the role of trade unions and the employers' associations. This has in turn resulted in weakening the employment relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has implications for understanding how economic liberalization affects labour market institutions and processes. Many of the findings are of relevance to policy reforms elsewhere in Africa. Therefore, the findings have important implications for work on labour market governance in other African countries.Practical implicationsThis paper has implications for the tripartite partners in the employment relationship. It presents the critical need for policy review, and particularly strategic reorientation of the organizing strategies of trade unions and employers' associations, and the need to institute meaningful and effective consultative mechanism on social and economic policy making.Originality/valueA substantial part of the information provided in this paper is unpublished, and brings to the fore unanticipated consequences of policy reforms on employment relations. In turn the paper identifies action areas in seeking to reverse the effects of unfavourable economic reform measures on employment relations.

Unemployment in South Africa, 1995 2003: Causes, Problems and Policies

This paper examines an issue of overwhelming importance in South Africa--unemployment and its rise. It explains the factors behind the sharp rise in unemployment in the post-apartheid period, investigates the role of labour legislation and the system of labour market governance, evaluates the impact of the government's active labour market policies, identifies the knowledge gaps about the functioning of the labour market and draws some policy prescriptions. It analyses unemployment using household surveys spanning 1995--2003 and explains the rise in unemployment by the slow growth of the economy, and thus slow growth in the demand for labour relative to the rapidly growing supply, together with labour market inflexibility. The paper argues that if unemployment is to be tackled, it is crucial to pursue a set of policies that promote South Africa's rate of economic growth to promote job-creation, and also that labour market regulations require reconsideration, giving greater weight to the concerns of employers and investors, and to the interests of the unemployed and informally employed poor who are beyond the reach of the labour institutions but can be hurt by them nevertheless. It highlights that lack of appropriate data hinders analysis of important aspects such as entry into, exit from and duration of unemployment. Finally, the paper appeals for investigation of how active labour market policies to address unemployment--such as public works programmes, skills training programmes etc., formulated largely in the absence of local evidence--have performed. Copyright 2007 The author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.