Roads to Post-Fordism: Labour Markets and Social Structures in Europe

by Koch,Max

• ISBN13: 9780754643081
• ISBN10: 0754643085
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-07-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The book starts from the assumption that in each of the five Western European countries a phase of prosperity, full employment and social cohesion over the past three decades came to an end and was replaced by increasing uncertainty due to weak economic growth. This in turn increased unemployment and threatened to reduce the standard of living for a growing section of society. These crisis factors were echoed by a deregulation of labour markets and social systems. However in some cases, deregulation turned into reregulation, and features of post-Fordist labour markets and social structures emerged. In this book the author develops a regulation theory perspective in order to understand the processes of structural change. This approach serves as the basis for the empirical analysis of changes in the labour markets and social structures of the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Spain. The book is of interest to academics and students who are concerned with European economic and social affairs, policy makers in the field of labour market and welfare policy.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	viii
List of Tables	ix
Preface	xv
Acknowledgements	xvii
List of Abbreviations	xix
Introduction	1	(2)
1. Inclusion, Exclusion, and Capitalism	3	(16)
1.1 The Marxian tradition: The accumulation of capital and the development of employment	3	(5)
1.2 The Weberian tradition: Exclusion, usurpation, and citizenship	8	(5)
1.3 The state and the international dimension	13	(3)
1.4 Looking back, looking forward	16	(3)
2. The Regulation Approach	19	(16)
2.1 Socio-economic development and inclusion from a regulation theoretical perspective	19	(6)
2.2 Fordism as the predominant development model of the post-war era	25	(5)
2.3 The crisis of Fordism as challenge for national growth strategies	30	(5)
3. New Directions in Comparative Research into Labour Markets and Social Structures	35	(10)
3.1 Capital-oriented and negotiated growth strategies	35	(2)
3.2 Decomposition and recomposition of the social structure	37	(4)
3.3 Labour markets and social structures in five European countries: Design of a comparative empirical investigation	41	(4)
4. The Country Studies	45	(102)
4.1 Germany	45	(25)
4.1.1 Economic and social system	45	(2)
4.1.2 Deregulation and re-regulation in Germany	47	(2)
4.1.3 The transformation of the occupational and social structure	49	(17)
4.1.4 Summary of the case study	66	(4)
4.2 Sweden	70	(19)
4.2.1 Economic and social system	70	(1)
4.2.2 Deregulation and re-regulation in Sweden	71	(2)
4.2.3 The transformation of the occupational and social structure	73	(11)
4.2.4 Summary of the case study	84	(5)
4.3 Spain	89	(19)
4.3.1 Economic and social system	89	(3)
4.3.2 Deregulation and re-regulation in Spain	92	(2)
4.3.3 The transformation of the occupational and social structure	94	(12)
4.3.4 Summary of the case study	106	(2)
4.4 The United Kingdom	108	(19)
4.4.1 Economic and social system	109	(1)
4.4.2 Deregulation and re-regulation in the UK	110	(2)
4.4.3 The transformation of the occupational and social structure	112	(11)
4.4.4 Summary of the case study	123	(4)
4.5 The Netherlands	127	(20)
4.5.1 Economic and social system	127	(2)
4.5.2 Deregulation and re-regulation in the Netherlands	129	(2)
4.5.3 The transformation of the occupational and social structure	131	(12)
4.5.4 Summary of the case study	143	(4)
5. Summary of the Empirical Results in Comparative Perspective	147	(18)
5.1 Fordism in the five countries	147	(4)
5.2 Labour markets and social structures during the growth period of Fordism	151	(2)
5.3 Social structures during the decline: The crisis of Fordism	153	(2)
5.4 Deregulation and re-regulation: The five countries compared	155	(4)
5.5 Recomposed labour markets and social structures?	159	(6)
Concluding Remarks	165	(10)
References	175	(10)
Index	185