Economic Policies and the Coronavirus Crisis in the UK

Sawyer, Malcolm

doi:10.1080/09538259.2021.1897254

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…Most of these policies and programmes, which have largely fallen into the intervening and limiting categories of decommodification outlined above, appear to be primarily aimed at protecting rather than rupturing the commodifying logic of contemporary capitalism. In the UK, for example, the right‐wing Johnson government has ploughed billions of British pounds into the furlough scheme to shield firms and workers during the pandemic (Sawyer, 2021). Yet this government, stacked full of rabid supporters of capitalism, clearly has no interest in using this unprecedented decommodification scheme to constrain commodification and accumulation over the long run.…”

Section: Decommodificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Double Movements and Disembedded Economies: A Response to Richard Sandbrook

Goodwin¹

2022

Development and Change

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Richard Sandbrook (this issue) makes an important contribution to Polanyian debates in his typically insightful article on the double movement. However, his reading of the concept has limitations when used to analyse the historical evolution of capitalism and the current conjuncture. The merits and limits of his analysis are outlined in this article through the discussion of three core Polanyian concepts — disembedded economy, decommodification and countermovement. The article concludes by signposting the contribution Polanyian analysis can make to efforts to decolonize knowledge and reimagine the economy in the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic.

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Section: Decommodificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Double Movements and Disembedded Economies: A Response to Richard Sandbrook

Goodwin¹

2022

Development and Change

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“…safe and wider reopening of schools and calling for improvements to high-level strategic dialogue, including through the establishment of a taskforce comprising government, unions and education stakeholders. Moreover, consultations and discussions between the government and social partners also occurred in the case of the introduction of a wage subsidy scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the self-employment income support scheme (SEISS) (Adam 2020, Evans 2021, Sawyer 2021.…”

Section: The Impact Of the Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective bargaining in seven European countries throughout the pandemic

Molina¹,

Pedersini²

2022

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This Working Paper investigates developments in social dialogue and collective bargaining during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in a selection of European countries. The paper provides an overview of government and social partner responses. In describing responses, the main goal of this paper is to identify the dimensions that can help explain the variety of responses, but also their commonalities. The paper also aims at understanding the factors that may have promoted the activation of social dialogue over economic and social policies and broaden the role of collective bargaining and industrial relations, as opposed to unilateral interventions designed by national governments. The paper lays out an analytical framework based on the COVID impact in each country, national industrial relations institutions and the nature of the government in office. In this general framework, we observe how national industrial relations institutions play a key role in explaining the responses in terms of the level and quality of social dialogue and the role of collective bargaining. Particularly important has been the role of strong sectoral collective bargaining institutions, allowing sectoral actors to negotiate specific responses considering the impact and the needs of the sector.

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“…On the other hand, it must be admitted that studies undertaken in other countries report similar policy failures. For instance, Sawyer (2021), who deals with the problem of the economic policies against the coronavirus crises in the UK writes about self-employed who were granted substantial grants even though they were not badly affected by the pandemic. This is because payments were not directly linked to financial loss experienced during the crises.…”

Section: The Appropriate Level Of Support -How To Ensure Proportionality Of Aid?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges Related to the Implementation of State Aid Measures for Entrepreneurs Affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic

Kubera¹,

Kwiatkowska²

2021

ERSJ

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Purpose:The aim of the paper is to identify and discuss many trade-offs which have to be made by public authorities while designing and implementing state aid measures for entrepreneurs affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Design, Methodology/Approach: Based on the case study -the project "Grant for working capital for micro and small enterprises from the Wielkopolska Region" four interrelated lines of inquiry are pursued concerning: the grant selection process, timelines of support, administrative burden imposed on applicant entrepreneurs and the appropriateness of the amount of aid granted. Specific problems are discussed in a broader perspective of public support programmes design. Findings: Timelines of support and simplicity of the rules of granting aid are imperative in designing the public support delivery for entrepreneurs affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, one should not lose sight from other important aspects of allocating limited public funds, as it is usually a matter of striking the right balance by public policymakers between competing objectives in an attempt to ensure effective and fair allocation of limited resources. Practical Implications: State aid that involves granting a selective economic advantage to undertakings imply the question about the allocation method of funds. Given the risk of liquidity shortage for SMEs that makes fast delivery of aid crucial for the aid to achieve its objective, providing public support on the basis 'first-come, first served' principle can be a justifiable rationing device. However, this holds true under certain conditions: all applicants must be in relevantly similar circumstances and have equal prospects to receive a benefit. As these are not fully met in the case under investigation, some recommendations are formulated for future interventions. Originality/Value: Public debate on SME policy responses in times of Covid-19 crisis is often limited to numbers: how many entrepreneurs benefited from the public support and what is the aggregate value of the aid. The uniqueness of the conducted research lies in "looking under the surface" in the quest for ensuring effectiveness of state aid measures in the context of

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Economic Policies and the Coronavirus Crisis in the UK

Cited by 10 publications

References 6 publications

Double Movements and Disembedded Economies: A Response to Richard Sandbrook

Double Movements and Disembedded Economies: A Response to Richard Sandbrook

Collective bargaining in seven European countries throughout the pandemic

Challenges Related to the Implementation of State Aid Measures for Entrepreneurs Affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic

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