Pluralism, Corporatism and the Distributive Conflict in Developed Capitalist Countries

Abstract

In the 1970s the level of the distributive conflict increased in most developed capitalist countries. But at the same time it was found that the level of the distributive conflict remained on an unchanged level or even declined in some countries. In this article the role of interest organizations is analysed in explaining both cross‐national differences in the level of the distributive conflict and the resurgence of the distributive conflict in the 1970s. Using Mancur Olson's new theory of interest organizations, the author shows on a theoretical level that a pluralist mode of interest intermediation is conducive to a high level of the distributive conflict and that a corporatist mode of interest intermediation is conducive to a low level of the distributive conflict. Empirical analyses in 18 developed capitalist countries are then carried on to test this theory. Empirical analyses strongly support the theory.

The Implications of Institutional Design for Macroeconomic Performance

“…Cameron (1984) provides a plausible explanation of the causal chain linking low incidence of strike activity and wage moderation to high levels of employment and low levels of inflation (p. 157). The relationship between high levels of corporatism and low levels of both unemployment and inflation has been demonstrated repeatedly in empirical analyses (Bleaney, 1996;Bruno & Sachs, 1985;Crepaz, 1992;Havrilesky & Granato, 1993;Iversen, 1999;McCallum, 1983McCallum, , 1986Paloheimo, 1984aPaloheimo, , 1984bSoskice, 1990;Tarantelli, 1986). The question remains of why organized labor in strongly corporatist countries is willing to sacrifice short-term economic interests (the wage increases that could be obtained competitively in tight labor markets) for broader long-term goals such as full employment and superior macroeconomic performance.…”

“…The empirical evidence strongly indicates that both are associated with a variety of positive macroeconomic outcomes. The relationship between high levels of corporatism and low levels of both unemployment and inflation has been demonstrated repeatedly in empirical analyses (Bleaney, 1996;Bruno & Sachs, 1985;Crepaz, 1992;Havrilesky & Granato, 1993;Iversen, 1999;McCallum, 1983McCallum, , 1986Paloheimo, 1984aPaloheimo, , 1984bSoskice, 1990;Tarantelli, 1986). The nature of the trade-off may vary from system to system but essentially involves guaranteed labor quiescence and moderation in wage demands in return for employment guarantees and the increased influence for labor in the realm of economic and social policy (Cameron, 1984).…”

Coping with Mandated Public Participation: The Case of Implementing the EU Water Framework Directive in the Netherlands

“…Nevertheless, some consensus exists on the classification of EU Member States on a 'corporatismpluralism' scale. In particular, the northern Member States of the European Union including the Netherlands (Magagna, 1988;Paloheimo, 1984;Siaroff, 1999;Woldendorp & Keman, 2007) are considered to have more corporatist systems of interest representation (Damgaard & Eliassen, 1978;Pallesen, 2006). 3. This was the name of the responsible Ministry when we carried out our research.…”

What do indebted employees do? Financialisation and the decline of industrial action

“…Following the hypotheses presented in section three, Industrial Action is measured by: (i) the number of workers involved in strikes; (ii) the duration of strikes, that is, the number of days not worked due to strikes and (iii) the volume/number of strikes (see Figures 1 and 2). Given the exponential changes in the series during the period under examination, and to enhance cross‐country comparability (Brandl & Traxler, 2010; Paloheimo, 1984), the dependent variables are included in natural logarithm form.…”