Title

Party Politics And The Reemergence Of Social Pacts In Western Europe

Keywords

Concertation; Elections; Labor unions; Party politics; Social pacts; Western Europe

Abstract

Conventional accounts of the reemergence of social pacts in Western Europe argue they are a governmental response to economic pressures, in particular the requirements for joining the European Monetary Union (EMU). The authors analyze three case studiesthe Netherlands, Ireland, and Austria to illustrate the usefulness of an alternative explanation centering on electoral calculations by political parties in choosing pacts. Parties forge social pacts not only to deal with economic problems but also when they perceive them to be helpful in reducing the potential electoral costs of economic adjustment and wage policies. Alternatively, parties may forgo negotiations with social partners for electoral gain. The authors extend the analysis to seven additional countries to apply the analysis more broadly. By combining the separate literatures on political economy and party politics, they are able to shed new light on the dynamics of social pacts in Western Europe. © 2007 Sage Publications.

Publication Date

8-1-2007

Publication Title

Comparative Political Studies

Volume

40

Issue

8

Number of Pages

971-994

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414006294818

Socpus ID

34547247621 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/34547247621

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