Restructuring regimes in and between two crises: A comparison of Sweden and the UK

Roland Ahlstrand, Christopher J McLachlan, Robert MacKenzie, Alexis Rydell and Mark Stuart

European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2025, vol. 31, issue 1, 31-51

Abstract: This paper compares responses to crises through analysis of labour market policy in Sweden and the UK between the Global Financial Crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic. In drawing on ‘restructuring regimes’, we offer insights into the dynamics of change in the two countries, focussing on the development of short-time working schemes. We argue that Sweden learned lessons from the GFC that helped prepare for future crises, whereas the UK’s muted response left it ill-prepared for the COVID-19 crisis. The paper contributes to debates around restructuring regimes through an analysis of the journey between two crises in which we characterise Sweden’s approach as proactive and pre-emptive and the UK’s as reactive and ad hoc. By locating analysis in traditions of self-regulation and voluntarism in Sweden and the UK, respectively, we expand upon the role that industrial relations play in maintaining the stability, or not, of national restructuring regimes.

Keywords: Restructuring regimes; Industrial relations; global financial crisis; COVID-19 pandemic; Sweden; UK (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:31:y:2025:i:1:p:31-51

DOI: 10.1177/09596801241267113

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