Collective Bargaining Systems and Macroeconomic and Microeconomic Flexibility: The Quest for Appropriate Institutional Forms in Advanced Economies

John Addison

No 2016-01, GEMF Working Papers from GEMF, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra

Abstract: This paper addresses the design of the machinery of collective bargaining from the perspective of the needs of microeconomic and macroeconomic flexibility. In the former context, greater attention is given over to enterprise flexibility than external adjustment. In the latter context, close attention is paid to changes in collective bargaining along the dimensions of bargaining coverage, structure, and coordination, drawing on Visser’s (2013) welcome update of national collective bargaining institutions; on the basis of which, and recent theoretical developments, specific support is adduced for the German, contemporary Scandinavian, and British models. The role of trust in securing micro and macro flexibility also receives attention, leading to the suggestion that the polder or Dutch model might also be expected to populate the firmament of favored collective bargaining arrangements. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications raised by two developments that have been linked to the retreat of collective bargaining, namely heightened earnings dispersion and a shortfall in worker voice.

Keywords: micro/macro flexibility; collective bargaining; bargaining coverage/structure/coordination; inequality; growth; stabilization; decentralization; pacts; social pacts; trust; unemployment; voice. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D02 E02 E24 E25 E61 J48 J50 J51 J52 J53 J58 P51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 78 pages
Date: 2016-01
Note: A paper prepared for the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund, 2015.
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 5:19 (2016)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Collective bargaining systems and macroeconomic and microeconomic flexibility: the quest for appropriate institutional forms in advanced economies (2016)
Working Paper: Collective Bargaining Systems and Macroeconomic and Microeconomic Flexibility: The Quest for Appropriate Institutional Forms in Advanced Economies (2015)
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