Trade union movements in advanced capitalist economies pursue different strategies and draw on different organizational resources at both macropolitical and micropolitical levels. While the theoretical implications of industrial and political strategies have been extensively debated, the actual outcomes of political unionism have rarely been subjected to rigorous empirical investigation. Utilizing data drawn from three different surveys of union strategies and measures of industrial and economic democracy in seven capitalist economies since the mid-1970s, this paper examines the microeconomic and macroeconomic implications of political unionism. The evidence suggests that while political unionism results in both macroeconomic and microeconomic outcomes favourable to labour, at the level of the labour process these achievements are registered in the empowerment of collective actors (unions and works councils) rather than individual actors (workers).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adlercreutz, A.
(1990) 'Sweden', in R. Blanpain (ed.), International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations. Netherlands: Kluwer.
2.
Ahrne, G.
and W. Clement (1992) 'A New Regime? Class Representation within the Swedish State', Economic and Industrial Democracy13: 455-479.
3.
Arthurs, H.
, D. Carter, H. Glasbeek and J. Fudge (1988) 'Canada', in R. Blanpain (ed.), International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations. Netherlands: Kluwer.
4.
Bamber, G.
and E. Snape (1987) 'Britain', in G. Bamber and R. Lansbury (eds), International and Comparative Industrial Relations. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
5.
Beilharz, P.
(1986) 'The Left, the Accord and the Future of Socialism', Thesis Eleven13: 5-21.
6.
Bellace, J.
(1992) 'The United States', Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations23: 241-254.
7.
Berggren, C.
(1986) 'Top Management and Co-determination in Swedish Companies: Greater Union Influence Results in Better Decisions', Economic and Industrial Democracy7: 99-108.
8.
Boreham, P.
(1980) 'The Dialectic of Theory and Control: Capitalist Crisis and the Organization of Labour', in D. Dunkerley and G. Salaman (eds), The International Yearbook of Organization Studies. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
9.
Boreham, P.
(1992) 'The Myth of Post-Fordist Management: Work Organization and Employee Discretion in Seven Countries', Employee Relations14(2): 13-24.
10.
Boreham, P.R.
, S. Clegg and G. Dow (1989) 'Political Organisation and Economic Policy', pp. 253-276 in G. Duncan (ed.), Democracy and the Capitalist State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11.
Boreham, P.
and H. Compston (1992) 'Labour Movement Organisation and Political Intervention: The Politics of Unemployment in the OECD Countries 1974-1986', European Journal of Political Research22(2): 143-170.
12.
Brooks, B.
(1992) 'Australia', Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations23: 35-53.
13.
Brostrom, A.
(1986), 'Co-determination, Work Organisation and the Rights of Labour', in J. Fry (ed.), Toward a Democratic Rationality: Making the Case for Swedish Labour. Aldershot: Gower.
14.
Calmfors, L.
and J. Driffill (1988) 'Bargaining Structure, Corporatism and Macroeconomic Performance', Economic Policy: A European Forum6: 13-61.
15.
Cameron, D.R.
(1984) 'Social Democracy, Corporatism, Labour Quiescence and the Representation of Economic Interest in Advanced Capitalist Society', pp. 143-178 in J. Goldthorpe (ed.), Order and Conflict in Contemporary Capitalism. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
16.
Castles, F.G.
and P. Mair (1984) 'Left-Right Political Scales: Some Expert Judgements', European Journal of Political Research12: 73-88.
17.
Cella, G.
and T. Treu (1990) 'National Trade Union Movements', in R. Blanpain (ed.), Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Industrialised Market Economies (4th edn), Vol. 2. Netherlands: Kluwer.
18.
Clawson, D.
(1980) Bureaucracy and the Labour Process. New York: Monthly Review Press.
19.
Clegg, S.
and D. Dunkerley (1980) Organization, Class and Control. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
20.
Clegg, S.
, P. Boreham and G. Dow (1986) Class, Politics and the Economy. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
21.
Cordova, E.
(1986) 'From Full-time Employment to Atypical Employment: A Major Shift in the Evolution of Labour Relations?', International Labour Review125(6): 641-657.
22.
Crouch, C.
(1986) 'The Future Prospects for Trade Unions in Western Europe', Political Quarterly57(1): 5-17.
23.
Crouch, C.
(1992) 'The Fate of Articulated Industrial Relations Systems: A Stocktaking after the "Neo-liberal" Decade', in M. Regini (ed.), The Future of Labour Movements. London: Sage.
24.
Czada, R.
(1987) 'The Impact of Interest Politics on Flexible Adjustment Policies', pp. 20-53 in H. Keman, H. Paloheimo and P.F. Whiteley (eds), Coping with the Economic Crisis: Alternative Responses to Economic Recession in Advanced Industrial Societies. London: Sage.
25.
Edwards, P.K.
(1990) 'Understanding Conflict in the Labour Process: The Logic and Autonomy of Struggle', in D. Knights and H. Willmott (eds), Labour Process Theory. London: Macmillan.
26.
Endruweit, G.
and G. Berger (1989) 'The Functioning of lnstitutionalised Forms of Workers' Participation Seen from a Social Science Perspective', in A. Gladstone et al. (eds), Current Issues in Labour Relations: An International Perspective. Berlin: de Gruyter.
27.
Esping-Andersen, G.
(1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
28.
Fox, A.
(1974) Beyond Contract: Work, Power and Trust Relations. London: Faber & Faber.
29.
Fulcher, J.
(1991) Labour Movements, Employers and the State: Conflict and Co-operation in Britain and Sweden. Oxford: Clarendon.
30.
Goldman, A.
(1983) 'The United States of America', in R. Blanpain (ed.), International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations. Netherlands: Kluwer.
31.
Griffin, L.J.
, P.J. O'Connell and H.J. McCammon (1989) 'National Variation in the Context of Struggle: Postwar Class Conflict and Market Distribution in the Capitalist Democracies', Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology26: 37-68.
32.
Gustafsson, B.
(1986) 'Co-determination and Wage Earners' Funds' in J. Fry (ed.), Towards a Democratic Rationality: Making the Case for Swedish Labour. Aldershot: Gower.
33.
Hanami, T.
(1985) 'Japan', in R. Blanpain (ed.), International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations. Netherlands: Kluwer.
34.
Hanami, T.
(1992) 'Japan', Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations23: 151-166.
35.
Hepple, B.
(1990) 'Flexibility and Security of Employment', in R. Blanpain (ed.), Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Industrialised Market Economies, (4th edn), Vol. 1. Netherlands: Kluwer.
36.
Hepple, B.
and S. Fredman (1986) 'Great Britain', in R. Blanpain (ed.), International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations. Netherlands: Kluwer.
37.
Hicks, A.
(1988) 'National Collective Action and Economic Performance: A Review Essay', International Studies Quarterly32: 131-152.
38.
Higgins, W.
(1985) 'Political Unionism and the Corporatism Thesis', Economic and Industrial Democracy6: 349-381.
39.
Hyman, R.
(1988) 'Flexible Specialization: Miracle or Myth', in R. Hyman and W. Streeck (eds), Trade Unions, Technology and Industrial Democracy. Oxford: Blackwell.
40.
Hyman, R.
(1989a) 'Pressure, Protest and Struggle: Some Problems in the Concept and Theory of Industrial Conflict', in R. Hyman, The Political Economy of Industrial Relations. London: Macmillan.
41.
Hyman, R.
(1989b) 'Trade Unionism and the State: Some Recent European Developments', in R. Hyman, The Political Economy of Industrial Relations. London: Macmillan.
42.
Hyman, R.
(1992) 'Trade Unions and the Disaggregation of the Working Class', in M. Regini (ed.), The Future of Labour Movements. London: Sage.
43.
IDE
(1981) Industrial Democracy in Europe. Oxford: Clarendon.
44.
Karpik, L.
(1978) 'Organizations, Institutions and History', in L. Karpik (ed.), Organization and Environment: Theory, Issues and Reality. Beverley Hills: Sage.
45.
Keman, H.
and T. van Dijk (1987) 'Political Strategies to Overcome the Crisis: Policy Formation and Economic Performance in Seventeen Capitalist Democracies', in H. Keman et al. (eds), Coping with the Economic Crisis: Alternative Responses to Economic Recession in Advanced Industrial Societies. London: Sage.
46.
Koshiro, K.
(1992) 'Labour Market Flexibility in Japan', in A. Gladstone et al. (eds), Labour Relations in a Changing Environment. Berlin: de Gruyter.
47.
Lane, C.
(1988) 'Industrial Change in Europe: The Pursuit of Flexible Specialisation in Britain and West Germany', Work, Employment and Society2(2): 141-168.
48.
Lansbury, R.
and E. Davis (1987) 'Australia', in G. Bamber and R. Lansbury (eds), International and Comparative Industrial Relations: A Study of Developed Market Economies. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
49.
Lash, S.
and J. Urry (1987) The End of Organised Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.
50.
Lehmbruch, G.
(1984) 'Concertation and the Structure of Corporatist Networks', in J. Goldthorpe (ed.), Order and Conflict in Contemporary Capitalism: Studies in the Political Economy of Western European-Nations. Oxford: Clarendon.
51.
Lipietz, A.
(1987) Mirages and Miracles: The Crisis of Global Fordism. London: Verso.
52.
Mathews, J.
(1989a) Age of Democracy: The Politics of Post-Fordism. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
53.
Mathews, J.
(1989b) Tools of Change: New Technology and the Democratization of Work. Sydney: Pluto Press.
54.
Milner, H.
(1989) Sweden: Social Democracy in Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
55.
OECD
(1986) Flexibility in the Labour Market: The Current Debate. Paris: OECD.
56.
Paloheimo, H.
(1984) Governments in Democratic Capitalist States 1950-1983: A Data Handbook. Turku: University of Turku.
57.
Paloheimo, H.
(1989) 'Between Liberalism and Corporatism: The Effect of Trade Unions and Governments on Economic Performance in Eighteen OECD Countries', in R. Brunetta and C. Dell'Aringa (eds), Labour Relations and Economic Performance. Proceedings of a Conference held by the International Economic Association in Venice, Italy.
58.
Paloheimo, H.
(1990) 'Micro Foundations and Macro Practice of Centralised Industrial Relations', European Journal of Political Research18: 389-406.
59.
Pampel, F.C.
and, J.B. Williamson (1988) 'Welfare Spending in Advanced Industrial Democracies, 1950-1980', American Journal of Sociology50: 1424-1456.
60.
Panitch, L.
(1986) Working-Class Politics in Crisis: Essays on Labour and the State. London: Verso.
61.
Piore, M.J.
and C.F. Sabel (1984) The Second Industrial Divide. New York: Basic Books.
62.
Pollert, A.
(1988) 'The "Flexible Firm": Fixation or Fact?', Work, Employment and Society3(2): 281-316.
63.
Price, R.
(1989) 'Trade Union Membership', in R. Bean (ed.), International Labour Statistics. London: Routledge.
64.
Rustin, M.
(1989) 'The Politics of Post-Fordism: Or, the Trouble with New Times', New Left Review175: 54-77.
65.
Sandberg, A.
, G. Broms, A. Grip, J. Steen, L. Sundstrom and P. Ullmark (1992) Technological Change and Co-determination in Sweden. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
66.
Scharpf, F.
(1984a) 'Economic and Institutional Constraints of Full-Employment Strategies: Sweden, Austria and Western Germany 1973-1982', pp. 257-290 in J. Goldthorpe (ed.), Order and Conflict in Contemporary Capitalism. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
67.
Scharpf, F.
(1984b) 'Strategy Choice, Economic Feasibility and Institutional Constraints as Determinants of Full Employment Policy During the Recession', in K. Gerlach, W. Peters and W. Sengenberger (eds), Public Policies to Combat Unemployment in a Period of Economic Stagnation: An International Comparison. Frankfurt: Campus Verlag.
68.
Schmidt, M.G.
(1984) 'Labour Market Performance and the Inflation in OECD Nations: A Political-institutionalist View', in K. Gerlach, W. Peters and W. Sengenberger (eds), Public Policies to Combat Unemployment in a Period of Economic Stagnation. An International Comparison. Frankfurt: Campus Verlag.
69.
Schmidt, M.G.
(1987) 'The Politics of Full Employment in Western Democracies', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science492: 171-181.
70.
Schott, K.
(1984) Policy, Power and Order: The Persistence of Economic Problems in Capitalist States. New Haven: Yale University Press.
71.
Shimada, H.
(1988) 'Japanese Trade Unionism: Postwar Evolution and Future Prospects', Labour and Society13(2): 203-223.
72.
Soskice, D.
(1990) 'Reinterpreting Corporatism and Explaining Unemployment: Co-ordinated and Non-co-ordinated Market Economies', in R. Brunetta and C. Dell'Aringa (eds), Labour Relations and Economic Performance. Proceedings of a Conference held by the International Economic Association in Venice, Italy.
73.
Streeck, W.
(1991) 'The Federal Republic of Germany', in O. Clarke and J. Niland (eds), Agenda for Change: An International Analysis of Industrial Relations in Transition. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
74.
Strumpel, B.
and J. Scholz (1987) 'The Comparative Study of the Economy: Dimensions, Methods and Results', in M. Dierkes, H. Weiler and A. Antal (eds), Comparative Policy Research: Learning From Experience. Aldershot: Gower.
75.
Tarantelli, E.
(1986) 'The Regulation of Inflation and Unemployment', Industrial Relations25(1): 1-15.
76.
Therborn, G.
(1986) Why Some Peoples are More Unemployed than Others: The Strange Paradox of Growth and Unemployment. London: Verso.
77.
Visser, J.
(1989) European Trade Unions in Figures. Netherlands: Kluwer.
78.
Weiss, M.
(1986) 'Federal Republic of Germany', in R. Blanpain (ed.), International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations. Netherlands: Kluwer.
79.
Wright, E.O.
(1989) 'The Comparative Project on Class Structure and Class Consciousness: An Overview', Acta Sociologica32(1): 3-22.
80.
Wright, E.O.
, C. Howe and D. Cho (1989) 'Class Structure and Class Formation: A Comparative Analysis of the United States and Sweden', in M.L. Kohn (ed.), Cross-National Research in Sociology. Newbury Park: Sage.
