Documents Wilthagen, Ton 14 results

"Aggregate and individual data are used to test the association between employment performance and different ways of reconciling flexibility and security in European labour markets. Particular use is made of statistics on individuals' labour market transitions as revealed by national labour force surveys. The article compares the performance of three basic forms of labour market institutions: the uncoordinated liberal, or neoliberal one; flexisecurity; and the traditional welfare state model of labour security. The findings confirm the importance of coordinated collective bargaining and of values and trust."

"This article deals with the new policy concept of 'flexicurity' in view of the emerging flexibility-security nexus currently faced by the European Union, national governments, sectors of industry, individual companies and workers. On the one hand there is a strong demand to make labour markets, employment and work organisation more flexible. At same time, an equally strong demand exists for providing security to employees - especially vulnerable groups - and for preserving social cohesion in our societies. Policy-makers, legislators, trade unions and employers' organisations have a strong need for new theory-inspired policy models and concepts that promise to reconcile these goals of enhancing both flexibility and security that at first sight seem incompatible. This article discusses the origins, conditions and potential of 'flexicurity' as policy or strategy at various levels of industrial relations. It also outlines a research agenda"

"How robust is coordinated decentralization in socio-economic governance, especially in wage bargaining, when national economies are torn between internationalization on the one hand and decentralization or increased internal diversity on the other? How should the national state influence the behaviour of trade unions and employers' organizations? What constitutes an effective public policy towards industrial relations? Are there any general design principles for such policies? These are the questions that we seek to answer in this article, mainly using the Dutch consultation economy as our example."

"This article introduces two of the core topics in the current debates concerning the European Employment Strategy (EES) that are likely to have a significant impact on the strategy's future development. The first concerns the changing view of work and security, exemplified by the growing attention for ‘flexicurity' and employment security. The second is the debate on the effectiveness of the EES in influencing Member State policies and performance. This article also serves as an introduction to this special issue, which approaches and discusses these two key debates in various ways."