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During the post-World War II period, a pattern emerged in several European countries: centralized and concerted political regulation of the economy based on Keynesian policies, the development of the welfare state and moderately successful attempts at tripartite agreements. This pattern underwent a serious crisis in the 1980s, however, and in the view of many observers was replaced by a far-reaching deregulation of the economy. In contrast to this view, Professor Regini argues that social and political institutions have by no means lost their ability to structure economic activities. They have, in fact, shaped the different ways in which the European economies have adjusted to market conditions. Regini argues that while it is wrong to see deregulation as a general trend taking place in formerly institutionally regulated economies, the relevant institutions have changed. A pattern of "micro-social" regulation of European economies has emerged as a potential replacement for the "macro-political" one, though the boundaries between the two forms of regulation remain quite uncertain. This volume discusses the conditions under which a change from a macro to a micro form occurs, as well as the features of the emerging pattern.
Sommario
Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction: the shifting boundaries between market, politics and society; Part I. The Rise and Decline of the Political Regulation of the Economy: 1. The Keynesian welfare state and its crisis; 2. Unstable concertation; 3. Organised interests and public policies; 4. An anomalous case? State, economy and organised interests in Italy; Part II. The Micro-Social Regulation of Economic Adjustment: 5. The crisis of political exchange and the growth of micro-concertation; 6. The search for flexibility; 7. The problem of consensus in production; 8. An emblematic case: industrial adjustment and micro-concertation in Italy; Conclusion: the uncertain boundaries between macro and micro - the production of collective goods in the European economies; Notes; References; Index.
Riassunto
This book argues that European economies were not deregulated in the 1980s. While old, politically centralized institutions have lost importance, institutional arrangements continue to shape economic behaviour of peripheral actors. The author outlines an alternative pattern for the 'micro-social' regulation of European economies.
