Freier, Maximilian
(2012)
The art of the almost impossible: three essays on the political economy of structural reforms in Europe.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
The Introduction – together with the conclusion – provides a framework for the
three substantial contributions of this PhD project. It begins with sketching a
puzzle that motivates research on the political economy of structural reforms in
Europe, namely the inconsistency between the commitment of governments to
reform and the actual reform track record across the countries. It discusses the
nature and findings of the relevant multidisciplinary political economy literature. Paper One addresses the puzzle why the first major post-war overhaul of
the German political economy – the ‘Agenda 2010’ reforms – was undertaken
in 2003 by a social-democratic government and not by any of the conservative
governments that preceded it. It finds that the lack of government cohesion, the
federal legislative system and corporatist structures remain important determinants for institutional stability and change in Germany. Paper Two develops
a theoretical argument as to why corporatist European economies may live
through extended periods of economic underperformance without significant
reform. Building on this argument, it presents a formal model, from which it
derives a set of determinants for structural reforms, and finally illustrates these
by exploring the causes for reform in Germany and Sweden. Paper Three uses
a new database on labour market reform to show that corporatist structures
have an intermediating effect on the determinants of structural reform policies.
It finds evidence that the interests of employer organisations and trade unions
matter for the labour market reform trajectories in countries with corporatist
features. Political partisanship and economic crises matter more in pluralist
countries. Finally, the Conclusion summarises the findings of the three papers.
Subsequently, it outlines the limitations and draws up some wider implications
for the theories of institutional change and for public policymaking.
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