Governments and unions in the reform of the welfare state. Rupture of social dialogue in the periphery of the Eurozone?

Authors

  • Sergio González Begaga Universidad de Oviedo
  • David Luque Balbona Universidad de Oviedo
  • Ana M. Guillén Universidad de Oviedo

Keywords:

Governments, trade unions, social dialogue, socioeconomic governance, Welfare State

Abstract

The article tackles the transformations in the production of public policies in Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal within the context of the Great Recession. From 2008 onwards, the periphery of the Eurozone has been under strong financial strain, which has reduced the margin for discretion of national political actors. Public policy-making has had to be adapted to a new scenario of implicit or explicit conditionality, depending on the case. Welfare reform in the four member states has been performed under the supervision of European institutions and following the imperatives of fiscal consolidation. European conditionality has negatively impacted on social pacts as mechanisms for the determination of public policies. The financial and economic crisis in the periphery of the Euro has implied the de-activation of the corporatist dynamics of social dialogue and has introduced significant changes in the models of socio-economic governance of these countries.

Published

2021-05-28

How to Cite

González Begaga, S., Luque Balbona, D., & Guillén, A. M. (2021). Governments and unions in the reform of the welfare state. Rupture of social dialogue in the periphery of the Eurozone?. Journal of Critical Economics, 2(20), 102–119. Retrieved from https://revistaeconomiacritica.org/index.php/rec/article/view/89

Issue

Section

European welfare nations in transformation