First published in 1999, this volume recognises that in the course of European integration, national economic policy makers lose some effective policy instruments. Contributors to this omnibus volume analyse the 'room for maneuvering' available to national and EU economic and social policies under the conditions of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). They explore the possibilities for European coordination and discuss the tasks of employers' associations and labour unions on the national and EU level in wage, employment and macroeconomic policies. Section 1 of the book deals with the strengths and weaknesses of the EU in the context of global competition. In spite of national differences, many of the EU member countries share important characteristics. Section 2 addresses the need for and the feasibility of policy coordination in the EMU. With the start of the EMU, wage policy will have to bear the main burden of absorbing asymmetrical economic shocks. The authors from the DIW argue that a wage policy favourable to economic growth, employment and convergence has to be guided by the inflation target set by the European Central Bank (ECB) and by the long-term increase of productivity in individual countries. A precondition for this kind of wage policy is coordination between the main actors of EU economic policy (ECB, EcoFin, social partners).

First published in 1999, this volume recognises that in the course of European integration, national economic policy makers lose some effective policy instruments. Contributors to this omnibus volume analyse the 'room for maneuvering' available to national and EU economic and social policies under the conditions of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). They explore the possibilities for European coordination and discuss the tasks of employers' associations and labour unions on the national and EU level in wage, employment and macroeconomic policies. Section 1 of the book deals with the strengths and weaknesses of the EU in the context of global competition. In spite of national differences, many of the EU member countries share important characteristics. Section 2 addresses the need for and the feasibility of policy coordination in the EMU. With the start of the EMU, wage policy will have to bear the main burden of absorbing asymmetrical economic shocks. The authors from the DIW argue that a wage policy favourable to economic growth, employment and convergence has to be guided by the inflation target set by the European Central Bank (ECB) and by the long-term increase of productivity in individual countries. A precondition for this kind of wage policy is coordination between the main actors of EU economic policy (ECB, EcoFin, social partners).

This Handbook presents a theory of Business Interest Associations and fifteen empirical country by country case studies in the EU.

The book is organized into three main parts. Part I develops a theory of business associations which centres on firm size as the key explanatory variable. Part II consists of country studies covering the EU-15, which are written along strictly comparable lines of analysis. Part III contains the cross-nationally comparative analysis.

The book will make essential reading for researchers working in organization studies, industrial relations, industrial sociology and political science, as well as practioners in related fields.

Die Plenarvortrage thematisieren und reflektieren die theoretische und methodische Selbstandigkeit der Soziologie wie auch deren Erklarungskraft bezuglich sozialen Verhaltens in Auseinandersetzung mit Erklarungsmodellen der OEkonomie, der Biologie und der Anthropologie. In den Beitragen der Sektions- und Forschungsgruppen geht es vor allem um die Kompatibilitat und Anschlussfahigkeit oekonomischer, soziologischer, politischer und kulturalistischer Ansatze in den speziellen Soziologien sowie um die Chancen und Grenzen interdisziplinarer Forschung in verschiedenen Forschungsbereichen.

Industrial Relations Between Command & Market A Comparative Analysis Of Eastern Europe & China

This book presents and examines evidence and theories about changing patterns of industrial relations and their links to convergence on the one hand, and economic competitiveness on the other. It includes a comprehensive set of comparable date on industrial relations in twenty OECD countries including Australia, the United States, Canada, Japan, and most leading European countries.