Royo examines how national-level social bargaining was established in Portugal and Spain during the last two decades, despite unpropitious institutional and structural conditions. He argues that this development was the result of the reorientation of the strategies of the social actors. With their support for these macro-economic agreements labor unions sought to participate in labor and economic reforms and avoid the implementation of unilateral policies on the part of governments, while mitigating the decline in their bargaining power at the workplace level. In addition, Royo contends that a process of institutional learning and increasing autonomy by unions from political parties, particularly in Spain, have further enhanced social dialogue and led the social actors to conclude that previous confrontational strategies were detrimental to the interests of their constituencies and threatened their own survival. Royo claims that the emergence of new institutions to promote tripartite social bargaining in both countries resulted in the institutionalization of the bargaining process and contributed to a transformation in the pattern of industrial relations. Of particular interest to scholars and researchers involved with Iberian politics, labor, and political economy.

This publication provides an up-to-date assessment of the political and economic issues and is valuable reading for anyone wishing to understand contemporary Spain and Portugal.
Following decades of relative isolation under authoritarian regimes, the success of the processes of democratic transition in both countries paved the way for full membership in the European Community in 1986.
Drawing on research by established scholars Spain and Portugal in the European Union offers original series of analyses of the development of Iberian Politics, sociology and economics since the accession to the European Union.

This publication provides an up-to-date assessment of the political and economic issues and is valuable reading for anyone wishing to understand contemporary Spain and Portugal. Following decades of relative isolation under authoritarian regimes, the success of the processes of democratic transition in both countries paved the way for full membership in the European Community in 1986. Drawing on research by established scholars, Spain and Portugal in the European Union offers an original series of analyses of the development of Iberian politics, sociology and economics since the accession to the European Union.

This book examines the political roots of banking crises in Spain. It focuses on the process of political bargains in which parties with different interests come together to form coalitions, and it shows how these coalitions have determined banking outcomes and caused banking crises in Spain. In particular, it analyzes the 2008 Spanish banking crisis and shows how Spanish banks and related savings institutions contributed significantly to the challenges that led to the crisis, including the fueling of a large property bubble - by channeling tremendous credits to the construction and real estate sectors, while starving the country's productive sectors. Accordingly, the book links banking crises to the country's larger institutional malaise, placing the solution not only in the hands of the banks, but also the political institutions that influence them.

Portugal in the Twenty-First Century: Politics, Society, and Economics, edited by Sebastian Royo, reflects on the legacies of authoritarianism on the democratization process and addresses issues related to Portugal's integration into the European Union, with the perspective offered by its twenty-three years of membership. Portugal in the Twenty-First Century reflects on what has happened in the country and in Europe during the last three decades. The analysis is divided into two sections: political and sociological perspectives, and economic and social perspectives. The contributors identify basic changes in the economy and society of Portugal that occurred as a result of the democratization and European integration processes. They also assess the impact that these changes have had on the quality of Portuguese democracy, and on the country's economic development. Royo's collection reflects on how far Portugal has come since the Carnation Revolution in 1974 in order to better understand where it is headed now, at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Portugal in the Twenty-First Century: Politics, Society, and Economics, edited by Sebastian Royo, provides an original series of analyses of the development of Portuguese politics, sociology, and economics since the transition to democracy and the accession to the European Union. Drawing on the research by established scholars, Royo offers an up-to-date assessment of Portuguese political and economic issues. It is essential reading for those interested in understanding contemporary Portugal.