IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/indrel/v51y2020i6p517-535.html

Assessing the impact of liberalisation policies on the Greek labour market: an insider–experts' view from the perspective of the varieties of liberalisation

Author

Listed:
  • Myrto Tourtouri
  • Dimitris Pavlopoulos
  • Christos Papatheodorou

Abstract

During the recent Great Recession (2008–2018), Greece has become the prototype example of the implementation of austerity policies in Europe. Contrary to public discourse, these austerity policies were complemented by substantial labour market reforms that promoted employment and wage flexibility. This article aims to present a theory‐driven understanding of the implementation and the effects of these reforms. For this purpose, we employ a qualitative study consisting of semi‐structured interviews with 50 labour market experts—government officials and labour lawyers, academics, labour union representatives and employer association representatives. Using Thelen's framework on the Varieties of Liberalization, we conclude that, contrary to the initial aims of the reforms, Greece followed a trajectory of direct deregulation, reducing considerably the level of both coordination between employers and workers, and coverage of employment protection. The interviews show that the dismantling of collective bargaining system was the most decisive move in this path.

Suggested Citation

  • Myrto Tourtouri & Dimitris Pavlopoulos & Christos Papatheodorou, 2020. "Assessing the impact of liberalisation policies on the Greek labour market: an insider–experts' view from the perspective of the varieties of liberalisation," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(6), pages 517-535, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:51:y:2020:i:6:p:517-535
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12311
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12311
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/irj.12311?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giovanni Dosi & Marcelo C. Pereira & Andrea Roventini & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2016. "The Effects of Labour Market Reforms upon Unemployment and Income Inequalities: an Agent Based Model," LEM Papers Series 2016/27, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    2. Dedoussopoulos, Apostolos. & Aranitou, Valia. & Koutentakis, Franciscos. & Maropoulou, Marina., 2013. "Assessing the impact of the memoranda on Greek labour market and labour relations," ILO Working Papers 994837743402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. International Monetary Fund, 2012. "Georgia: Request for a Stand-By Arrangement and an Arrangement Under the Stand-by Credit Facility: Staff Report; Staff Supplement; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Georgia," IMF Staff Country Reports 2012/098, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Dimitris Pavlopoulos, 2013. "Starting Your Career With a Fixed-Term Job: Stepping-Stone or "Dead End"?," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 71(4), pages 474-501, December.
    5. repec:ilo:ilowps:483774 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Blanchard, Olivier & Wolfers, Justin, 2000. "The Role of Shocks and Institutions in the Rise of European Unemployment: The Aggregate Evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(462), pages 1-33, March.
    7. Thelen,Kathleen, 2014. "Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107053168, Enero-Abr.
    8. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/50jd34uldo9jioklc7b0dpu4ej is not listed on IDEAS
    9. De Grauwe, Paul & Ji, Yuemei, 2013. "Self-fulfilling crises in the Eurozone: An empirical test," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 15-36.
    10. International Monetary Fund, 2012. "Greece: Request for Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility: Staff Report; Staff Supplement; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Greece," IMF Staff Country Reports 2012/057, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Sotirios Zartaloudis & Andreas Kornelakis, 2017. "Flexicurity between Europeanization and Varieties of Capitalism? A Comparative Analysis of Employment Protection Reforms in Portugal and Greece," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 1144-1161, September.
    12. Christodoulakis, Nicos, 2013. "From Grexit to Growth: On Fiscal Multipliers and how to End Recession in Greece," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 224, pages 66-76, May.
    13. International Monetary Fund, 2012. "Republic of Kosovo: Request for Stand-By Arrangement: Staff Report; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion," IMF Staff Country Reports 2012/100, International Monetary Fund.
    14. Yanis Varoufakis & Stuart Holland, 2012. "A modest proposal for resolving the Eurozone crisis," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 47(4), pages 240-247, July.
    15. Hiroaki Richard Watanabe, 2015. "Neoliberal reform for greater competitiveness: labour market deregulation in Japan and Italy," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 54-76, January.
    16. Thelen,Kathleen, 2014. "Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107679566, Enero-Abr.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gouzoulis, Giorgos & Iliopoulos, Panagiotis & Galanis, Giorgos, 2022. "EU-induced Financialisation and Its Impact on the Greek Wage Share, 1999-2021," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1209, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gikas A. Hardouvelis & Ioannis Gkionis, 2016. "A Decade Long Economic Crisis: Cyprus versus Greece," Cyprus Economic Policy Review, University of Cyprus, Economics Research Centre, vol. 10(2), pages 3-40, December.
    2. Lehner, Lukas & Ramskogler, Paul & Riedl, Aleksandra, 2022. "Begging thy coworker – Labor market dualization and the slow-down of wage growth in Europe," INET Oxford Working Papers 2022-04, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    3. Daphne Nicolitsas, 2016. "Price Setting Practices In Greece: Evidence From A Small-Scale Firm-Level Survey," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 367-382, October.
    4. Charles-Henri Dimaria & Chiara Peroni, 2012. "Unit labor cost and productivity recovery under non neutral technical change," Working Papers halshs-00826351, HAL.
    5. Charles-Henri Dimaria, 2012. "Cannon Was Right But Incomplete: Frankel Was A Neglected Early Contribution To Growth Theory," Working Papers halshs-00826519, HAL.
    6. Dimitrios Doulos & Odysseus Katsaitis & George A. Zombanakis, 2021. "How to Make Butter out of Guns: The Turkish Case and the Greek Bitter Lesson," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 1055-1072.
    7. Yu-Fu Chen & Michael Funke, 2017. "Greece’s Three-Act Tragedy: A Simple Model of Grexit vs. Staying Afloat inside the Single Currency Area," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 297-318, April.
    8. Hiroaki Richard Watanabe, 2018. "Labour Market Dualism and Diversification in Japan," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 579-602, September.
    9. Evangelos F. Magirou, 2013. "A note on the policy implications of the fiscal multiplier," Papers 1310.3083, arXiv.org.
    10. Chiara Benassi, 2016. "Liberalization Only at the Margins? Analysing the Growth of Temporary Work in German Core Manufacturing Sectors," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(3), pages 597-622, September.
    11. Brigitte Granville & Jaume Martorell Cruz & Martha Prevezer, 2015. "Elites, Thickets and Institutions: French Resistance versus German Adaptation to Economic Change, 1945-2015," Working Papers 63, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    12. Leone Leonida & Marianna Marra & Sergio Scicchitano & Antonio Giangreco & Marco Biagetti, 2020. "Estimating the Wage Premium to Supervision for Middle Managers in Different Contexts: Evidence from Germany and the UK," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(6), pages 1004-1026, December.
    13. Saskia Boumans, 2022. "Neoliberalisation of industrial relations: The ideational development of Dutch employers’ organisations between 1976 and 2019," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1610-1631, November.
    14. Young-hwan Byun, 2018. "The Type of Right-wing Government and the Decline of Middle-Income Strata in Industrialized Democracies," LIS Working papers 727, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    15. German Feierherd & Patricio Larroulet & Wei Long, & Nora Lustig, 2021. "The Pink Tide and Inequality in Latin America," Working Papers 2105, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    16. Liam Kneafsey & Aidan Regan, 2019. "The Role of the Media in Shaping Attitudes Toward Corporate Tax Avoidance: Experimental Evidence from Ireland," Working Papers 201904, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    17. Woll, Cornelia, 2015. "Politics in the interest of capital: A not-so-organized combat," MaxPo Discussion Paper Series 15/2, Max Planck Sciences Po Center on Coping with Instability in Market Societies (MaxPo).
    18. Jens Arnholtz, 2023. "The embedded flexibility of Nordic labor market models under pressure from EU‐induced dualization—The case of posted work in Denmark and Sweden," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 372-388, April.
    19. Michael A. Witt & Gregory Jackson, 2016. "Varieties of Capitalism and institutional comparative advantage: A test and reinterpretation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(7), pages 778-806, September.
    20. Maarten Keune, 2021. "Inequality between capital and labour and among wage-earners: the role of collective bargaining and trade unions," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(1), pages 29-46, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:51:y:2020:i:6:p:517-535. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0019-8692 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.