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The condition of European economic democracy: A comparative analysis of individual and collective employment rights

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Cumbers

    (University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School, UK)

  • Karen Bilsland

    (University of Aberdeen Business School, UK)

  • Robert McMaster

    (University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School, UK)

  • Susana Cabaço

    (Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Netherlands)

  • Michael White

    (Nottingham Trent University School of Architecture Design and the Built Environment, UK)

Abstract

The condition of European economic democracy is generally recognised to be in a fragile state. Recent discussions have centred on pressures to converge towards an Anglo-American model of flexible and deregulated employment relations and systems, consonant with a broader neoliberal economic governance discourse. Existing approaches suggest an uneven experience between countries around a general trend of deterioration. In this article we offer two new contributions to these debates. First, we introduce findings from an Economic Democracy Index (EDI) we have developed. This goes beyond existing indices of employment and industrial democracy to allow us to examine the changing nature of individual employment rights as well as collective bargaining conditions between European countries. Second, we depart from existing studies of European employment relations, which tend to take a comparative national approach, by situating national employment relations and trajectories within a wider set of spatial and social relations. Qualitative analysis of three country cases (Denmark, Portugal and Slovenia) supplements our EDI analysis. Our evidence suggests the importance of multi-scalar relational and institutional dynamics between social actors at the national scale and those at higher scales such as the European Union in understanding variations in country performance on the EDI.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Cumbers & Karen Bilsland & Robert McMaster & Susana Cabaço & Michael White, 2023. "The condition of European economic democracy: A comparative analysis of individual and collective employment rights," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(1), pages 109-137, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:44:y:2023:i:1:p:109-137
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X211064919
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Chris Brewster & Michael Brookes & Geoffrey Wood, 2025. "Disaggregating the liberal market economies: Institutions and HRM," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 46(1), pages 199-221, February.

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