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Industrial Relations in Western Europe: An Era of Ambiguity?
Author(s) -
HYMAN RICHARD
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
industrial relations: a journal of economy and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1468-232X
pISSN - 0019-8676
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-232x.1994.tb00324.x
Subject(s) - optimal distinctiveness theory , ambiguity , decentralization , skepticism , convergence (economics) , deregulation , perspective (graphical) , industrial relations , political science , european union , single market , political economy , economy , economics , international trade , market economy , economic growth , law , computer science , psychology , linguistics , philosophy , epistemology , artificial intelligence , psychotherapist
In western Europe, as in the United States, the 1980s saw major challenges to established institutions of industrial relations. Managements, faced with intensified competitive pressure, have taken the initiative; union have been on the defensive. Deregulation and decentralization have been the recurrent themes of both practitioners and academic analysts. For some commentators, national distinctiveness is giving way to convergence, encouraged in part by moves toward the Single European Market. This article develops a more skeptical perspective on recent trends.