Employment 'Miracles': A Critical Comparison of the Dutch, Scandinavian, Swiss, Australian and Irish Cases versus Germany and the US

Open Access Published by Amsterdam University Press 2005

Employment 'Miracles'

A Critical Comparison of the Dutch, Scandinavian, Swiss, Australian and Irish Cases versus Germany and the US

Edited by: Uwe Becker and Herman Schwartz

Volume 5 in the series Changing Welfare States

https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048503834

Overview
Contents

About this book

Why did some economies experience a boom in the 1990s? Discussing this crucial question, Employment 'Miracles' comparatively analyzes select "miracle" economies. The contributors critically analyze how the small sizes and institutional structures of seven countries—including the Netherlands, Denmark, and Ireland—accounted for their success and their status as economic models. Comparisons to the American and German markets reveal how differing policies—liberal versus corporatist/social democratic—determine job growth and levels of income inequality and poverty. The book also stresses the relevance of fortuitous circumstances such as the housing-price bubble. Employment 'Miracles' is an important resource for political scientists and economists in their study of national economies.

Author / Editor information

Uwe Becker is associate professor of political science at the University of Amsterdam. Herman Schwartz is professor of politics at the University of Virginia.

Reviews

Employment “miracles” challenges the conventional wisdom that full employment and good overall economic performance is a function of a particular recipe of policies and institutions. To the extent that deliberate policies have played a role in recent success stories, they are embedded in nationally specific social, economic, and political institutions, which cannot be easily emulated. The book therefore offers a stern warning against the temptation, so rarely resisted, to draw sweeping generalizations from particular national “models.” But while there is no magic bullet, the book is optimistic about the capacity of countries with very different institutions to be successful in a fiercely competitive global economy. There is no necessary tradeoff between competitiveness and a large redistributive welfare state, and success is not synonymous with US-style deregulation. This is a point that is brought out in a nuanced and insightful fashion by the individual country chapters. Anyone interested in understanding the relationship between the economy, public policy, and economic performance is well-advised to read this important and timely new book. Torben Iversen Professor of Government Center for European Studies Harvard University

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	5
Preface Open Access Download PDF	9
1. Introduction:Miracles,Mirages and Markets Herman Schwartz and Uwe Becker Open Access Download PDF	11
2. The Dutch Model:Magic in a Flat Landscape? Wiemer Salverda Open Access Download PDF	39
3. Employment and Unemployment in Denmark and Sweden: Success or Failure for the Universal Welfare Model? Christoffer Green-Pedersen and Anders Lindbom Open Access Download PDF	65
4. The Evolution of the Finnish Model in the 1990s: From Depression to High-Tech Boom Jaakko Kiander Open Access Download PDF	87
5. The Swiss Miracle: Low growth and high employment François Xavier Merrien and Uwe Becker Open Access Download PDF	111
6. Recasting the Story of Ireland’s Miracle:Policy,Politics or Profit? Mary Daly Open Access Download PDF	133
7. The Australian Miracle:Luck,Pluck or Being Stuck Down Under? Herman Schwartz Open Access Download PDF	157
8. Last Year’s Model? Reflections on the American model of employment growth Cathie Jo Martin Open Access Download PDF	183
9. The German Contrast.On Bad Comparisons,Special Circumstances,Luck and Policies That Turned Out to Be Wrong Uwe Becker Open Access Download PDF	205
10. Conclusion:the Importance of Lucky Circumstances,and Still the Liberal-Social Democratic Divide Uwe Becker and Herman Schwartz Open Access Download PDF	231
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	249
Contributors Open Access Download PDF	279
Index Open Access Download PDF	283

Languages: English, English
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 288

eBook

Published: April 4, 2005
ISBN: 9789048503834