Abstract
At present, there is a strong belief amongst policy-makers and academics that nations can somehow “choose” their own development strategies and economic outcomes. In particular, it is proposed that a country’s insertion in the global chain of production is something that can be manufactured or manipulated, rather than something that is dictated by geographical location and natural resource base.1 Our analysis of labour politics in five small open democracies confirms that the ideological programmes, the organisational strategies of key socio-economic groups, and choices between institutional frameworks can make a difference in determining economic success and failure. Yet we have also found that a nation’s location in the world economy does heavily determine outcomes, focusing specifically on the fortunes of organised labour in this case. Contrary to the argument that States have considerable freedom of choice when formulating economic policy in the context of globalisation of production, in the field of labour politics nations such as these have a more circumscribed room for manoeuvre due to their vulnerability to international market trends. Overall, we find that the scope and depth of policy reform, and consequently, the status and welfare of trade unions and their members, is shaped by both external and internal factors, the specifics of which we will elaborate here.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
P. Evans, Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995; R. Reich, Work of Nations. New York; A. A. Knopf, 1991; W. Hutton, The State We’re In. Revised edn, London: Vintage, 1996.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2003 Paul G. Buchanan and Kate Nicholls
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Buchanan, P.G., Nicholls, K. (2003). Conclusion: Explaining Cross National Variance in Labour Politics. In: Labour Politics in Small Open Democracies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403937407_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403937407_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-43031-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4039-3740-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Economics & Finance CollectionEconomics and Finance (R0)