Eoin Flaherty

The Variety of Polanyian Double Movements in Europe’s Capitalisms

At the core of capitalism is the struggle between capital and labour over the rewards of productive activity. This class relationship shapes the distribution of income and wealth in capitalist economies around the world and is itself shaped by multiple historical and institutional forces, taking many different forms in various workplaces at different times. It is shaped by the characteristics of labour, including its level of unionisation, mix of skills and social protection, and the characteristics of capital, including both the structure and strategies of firms and the mix of financial and productive capital.

The changing worlds and workplaces of capitalism

1. Changing Workplaces, Changing Capitalisms Sean O Riain, Felix Behling, Rossella Ciccia And Eoin Flaherty 2. A Varieties Approach To The Varieties Of Capitalism Lars Mjoset 3. The Variety Of Polanyian Double Movements In Europes Capitalisms Eoin Flaherty And Sean O Riain 4. Classifying Labour Regimes Beyond The Welfare State: A Two Dimensional Approach Rossella Ciccia 5. Reforming Welfare States And Changing Capitalism: Reversing Early Retirement Regimes In Europe Bernhard Ebbinghaus And Dirk Hofacker 6. A Precarious Future: An Irish Example Of Flex-Insecurity Mary Murphy And Camille Loftus 7. Institutionalisation Of Trade Union Activity: Four Indexes And Their Ability To Explain Cross-National Differences In Strike Rate Luis Ortiz And Clara Riba 8. Welfare Beyond The State: Employers As Welfare Providers In Germany And The UK Felix Behling 9. Multinationals Of Industrial Co-Development: Co-Creating New Institutions Of Economic Development Peer Hull Kristensen And Maja Lotz 10. Beyond the Flexibility/Security Divide: Skills, Work Organization and External Employment in the German Knowledge-Based Economy Karen A. Shire And Markus Tunte 11. Work-Life Balance, Working Conditions And The Great Recession Frances Mcginnity And Helen Russell 12. Integrating Work And Political Economy Sean O Riain, Felix Behling, Rossella Cicia And Eoin Flaherty

Integrating Work and Political Economy

The preceding chapters have taken us on a tour of European countries, moving from national stories to within organisations, from politics of workplace reorganisation to individual and social consequences, and between work and the economy. Can an integrated sense be made of these diverse journeys across the European economy and its workplaces?

Changing Workplaces, Changing Capitalisms

Recent decades have seen momentous shifts in the organisation of capitalism, including the range of transformations captured under the grand labels of globalisation, financialisation, liberalisation, and post-industrialism. Not surprisingly, the national forms of capitalist political economy are themselves in flux – even though significant differences remain between social democratic, Christian democratic, and liberal economies (among others) the internal dynamics of each of these models of capitalism are being transformed in important ways (Thelen 2014). At the same time, the experience of work in these worlds of capitalism has undergone dramatic changes. Workers often have more autonomy, work more closely with colleagues within and outside their employer’s company, and can exercise more flexibility in organising their work. However, the pressures of work are often more intense, employment is insecure, rewards are uncertain and likely to depend on competition with others, and a general sense of precarity is widespread.

Income Inequality from 1960–2012: A Brief Time-Series History of Capital and Labour

This commentary examines two principal forms of inequality and their evolution since the 1960s: the division of national income between capital and labour, and the share of total income held by the top 1 per cent of earners. Trends are linked to current discussions of inequality drivers such as financialisation, and a brief time-series analysis of the effects of trade and financial sector growth on top incomes is presented.