Magnus Feldmann

Emerging Varieties of Capitalism in Transition Countries Industrial Relations and Wage Bargaining in Estonia and Slovenia

This article analyzes patterns of economic coordination in Estonia and Slovenia, two postsocialist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, by using the varieties of capitalism (VOC) framework. The article argues that Estonia and Slovenia are very good examples of liberal and coordinated market economies. Market-based coordination of economic relations predominates in Estonia, whereas Slovenia has highly institutionalized coordination. Industrial relations and wage bargaining arrangements are the main focus, but other areas studied by the VOC literature are briefly considered as well. The article also accounts for the origins of these arrangements by examining the interaction of two sets of factors: economic organization and industrial relations under the old system, on one hand, and strategic policy choices, especially the effects of privatization and monetary policy on formalizing coordination, on the other. The article considers some general implications of this analysis for studying successful postsocialist transition and comparative capitalism.

From the ruble zone to the euro zone: the political economy of Estonian macroeconomic policy

This article analyzes Estonian macroeconomic policy since the country regained independence in 1991. Estonia was the first post-communist country to introduce a currency board in 1992, and consecutive governments have systematically prioritized macroeconomic stability and fiscal prudence. Estonia implemented an internal devaluation in 2008–2009, which enabled it to become the first post-Soviet republic to adopt the euro in 2011. This article explores the origins of the currency board and shows how institutions, interests, and ideas have contributed to Estonian exceptionalism in macroeconomic policy and to euro adoption. It demonstrates that the Estonian experience can shed light on the political prerequisites of internal devaluations, which may be of great relevance both to current and future Central and Eastern European euro area members.

Which Europe? The Politics of Differentiated Integration

The new volume on differentiated integration edited by Kenneth Dyson and Angelos Sepos is an important addition to the literatures on European integration, international relations and European politics. It provides a fresh perspective on one of the key features of European integration, namely its differentiated nature. Although differentiation is increasingly common, this volume is unquestionably the most comprehensive and ambitious attempt to take stock of the causes and consequences of differentiation. The book consists of three parts. The first part, which includes an introductory chapter by the editors, is composed of chapters on four aspects of differentiation, namely its legal, functional, temporal and spatial dimensions. The second part contains a number of chapters on territorial groupings, such as Franco-German, Alpine, Atlantic, Baltic, Central European and Mediterranean Europe. Finally, the last part of the book is devoted to the functional domains in which there is differentiated integration, e.g. defence, higher education, social policy, environmental policy, macroeconomic policy, etc. Taken together, the three parts of the book paint a nuanced portrait of the complex issues raised by differentiation. The book makes three important contributions to the existing literature. First, it constitutes the most comprehensive overview of differentiated integration to date. It shows how differentiation has become a central element of many policy areas and a defining feature of many subregions of the EU. Second, the chapters of the book shed light on the complex and contingent determinants of differentiation over time and across issue areas, and they also explore the circumstances under which differentiation is likely to be temporary or semi-permanent. Third, the book includes some reflections on the broader significance of differentiation, notably in relation to the perennial debates about widening and deepening of the European Union. Although the book is carefully edited, there are a few inevitable glitches. For example, the former US Defence Secretary who coined the notions of Old and New Europe is Donald (not Ronald) Rumsfeld (p. 8), and the two dominant countries in Mercosur are Brazil and Argentina (not Venezuela – see p. 11). While the book is very comprehensive, it would have been interesting to include more comparative material and also a more detailed analysis of the European Economic Area, which cuts across many functional, geographical and temporal dimensions of integration. These observations should not deflect from the fact that this book is a major contribution to the literature, and it is likely to define the agenda for future work on differentiated integration. While the book addresses a number of theoretical perspectives, such as public goods theory, the editors deliberately avoid developing any overarching theory of differentiation. Instead the various contributors are given substantial freedom to develop the approach which they view as most useful for the West European Politics, Vol. 35, No. 2, 425–440, March 2012