Is There a Distinctive Southern European Employment Model?
Authors
Maria Karamessini
Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Abstract
The paper argues that Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece possess the same employment model, which is distinctive from that of other European and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. This can be attributed to common patterns of capitalist development but also to radical social and political changes in the 1970s in these four countries. Labor market reforms in these countries since the mid-1980s have varied in scope and intensity and have increased diversity within the Southern European employment model. However, they have not undermined the underlying logic and coherence of institutions, which explain continuing similarities in the employment system of the aforementioned countries.
