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11. Changing Perspectives in Political Economy

Author:
Renate Mayntz
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
The history of a research field called political economy dates back to the eighteenth century, giving rise to a variety of disciplinary approaches, and experienced a renaissance as a mul- tidisciplinary field after the Second World War, combining economic, political science, and sociological approaches. The divergence between economic globalization and the nation- ally restricted scope of economic policy directs interest to the relationship between politics and the economy. A quantitative analysis of the articles published in two dedicated political economy journals shows major trends of the developing research field. The relationship between politics and economy is interpreted rather widely, and research is largely focused on Western capitalist nations. In conclusion, two avenues for further research in the field are briefly discussed.
Topic:
Political Economy, Regional Cooperation, Capitalism, and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, Central Europe, and Western Europe

12. Does Pattern Bargaining Explain Wage Restraint in the German Public Sector?

Author:
Donato Di Carlo
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
German public sector wage restraint has been explained through the presence of a specific type of inter-sectoral wage coordination in the industrial relations system – i.e., export sector-led pattern bargaining. This paper has a twofold ambition. First, as a literature assessing exercise, I review the literature in industrial relations and comparative political economy (CPE) and find that (1) the origins and mechanics of inter-sectoral wage coordination through pattern bargaining have never been laid out clearly; (2) the mechanisms of the pattern bargaining thesis have never been tested empirically; and (3) the CPE literature reveals a limiting export-sector bias. Second, as a theory-testing exercise, I perform hoop tests to verify whether the pattern bargaining hypothesis can really account for wage restraint in the German public sector. I find that Germany cannot be considered a case of export sector-driven pattern bargaining. These findings challenge core tenets of a longstanding scholarship in both CPE and industrial relations. Most importantly, they open a new research agenda for the study of public sector wage-setting that should shift its focus to public sector employment relations, public finance, public administrations, and the politics of fiscal policy
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Germany

13. International Monetary Regimes and the German Model

Author:
Fritz W Scharpf
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
The end of the Bretton Woods regime and the fall of the Iron Curtain deepened the export orientation of the German model of the economy. Only after entry into the Monetary Union, however, did rising exports turn into a persistent export–import gap that became a problem for other eurozone economies. This Discussion Paper shows why the present asymmetric euro regime will not be able to enforce their structural transformation on the German model. Neither will German governments be able to respond to demands that would bring the performance of the German economy closer to eurozone averages. Instead, it is more likely that present initiatives for financial and fiscal risk sharing will transform the Monetary Union into a transfer union.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Germany

14. Group Representation for the Working Class? Opinion Differences among Occupational Groups in Germany.

Author:
Lea Elsässer and Armin Schäfer
Publication Date:
02-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
In this paper, we take up the burgeoning debate about the underrepresentation of the working class in politics. In the literature section we discuss theories of group representation and look at recent empirical studies of responsiveness that have begun to disaggregate public opinion by sociodemographic categories. Empirically, we analyze a dataset of more than 700 survey items collected in Germany between 1980 and 2012. The analysis shows that respondents within one social class are more similar to each other than to members of other classes and that class-based differences outweigh those of education, region, or gender. While opinion differences are not always large, they can reach 50 percentage points. There are frequently gaps of between 20 or 30 percentage points in support for or opposition to policy changes. Since workers’ opinions tend to differ from the opinions of those groups who are well represented in parliament, their numerical underrepresentation might bias decisions against them, as recent studies suggest.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Politics, Race, Social Stratification, and Sociology
Political Geography:
Germany

15. Culture’s Influence: Regionally Differing Social Milieus and Variations in Fertility Rates.

Author:
Barbara Fulda
Publication Date:
05-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
How can we understand subnational differences in fertility rates? The most common explanations see the key to these differences in the socio-structural composition of a region’s population and its structural conditions. However, such explanations fail to account for fertility rate differences in regions with similar populations and structures. This paper analyzes two social milieus in southern Germany and argues that variations in their fertility rates can only be understood through their cultural differences. Family extension patterns as well as opportunity structures (such as the availability of childcare facilities) are substantially influenced by the regionally differing cultural norms formed and held by social milieu members. To better explain differences in fertility rates and to understand the regionally differing effects of family policy measures, demographic research therefore needs to include culture in its understanding of demographic behavior.
Topic:
Demographics, Sociology, Culture, Children, and Research
Political Geography:
Germany and Global Focus

16. Challenging Varieties of Capitalism's Account of Business Interests: The New Social Market Initiative and German Employers' Quest for Liberalization, 2000–2014

Author:
Daniel Kinderman
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
Do employers in coordinated market economies (CME’s) actively defend the non-liberal, market-constraining institutions upon which their strategic coordination and competitive success depends? This paper revisits the debate over firms’ employer preferences with an in-depth examination of employers in Germany – a paradigmatic CME and crucial “test case” for Varieties of Capitalism. It is based on interviews with key officials and an in-depth examination of a large-scale campaign – the New Social Market Initiative or INMS – founded and funded by German metalworking employers to shape public opinion. The paper argues that German employers have a strong preference for liberalization: they have pushed hard for the liberalization of labor markets, the reduction of government expenditures, the expansion of market-oriented freedoms, and cuts to social protection, employment protection and benefit entitlements. I find no empirical support for the claim that the INSM is an attempt to appease discontented firms within employers’ associations. On the contrary: for many employers, the Agenda 2010 reforms did not go far enough. Following the discrediting of the Anglo-American model in the financial crisis, far-reaching concessions by employees, and the unexpected revitalization of the German economy, employers have moderated their demands – but liberalization remains their default preference. This paper also addresses the role of ideas and the conditions under which employer campaigns can influence policy.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Labor Issues, and Capitalism
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

17. Beyond Convergence versus Path Dependence: The Internationalization of Industrial Relations at Ford Germany and Britain (1967–1985)

Author:
Thomas Fetzer
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
For a long time scholars of industrial relations tended to associate notions of internationalization with the debate about the cross-border convergence of industrial relations systems. Convergence versus path dependence was thus a key controversy in industrial relations studies for decades. This debate was mirrored in multinational companies when their attempts to “export” industrial relations practices to foreign subsidiaries encountered host country influences that constrained such attempts. In recent years many scholars shown the need for a wider and more complex analysis of internationalization processes that goes beyond the convergence/path dependence dichotomy. Building on this development, the paper presents a historical case study of the impact of cross-border subsidiary integration on industrial relations at Ford Germany and Ford UK between 1967 and 1985. I argue that convergence and path dependence need to be combined with a third “differential internationalization” approach that reflects the country-specific gradual change that emerges from subsidiary integration. The paper concludes by reflecting on the implications of the case study for contemporary internationalization debates.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Britain, United Kingdom, and Germany

18. Market Constitution Analysis: A New Framework Applied to Solar Power Technology Markets

Author:
Guido Möllering
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
This paper outlines an integrative framework for the analysis of market constitution and explores its application to solar power technology markets. These markets are currently still in the making and, therefore, particularly suited to studying constitutive processes and the elements that play a role in them. In applying the framework to the constitution of solar power technology markets in Germany from the mid-1990s, the paper focuses on three examples of how constitutive mechanisms that trigger and drive market constitution processes and shape the constitutive elements of markets operate in distinct but interrelated ways: exploitation of technical inventions, business diversification, and political entrepreneurship. The analysis shows the role of market actors in “making” a market at the same time as these actors evidently become “marketized” by adopting market logic. Markets cannot be taken for granted in the field of solar power technologies or, rather, their actual taken-for-grantedness is one measure of the degree to which their constitution has been achieved.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Markets
Political Geography:
Germany

19. Parteigängerr und Landschaftspfleger: Eine Analyse der Parteispenden großer deutscher Unternehmen, 1984-2005

Author:
Martin Höpner
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
Notably during election campaigns, donations have become an indispensable part of party finance. The paper analyzes the most controversial part of this form of party finance: donations provided by corporate bodies. The data base comprehends all party donations given by the 100 largest German firms between 1984 and 2005. The readiness to donate, amounts of donations and their distribution among the political parties are being analyzed. Donations are likely to be higher when firms belong to the center of the network of interlocking directorates. Two donation strategies can be distinguished: Sponsorship of the political center-right and donations all over the political spectrum (the so-called landscape conservation strategy). During the observation period, the landscape conservation strategy has gained importance among firms but not among individual persons and employers' associations. While family-owned firms give comparatively few donations to the SPD, high degrees of employees' codetermination seem to decrease the likelihood of large donations to CDU/CSU and FDP.
Political Geography:
Germany

20. German Companies Engaging in China: Decision-Making Processes at Home and Management Practices in Chinese Subsidiaries

Author:
Geny Piotti
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
This paper attempts to explain why internationalization processes to China are growing despite the significant difficulties that foreign direct investments into China encounter. The answer to this question can be found in the processes of decision-making on internationalization at the company level and how these affect management practices in Chinese subsidiaries. The argument I put forward in this paper is that for the small and medium-sized enterprises the study focuses on, the decisions concerning investment in China are mainly the product of structural and legitimation pressure. Structural pressure can encourage cognitive mechanisms and behavioral consequences similar to those occurring when individuals (and organizations) cope with threat. Legitimation pressure can foster wishful thinking, which pushes actors to believe that desired options are good despite evidence to the contrary. These pressures have an impact on how well companies are prepared when they internationalize and can particularly affect some crucial management practices, leading to inefficiencies and problems in subsidiaries.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
China, Europe, Asia, and Germany