Academic literature on the topic 'Labour law Sweden'

Sweden used to be one of the most restrictive countries in the Organisation of Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) in terms of labour immigration policy. This was drastically changed in 2008 when a very liberal immigration law was passed. Why did one of the most restrictive labour immigration countries suddenly become one of the most liberal ones? The article argues that it is necessary to consider labour market institutions and their consequences for labour migration. These factors will influence the preferences, strategies and chances of success for various policy actors. A decline in union power and corporatism in Sweden had important consequences for its labour immigration. Following this decline, employers and centre-right parties became more active and adopted more liberal policy positions than previously. The article analyses policy developments since the 1960s and draws on official documents, position statements, party manifestos, media coverage and original elite interviews.

This paper explores trade union strategies to protect wages in the face of EU migration after the enlargement of the European Union. We argue that unions have three instruments at their disposal to deal with the risks linked to downward wage pressure: closure through immigration control, equalisation through collective bargaining and minimum wages, and the organisation of migrant workers. Using comparative case studies of Sweden, Germany and the UK, we show how different types of power resources shape union strategies: unions with substantial organisational resources (in Sweden) relied on a large membership to pursue an equalisation strategy and expected to be able to ‘afford’ openness. German unions with low membership but access to the political system pushed for a mix of closure and equality drawing on political intervention (e.g. minimum wages). British unions, unable to pursue either, focused their efforts on organisation.

AbstractThis comparative review of age as a protected ground in discrimination law explores the underpinning questions and themes related to two main dimensions of age discrimination. The first dimension is structural, economic and labour market driven, whereby age is used to allocate a range of rights, obligations and benefits within society. The second is the social justice and equality dimension, in which age is understood as an aspect of individual identity that is worthy of protection against indignity or detriment. The review then considers the law on age discrimination in a number of jurisdictions, the EU law, the UK, Sweden, USA, Canada and South Africa, and assesses the extent to which the underpinning questions explain the developing case law.

One counterintuitive variation in wage-setting regulation is that countries with the highest labor standards and strongest labor movements are among the least likely to set a statutory minimum wage. This, the author argues, is due largely to trade union opposition. Trade unions oppose the minimum wage when they face minimal low-wage competition, which is affected by the political institutions regulating industrial action, collective agreements, and employment, as well as by the skill and wage levels of their members. When political institutions effectively regulate low-wage competition, unions oppose the minimum wage. When political institutions are less favorable toward unions, there may be a cleavage between high- and low-wage unions in their minimum wage preferences. The argument is illustrated with case studies of the UK, Germany, and Sweden. The author demonstrates how the regulation of low-wage competition affects unions’ minimum wage preferences by exploiting the following labor market institutional shocks: the Conservatives’ labor law reforms in the UK, the Hartz labor market reforms in Germany, and the European Court of Justice's Laval ruling in Sweden. The importance of union preferences for minimum wage adoption is also shown by how trade union confederation preferences influenced the position of the Labour Party in the UK and the Social Democratic Party in Germany.

This article studies the impact of design characteristics of in-work benefits on labour supply and poverty in an international comparative setting, taking account of both first-order (without taking labour supply effects into account) and second-order effects (taking labour supply effects into account). We use the microsimulation model EUROMOD, which has been enriched with a structural discrete choice labour supply model to take account of labour supply reactions. The analysis is performed for four EU member states: Belgium, Italy, Poland and Sweden. The results show that design characteristics matter substantially, though the specific effects differ in magnitude across countries, indicating there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Throughout the analysis, numerous trade-offs are uncovered: not only between work incentives and poverty goals, but also within work incentives themselves. Taking account of behavioural reactions attenuates the impact on poverty outcomes, signalling the importance of bringing these effects into the empirical analysis.

AbstractDrawing on Jacques Rancière’s theorising of the political, this article analyses the disagreement on undocumented migrants in recent legislation in Sweden and within the European Union as well as in Swedish labour union practice. Both the consensus understanding of the issue of undocumented migrants and the materialisation of dissensus through the political activities of undocumented migrants are studied. The aims of the article are: firstly, to show that undocumented migrants in Sweden engage in a political struggle that is not recognised as such, to analyse the structure or conditions of possibility of this non-recognition, and finally, to analyse the ways in which these conditions might be undone through the political activities of undocumented migrants. The theoretical claim is that the issue of undocumented migrants involves intimately core aspects of both politics and law and that the struggle of undocumented migrants is a process in which our understanding of political and legal subjectivity is called into question. In conclusion we reflect on the question of political change against the background of the theoretical and empirical findings of the analysis.

This paper focuses on the specific problems in the labour and social security legislation as it relates to crowdworkers in the digitalised new economy, analysing their place in labour market, and especially in the collective agreements which are the standard means of regulating working conditions in the Nordic model. Sweden has a binary system where a performing party is as either an employee or self-employed. The law on working and employment conditions offers only limited protection to those on short, fixed-term contracts; instead, it is social partners that have improved crowdworkers’ conditions in some industries by using collective bargaining. However, there are no collective agreements in the digital economy, or indeed for platform entrepreneurs. The complications of the parties’ positions will be analysed, especially as platforms do not consider themselves to be employers, but rather coordinators of the self-employed. It is not only labour law regulations that are important to prevent precariat among crowdworkers. It is also very important that the social security regulations adapt to the new labour market as the social security legislation is an important part of the Nordic model.

This thesis consists of an introductory chapter and four self-contained papers on temporary work agenciesand the economic analysis of law. Paper [I] adds to the theoretical literature on the incentives of Temporary Work Agencies (TWAs). Using aprincipal-agent model with hidden action to model two main types of contracts between a TWA and a ClientFirm (CF), the TWA is shown to potentially act against the best interest of the CF when helping to fill avacant position. The results also suggest that the adverse effect of the incentive misalignment is larger whenthe worker is going to be leased instead of hired by the CF. However, this effect could potentially be offsetby introducing a sufficient level of competition among the TWAs. Paper [II] uses individual-level data on young adults to estimate how the probability of being employed inthe Swedish temporary agency sector is affected by whether a partner or other family member has experienceof temporary agency work. The results show a significant effect from all peer groups of a magnitude thatcorrespond to the other most influential control variables. We also find that this cohort of the agency sectorhas a relatively high education level compared to the regular sector, and that there are predominately menworking in thissector. Paper [III] analyses possible effects on total employment, and the distribution between agency work andregular contracts as a consequence of the implementation of the EU Temporary and Agency Workers Directive in Sweden. The analysis is based on changes in the compensation to agency workers in a calibratedextension of a Mortensen-Pissarides search model. Even though the results suggest a negative net effect ontotal employment, the implementation is shown to increase (utilitarian) welfare, and an increased transitionprobability from the agency sector into regular employment will increase welfare even further. Paper [IV] focuses on settlement probabilities for different types of representation within the Swedish LabourCourt. Empirical estimates on a set of unjust dismissal cases show that private representatives are generallyless likely to reach a settlement than their union counterparts. The settlement probabilities converge following court-mandated information disclosure, which suggests that information asymmetry is an importantfactor in explaining differences in settlement behaviour. Privately instigated negotiations are therefore ingeneral insufficient for making cases with non-union representation reach the same settlement rate as caseswith union representation.

Sammanfattning

Syftet med denna uppsats är att jämföra svensk och dansk turordning vid uppsägning på grund av arbetsbrist. I första hand kartlägger jag hur länderna reglerar turordning. Därefter undersöker jag vilken funktion reglerna kring turordning fyller för arbetstagare i Sverige respektive Danmark. Vidare undersöker jag i vilken utsträckning reglerna kring turordningen fyller samma funktion i Danmark som i Sverige? Vilket skydd ger det arbetstagaren?

 

Jag har använt mig av rättsdogmatisk metod för att kartlägga ländernas regler för turordning. Komparativ metod har sedan använts vid jämförandet mellan länderna. Vidare har jag använt mig av Anna Christensens teori om det normativa grundmönstret för att lättare förstå och kunna dra slutsatser av vilken funktion regler om turordning i Sverige och Danmark fyller för arbetstagaren.

 

I Sverige styrs reglerna om turordning till stor del av det normativa grundmönstret, skydd för etablerad position. Genom arbetsgivarens ledningsrätt att själv avgöra när och var det råder arbetsbrist samt vissa inskränkningar i turordningsreglerna dras de svenska turordningsreglerna även något åt det normativa grundmönstret, det marknadsfunktionella mönstret. I Danmark styrs reglerna för turordning i störst utsträckning av det marknadsfunktionella mönstret.

 

Turordningsreglerna i Sverige ger skydd för arbetstagare med lång anställningstid i relation till arbetstagare med kortare anställningstid. I Danmark får turordningsreglerna ingen funktion för arbetstagarna förrän de uppnår en lång anciennitet (anställningstid). Innan dess har arbetsgivaren ledningsrätten att avgöra när och var det råder arbetsbrist. Denne får då avgöra vilken eller vilka arbetstagare som ska bli uppsagda, utan någon större hänsyn till objektiva kriterier som anciennitet.

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to compare Swedish and Danish rotation system in the event of termination due to redundancy. First, I identify how the countries regulate rotation. Then I study what purpose the rules around the rotation serve for the workers in Sweden and Denmark. Furthermore, I go over to what extent the rules of the rotation system serve the same purpose in Denmark as in Sweden? Which protection are the workers receiving? I have used law of dogmatic approach to identify the countries' rules for the rotation. Comparative method is then used for a comparison between the countries. Furthermore, I have used Anna Christensen's theory on the normative basis pattern to better understand and be able to draw conclusions of what purpose the rules of rotation in Sweden and Denmark serve for the workers.

 

In Sweden are the rules of rotation governed much by the normative base pattern, the protection of established position. The employer's rights to decide when and where there is redundancy and some restrictions on the rotation rules, brings the Swedish rotation rules towards the normative basis pattern, the market functional pattern. In Denmark are the rules of rotation governed mostly by the market functional pattern.

 

The rules of rotation in Sweden provide protection for workers with long service in relation to workers with shorter service. In Denmark have the rules of rotation no function for the workers until they reach a long seniority. Before that, the employer has the management right to determine when and where there is redundancy. The employer may then determine which one of the workers who will become redundant, with little regard to objective criteria such as seniority.

With the changes that have taken place in the world during the spring of 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected and had consequences in the Swedish labour market. As a result, the global crisis has brought the needs of the layoff institution to the fore again. A workplace can due to for various reasons, experience a temporary decline in the need for labour. One way to address this has traditionally been resorting to layoffs. The term of layoff means that an employer has the opportunity to temporary layoff employees. The purpose of this study was to contribute with a deeper understanding of the regulation of layoff in Sweden and to achieve this a comparative study was made through Norway’s legal rules on layoff, in the hope of contributing new knowledge in the subject for Swedish regulation. The results of this study are that there are many similarities in the employment law regulations regarding layoff in Sweden and Norway, but also some differences such as the form of legal regulations, the importance of the layoff-institute, cost distribution, collective agreements and the role of the managerial prerogative. The Swedish legal system is more intrusive in managerial prerogative than the Norwegian layoff-institute can be stated to be. The Swedish regulation places higher demands on employers, in comparison with the Norwegian regulation which focuses more on employers' right to decide whether layoffs should take place.

The right to non-discrimination is a fundamental part of human rights. Sweden has enacted legislation which prohibits employers from discriminating or harassing employees and job seekers. Swedish authorities also receive a substantial amount of complaints concerning ethnic discrimination in the workplace every year and there are volumes of research showing structural injustices related to discrimination. Despite these facts few employers have so far been found guilty of discrimination on ethnic grounds in Swedish courts. This thesis aims to shed lights on and analyse how the Swedish anti-discrimination legislation is utilised in the Swedish Labour Court regarding discrimination and harassment on ethnic grounds. On the basis that very few lawsuits brought on behalf of employees/job seekers have been successful it is hypothesized that there are problems either with the form of the legislation or the assessment of the court. Firstly the shape of statutes, their legislative history and preparatory works are illustrated to create an understanding for the legal pre-conditions, thereafter the judgements of the Labour Court are analysed within the theoretical framework of the thesis – composed of Critical Race Theory and Sociology of Law. The study has shown problems concerning both the legislation and the assessment of the Labour Court. The legislation does not seem to embody the awareness of discriminating structures shown by the works of the preparatory committees. Further the assessments of the Court suggest a lack of understanding of the interaction between different pre-conditions and how these create a disadvantage for people of a minority standing which affects them both in the workplace and in the judgments of the Court.

The power resources approach (PRA) has proven to be a successful explanatory model when explaining the development of welfare states expansion. Politics of retrenchment is, however, something different. Therefore, the theory of New Politics  (NP), its emphasis on path-dependency, has in recent years contributed with powerful arguments that questions the relevance and the explanatory model offered by PRA. NPs hypothesis about ”the death of class politics” is its core question. Hence, the purpose of this essay was to explore the relevance of PRA by answering the question of whether the approach offers a convincing explanation of the conflict over LAS (the Swedish Employment Protection Act). In order to answer the question, the study applied the case study method process-tracing. The thesis contributed with several compelling results and conclusions, which clearly showed that class politics is still alive and the main arguments of the PRA stands. The theory-developing ambition meant that the essay also applied a gender perspective over the conflict over LAS chain of events, and this too presented rather interesting results.

Declining union memberships are a fact in both Sweden and Finland. At the same time, the autonomous labour market parties and the high membership rates are the most significant factors for the two countries compared to Europe and the rest of the world. These two factors have in turn been developed and strengthened since the beginning of the twentieth century. By autonomous labour market parties I refer to the fact that the labour market parties themselves through collective bargaining are agreeing on the labour market conditions, without interference from the government.

This paper is therefore taking it's stance in the question of what happens with the autonomous labour market parties when the membership rates are in decline.

 

With this in mind, this paper describes the judicial development, the collective agreement and labour market structures, the legal consequences of collective agreements and the opportunities of industrial and sympathy action in both Sweden and Finland. The two countries' systems of labour law have caught some negative attention, hence two of the most discussed cases of recent years are given some attention as well.

 

The collective judicial conditions are very similar in both Sweden and Finland regarding the labour market main actors' collaboration, the collective agreement structures and legal consequences and the opportunities of industrial and sympathy action. The Finnish regulations regarding industrial action are somewhat more unconstrained compared to the Swedish ones. The Swedish opportunities of sympathy action are on the other hand more intricate and contain more exceptions. The Finnish union density is almost as high as in Sweden, although the Finnish employees are more willing to use industrial action. The labour market structures are relatively similar between the countries and so are the effects of the legislation and traditions surrounding them. The differences are found in the larger gender pay gaps present in Finland. While the differences are also present in Sweden, they are smaller. The similarities are found in the effects of the labour market structures and the labour market main actors' collaboration. Both are contributing to strengthening the present conditions.

Gemensamt för Sverige och Finland är att medlemstalen i de fackliga organisationerna minskar. Samtidigt är det den fackliga autonomin och den höga anslutningsgraden som i jämförelse med Europa och resten av världen är utmärkande för de båda länderna. Dessa två faktorer har i de båda länderna utvecklats och befästs sedan början av 1900-talet.

Den fackliga autonomin bygger på att de centrala parterna utan inblandning från staten själva kommer överens om arbetsmarknadens villkor. Uppsatsen utgår därför från den övergripande frågan om vad som händer med den fackliga autonomin när medlemstalen minskar.

 

Med detta i åtanke redogör uppsatsen för Sveriges och Finlands rättsliga utveckling, deras kollektivavtals- och arbetsmarknadsstrukturer, kollektivavtalens bindningsmekanism och rättsverkningar samt möjligheten till strids- och sympatiåtgärder. De båda ländernas arbetsrättsliga system har heller inte undgått kritik, varför två av de mest omtalade rättsfallen på senare tid också ges en redogörelse.

 

Sveriges och Finlands kollektiva arbetsrättsliga system är mycket lika, både avseende de centrala parternas samrådsförfaranden, kollektivavtalens bindningsmekanism, rättsverkningar och arbetskonfliktsreglering. Den finska regleringen kring stridsåtgärder är dock något friare, medan den svenska innehåller fler intrikata undantag. De finska arbetstagarna är medlemmar i fackliga organisationer i nästan lika hög grad som de svenska. De finska arbetstagarna är dock betydligt mer benägna att ta till arbetsstrid. Arbetsmarknadsstrukturerna i Sverige och Finland är relativt lika och likaså effekterna av dem. Skillnaden ligger i de stora löneskillnader mellan män och kvinnor som föreligger i Finland. Även i Sverige förekommer det skillnader, om än något mindre. Effekterna, som är liknande i de båda länderna, består i att befintliga särfördelningar av löne- och anställningsvillkor befästs genom rådande arbetsrättsliga reglering och huvudavtalsparternas samrådsförfaranden.

Yhteistä Ruotsin ja Suomen ammattiliitoille on jäsenmäärän supistuminen. Samanaikaisesti ammattiliittojen itsenäisyys ja korkea järjestäytymisaste ovat ominaisia molemmille maille verrattuna Eurooppaan ja muuhun maailmaan. Nämä kaksi tekijää ovat molemmissa maissa kehittyneet ja vahvistuneet 1900-luvun alusta alkaen.

 

Ammattiyhdistysten itsenäisyys rakentuu sille että keskeiset osapuolet ilman valtiovallan sekaantumista sopivat itse työmarkkinoiden ehdoista. Opinnäytteen lähtökohta on mitä tapahtuu ammattiyhdistysten itsenäisyydelle jäsenmäärän supistuessa.

 

Opinnäyte selvittää Ruotsin ja Suomen yhteiskuntien oikeudellista kehitystä, työehtosopimus- ja työmarkkinarakennetta, työehtosopimusten sitomismekanismia ja oikeudellisia vaikutuksia sekä mahdollisuuksia työtaistelu- ja myötätuntotoimenpiteisiin. Molempien maiden työoikeudellinen järjestelmä ei ole välttynyt arvostelulta, josta syystä aineisto sisältää selostuksen kahdesta viime aikojen puhutuimmasta oikeustapauksesta.

 

Ruotsin ja Suomen työoikeudellinen järjestelmä on hyvin samankaltainen sekä keskeisten osapuolten kuulemismenettelyn, työehtosopimusten sitomismekanismin, oikeudellisten vaikutusten että työtaistelujen säätelyn osalta. Suomalainen työtaistelusäätely on jonkunverran vapaampi, ruotsalainen sisältää useita monimutkaisia poikkeuksia. Suomalaiset työntekijät ovat ammattiliitojen jäseniä melkein yhtä usein kuin ruotsalaiset. Suomalaiset työntekijät ovat kuitenkin paljon useammin mukana työtaisteluissa Työmarkkinoiden rakenne Ruotsissa ja Suomessa ovat suhteellisen samanlaisia kuten myös niiden vaikutukset. Erot ovat Suomen suurissa palkkaeroissa miesten ja naisten kesken. Myös Ruotsissa on eroja, joskin pienempiä. Vaikutukset jotka ovat samanlaisia molemmissa maissa, koostuvat vallitsevan jaon palkka- ja palkkaamisehtojen vahvistamisesta vallitsevasta työoikeudellisesta sääntelystä ja pääsopijaosapuolten kuulemismenettelystä.

In the neoliberal era, there has been a global trend towards increased labour market insecurity and inequality, even in countries traditionally emblematic of union strength and socio-economic security such as Sweden. In this study, I present the first ethnographic research conducted in anthropology of negotiations between the central Swedish union and employer peak bodies (known as the ‘labour market partners’). These negotiations were conducted in 2020 against the background of a political crisis and political pressure to modernise and liberalise longstanding and fundamental job security protec- tions in the Employment Protection Act (LAS). Through the lens of these negotiations, I investigate the role of the labour market partners in moderating neoliberal trends and how the partners see their relationship and role in society. I investigate, for example, why Swedish employers support unions and a system that ostensibly curbs their own power. I employ the notions of moral economy and em- bedding to look beyond economic self-interest, to the moral and institutional norms that help explain the partners’ co-operation over time and the role they see themselves as playing as guardians of the social peace.  I also incorporate interview material describing diverse workers’ experiences of the current job security protections under LAS. I argue that workers’ voices and experiences reveal a parallel moral economy, where current job security protections are revealed to be important but inadequate, and that job security is a highly nebulous, ambivalent and contextual phenomenon. I argue the moral economy of job security is one of entangled reciprocity between employer, worker and the state, and I consider the proposed reforms in this context. The study shows that even in the context of increasing market- isation of labour and society, reciprocity and cooperation both at the workplace and during the LAS negotiations serve to de-commodify labour and embed the economy in various moral norms. In this way, the research contributes to the anthropological literature on embeddedness and moral economy. It also contributes to both an ethnographic and theoretical understanding of job security.

This paper investigates in what way employment for low-skilled workers is connected to the wage dispersion in a country by comparing Sweden to six European countries. Previous research on this topic used cross-section analysis, but this essay takes another approach by comparing the changes in the wage dispersion and employment and by breaking down the change in the wage dispersion into parts and studying the change in the wage for different percentiles. The paper finds that wages in Sweden have not converged, which likely contributed to the increase in the employment gap between people with high and low skills. Two countries with different development were Germany and Norway. In line with recent research, in Germany, wage inequality increased and the employment gap between people with high and low skills decreased. In comparison, the case of Norway has not received much attention among researchers. Wages converged more in Norway than in Germany, yet employment increased more in Germany. The paper suggests a potential explanation: wages for the bottom percentiles of the earnings distribution fell in Germany, which it did not in Norway.

Between 1664 and 1885 labour in Sweden was regulated by compulsory-service statutes. Able-bodied but idle persons could be compelled to submit to em­ployment as a servant. Compulsory service was part of a larger system of laws and regulations that regulated mobility, settlement, begging, and poor relief, all of which aimed at restricting the labouring poor’s freedom and agency. Some parts of this system had medieval roots, such as vagrancy laws. From the per­spective of the propertied classes, this system of interacting regulations served several purposes, such as fighting idleness, labour shortage, high wages, begging, demands for poor relief, unwanted settlement in the parishes, and geographical movement. The obligation to serve was abolished in 1885. Failure to comply with these service statutes was punishable by being treated as a ‘vagrant’, which could mean being jailed in a house of correction, or simply being ordered to find employment within a specific time. In short, it was illegal to be without work or other means of supporting oneself, such as property. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the social practices of the compulsory-service statutes and related issues such as mobility and settlement. The thesis has dealt with four areas of inquiry: the judicial framework, the policing of ‘vagrancy’, in what situations people were exempt from having to comply with the compulsory service statues, and the identity of the ‘vagrant’. The system for dealing with ‘vagrancy’ has left a large number of sources, and different sources give different images of the poor. This applies most clearly in the case of the Swedish Romani population, the Resande.  The thesis deals with the county (län) of Västmanland during the 1830s. It highlights how the compulsory-service statutes and related vagrancy laws shaped the lives of people and points to how these institutions restricted poor people’s agency and formed their experiences.

Digitalisation and the changing world of work are calling into question the standard employment model as a basis for social security systems. Whilst a growing number of publications deal with the consequences for industrial relations and labour law, social law is still being left out of most research projects on digital work. This book aims at widening the perspective. It concentrates on the two most important questions in the context of social protection in a digitalised world, namely access to social protection systems and their future financing, putting emphasis on platform work. It gives an overview of different national approaches to these questions, it analyses the respective solutions in a comparative manner, and it puts them into a transnational context. By bringing together case studies from Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France and Estonia and addressing the specific reform challenges for EU standard setting, EU coordination and the relation to tax law, the book provides new insights on what a “Social Law 4.0” should look like.

Sweden is a unitary state. Its legal system has the features that are distinctive to those of the Nordic legal family, as opposed to either civil law or common law systems. There are two parallel court systems in Sweden, general courts and administrative courts. There are also specialized courts, such as the Market Court, the Migration Courts, and the Labour Court.

Sweden has been an immigrant country since World War II, with a mix of labour (especially from neighbouring Nordic countries) and refugee immigration up to the early 1970s and a large inflow of refugees, especially from the Middle East, after that. In 2002, almost 13 percent of the Swedish population was born in another country, summing up to more than one million inhabitants out of a total nine million. Labour immigrants arriving before 1970 used to have a labour-market achievement on a par with native Swedes. In recent decades, however, the first generation of immigrants, particularly those of non-European origin, have had relatively poor success in the labour market. This is counterbalanced by two facts: first, immigrants' labour-market attainment improves with years of residence in Sweden; second, there is considerable assimilation across generations. The second generation (born in Sweden, or who immigrated before starting school) do almost as well in the labour market as those with two Swedish-born parents. The remaining worry for this group is their relatively low employment rates.

This chapter explores the management strategies adopted by manufacturing firms operating in high versus low cost economies and investigates the reasons for differences in the management practice choices. The study reported in this chapter identifies a subset of countries that have either high or low labour costs, with USA, Sweden, and Japan being high, and India, China, and Brazil being low labour cost economies. The high labour cost manufacturing firms are found to have better management practices. In this chapter, the authors find that Australia and New Zealand manufacturing firms face relatively high labour cost but lag behind world best practice in management performance. The chapter concludes by highlighting the need for improvement in management capability for Australian and New Zealand manufacturing firms if they are to experience a reinvigoration of productivity, competitiveness, and long-term growth.

This chapter explores the management strategies adopted by manufacturing firms operating in high versus low cost economies and investigates the reasons for differences in the management practice choices. The study reported in this chapter identifies a subset of countries that have either high or low labour costs, with USA, Sweden, and Japan being high, and India, China, and Brazil being low labour cost economies. The high labour cost manufacturing firms are found to have better management practices. In this chapter, the authors find that Australia and New Zealand manufacturing firms face relatively high labour cost but lag behind world best practice in management performance. The chapter concludes by highlighting the need for improvement in management capability for Australian and New Zealand manufacturing firms if they are to experience a reinvigoration of productivity, competitiveness, and long-term growth.

“How do we define our project goal?” “How are we going to coordinate our independent national studies?” “Who is responsible for what?” “How are newcomers introduced to the project?” During the first year of co-operation among researchers from a variety of disciplines (labor law, sociology and organizational theory) and countries (Sweden, Spain, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States) all efforts went to answer those, apparently simple, questions. Inspired by the late Wittgenstein’s ideas on the performative character of language, the chapter follows the process by which an international and multidisciplinary group of researchers agree on a research goal, coordinate their work, distribute responsibilities, and socialize newcomers. That is, the process of organizing knowledge intensive work is approached from a performative view of language.

Abstract: Social democratic capitalism’s chief practitioners have been the Nordic nations: Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Skeptics discount the Nordics’ success on the presumption that these nations have some unique feature that allows them, and only them, to reap the benefits of social democratic policies without suffering tradeoffs. Versions of this story identify the Nordics’ secret weapon as an immutable work ethic, superior intelligence, trust, solidarity, small population size, racial and ethnic homogeneity, institutional coherence, effective government, corporatism, a willingness to be taxed, tax compliance, strong labor unions, or low income inequality. I examine these hypotheses. None holds up to close inspection.

As a trend of evolution, the labor force in the Romanian forestry sector is part of trajectory registered by the European Union, as a whole, because many of the member countries are still oriented on the traditional methods of administration, harvesting and processing. However, there are also developed countries with large forested areas (Finland, Sweden) that have embraced new technologies and adjusted management and production processes. This issue aimed, among other things, at reducing the number of people employed in the forestry sector. In Romania, increasing the number of the employees, based on the quantitative increase of jobs as result of the gross exploitation of resources, will slow down by adopting new technologies, reducing the consumption of natural resources, but also as an effect of economic shocks generated by the pandemic. For these reasons, according to our study, the low-skilled workforce will suffer, this being the most vulnerable category, as technological developments need employees with higher skills and abilities. Equally, the informal sector must be taken into account because it employs four times people more. Romania have to adopt those appropriate measures in order to help the incorporation of the labor force released from the forestry sector of resource exploitation into adjacent sustainable activities.