TY - JOUR
T1 - The politics of inflation and revitalisation of wage solidarity in Scandinavia
AU - Lyhne Ibsen, Christian
AU - Alsos, Kristin
AU - Andersen, Søren Kaj
AU - Bengtsson, Erik
AU - Nergaard, Kristine
PY - 2024/12/19
Y1 - 2024/12/19
N2 - This article compares the policy and collective bargaining responses in the three Scandinavian countries to the cost-of-living crisis that began in 2021. The countries are known for their coordinated and consensual response to exogenous shocks. However, Scandinavian variants of neoliberal reforms, the 2009 Financial Crisis and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic have challenged the model. The comparative analysis finds three things. First, Norway and Sweden opted for rather generous measures compared with Denmark, and their measures were generally universal in nature, whereas the Danish measures were more targeted on specific groups. Second, with no statutory minimum wage, all three countries relied on collective bargaining to shore up wage incomes. Third, the different responses in the three countries pertain to different political and economic problem loads. We also find signs of convergence as wage solidarity seems to be experiencing a revitalisation in all three countries. This could have lasting effects on bargaining systems.
AB - This article compares the policy and collective bargaining responses in the three Scandinavian countries to the cost-of-living crisis that began in 2021. The countries are known for their coordinated and consensual response to exogenous shocks. However, Scandinavian variants of neoliberal reforms, the 2009 Financial Crisis and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic have challenged the model. The comparative analysis finds three things. First, Norway and Sweden opted for rather generous measures compared with Denmark, and their measures were generally universal in nature, whereas the Danish measures were more targeted on specific groups. Second, with no statutory minimum wage, all three countries relied on collective bargaining to shore up wage incomes. Third, the different responses in the three countries pertain to different political and economic problem loads. We also find signs of convergence as wage solidarity seems to be experiencing a revitalisation in all three countries. This could have lasting effects on bargaining systems.
KW - Inflation
KW - collective bargaining
KW - Scandinavia
KW - solidarity
KW - cost-of-living crisis
U2 - 10.1177/10242589241299754
DO - 10.1177/10242589241299754
M3 - Article
SN - 1024-2589
JO - Transfer
JF - Transfer
ER -