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Traditionally the German employment system has been hailed as the supreme example of how a symbiosis between equity and efficiency can be established in an economic system. A defining characteristic of the German employment system is how the world of work is embedded in a highly co-ordinated system of industrial relations institutions inside and outside the enterprise. The argument of this paper is that this model of labour market organisation is coming under severe pressure as a result of a range of developments, not least the emergence of lean production as a credible alternative system of work organisation. Lean production which is based on techniques moulded and fine-tuned in Japan affronts virtually every aspect of the prevailing model of economic citizenship in Germany. It is argued that important modifications will have to be made to key industrial relations institutions in the country so that enterprises can respond effectively to the lean production challenge. (German Politics / FUB)

Reviews and discusses M. Aoki and R. Dore (eds), The Japanese firm: sources of competitive strength (Oxford, 1994); K. Imai and R. Komiya (eds), Business enterprise in Japan: views of leading Japanese economists (London, 1994). (Original abstract-amended)

Northern Ireland is caught between war and peace. On the one hand, there is a widespread desire for a permanent end to violence, but on the other hand big political divisions continue to keep unionism and nationalism apart. One issue that divides the two blocs is the role of the EU in Northern Ireland's economic and political affairs. This article assesses the various arguments made on this issue and suggests that it would be inappropriate for the EU to have a permanent role in the internal governance of the region. The article goes on to show that the debates about neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism long associated with European integration are now emerging in Ireland with regard to cross-border economic co-operation. It is argued that the EU could play an important role in creating a form of symbiotic co-operation on the island whereby cross-border economic links and political stability in a new Northern Ireland go hand-in-hand. (Journal of Common Market Studies / FUB)

Perhaps the 2 most influential approaches to remedying Europe's labour market problems (of high and persistent levels of unemployment) are New Keynesianism and the deregulation perspective. Describes these approaches and considers how influential they are inside the European Union. Suggests that most member states pursue an untidy mixture of the two. (Original abstract-amended)

THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS AN OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL MODEL. THE MAIN ARGUMENT IS THAT THIS MODEL IS IN SERIOUS CRISIS, PRIMARILY AS A RESULT OF GENERAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS WHICH HAVE UNDERMINED ITS ECONOMIC FUNCTIONALITY. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT IT IS TOO EARLY TO WRITE OFF THE EUROPEAN MODEL OR TO RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF ITS SUCCESSFUL REFORM.