Occupational careers under different welfare regimes: West Germany, Great Britain and Sweden

In: The dynamics of modern society: poverty, policy and welfare, S. 63-84

Abstract

"Occupational life courses are forcefully shaped by a variety of social institutions: by educational systems, firms, intermediate organisations, labour-management relations, and social policy. Our analysis will focus on three of these contextual features: social security programmes, general education, and vocational training, comparing Great Britain, Germany, and Sweden. In doing so we ask whether there are homologies between these three aspects of institutional structure in each country that make for distinct national occupational regimes. Similarly, we ask if different social security, education and training regimes give rise to typical patterns of labour force participation and occupational Mobility (job mobility and class mobility ). We build on Esping-Andersen's work (1990) but we emphasise the time dimension of labour force participation and related institutions. Germany serves as a model for a conservative regime; Sweden has a socialdemocratic welfare state. Among West European countries, Great Britain features a liberal welfare state." (author's abstract)