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Flexicurity Institutions and Labour Market Mobility. An Intra-Nordic Comparison
Abstract
Advocates of flexicurity claim that flexibility and security in the labour market can be achieved by a combination of certain institutions: liberal Employment Protection Legislation (EPL), generous income protection, extensive Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs), and good opportunities for Lifelong Learning (LLL). Such a mix of measures is assumed to lead to an efficiently functioning labour market, implying a win-win situation for both employers and employees. This article examines the relationship between flexicurity institutions and some forms of labour market mobility between employment and unemployment and between employment and inactivity in four Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, in the period 2000-2006. With the most liberal EPL and generous measures for people without jobs, Denmark is closest to the flexicurity ideal. Controlling for various other factors, it turns out that the Danish labour market generally - but not in every respect - has the highest levels of mobility. Perhaps the most interesting exception is that the highly significant transition rate from unemployment to employment is higher in Norway. The explanatory value of flexicurity is, thus, limited and the assumptions regarding the effects of mutually reinforcing flexicurity institutions are called into question.
... Still, research on EPL stringency shows no impact on the overall unemployment level (Esping- Andersen, 2000;Heckman, 2007;Howell et al., 2007;OECD, 2008). Further, a comparison of mobility from unemployment to employment in the Nordic countries, using the same data as this article, finds that the transition rates from unemployment to employment (temporary or permanent) are highest in Norway, followed by Denmark, Sweden, and Finland (Berglund and Furåker, 2011). Explaining results that oppose the neoclassical economic view, Regini (2000: 23) points to the fact that there traditionally exists "hidden flexibilities" alongside strict official regulations, where actors negotiate more flexible solutions to hiring and firing issues on firm or industry level. ...
... Pathways from unemployment to employment-through a permanent or a temporary contract? Berglund and Furåker (2011), using the same data as this article, find that the transition rates from unemployment to employment (temporary or permanent) are highest in Norway, followed by Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. While the level of mobility is important, our focus is on the pathways into the labor market. ...
... Investigating whether differences in permanent and temporary employment regulations make an impact on the transition patterns into the labor market for unemployed individuals, the results in this study show that unemployed individuals to a much higher extent enter the labor market through temporary rather than permanent contracts in Sweden and Finland, compared with Denmark and Norway, following the expectations in hypothesis 1. Berglund and Furåker (2011) show that the mobility rates from unemployment into employment are highest in Norway, followed by Denmark. Therefore, the Nordic countries with the highest overall mobility into the labor market also have the highest share of transitions through permanent employment. ...
Comparing the Nordic countries, this article examines different combinations of permanent and temporary employment protection legislation, and whether such differences are reflected in patterns of labor market transitions. We find higher levels of transitions from unemployment to temporary contracts in Sweden and Finland, with lax regulation of temporary contracts and strict regulation of permanent contracts. Further, temporary employees are integrated into permanent contracts in countries with lax (Denmark) or strict (Norway) regulation of permanent contracts, while this is not the case in Finland and Sweden. For these countries, the study indicates a certain degree of labor market duality, with low mobility from temporary to permanent employment contracts.
... It has been questioned whether the flexicurity path leads to the goals its proponents wish to attain (e.g. Berglund and Furåker, 2011;Burchell, 2009;Calmfors, 2007). From the perspective of employees this path may be a risky endeavour; several studies show that the experience of job insecurity is an important stressor in working life (Cheng and Chan, 2008;Sverke et al., 2002). ...
... Consequently employees may experience recurrent job losses and perhaps also recurrent periods of unemployment. In a Nordic study of labour market mobility, higher rates of transitions into unemployment were found in Denmark than in Norway and Sweden (Berglund and Furåker, 2011;Berglund et al., 2010). At any rate, flexicurity policies can be assumed to bring about a labour market with relatively high levels of job insecurity for employees. ...
... In the flexicurity formula, employment security is assumed to be a significant factor to counteract the negative consequences that a job loss can imply and it refers to the possibilities of staying employed but not necessarily with the same employer (Bredgaard et al., 2005: 23;Leschke et al., 2007: 340). These possibilities are believed to be enhanced by life-long learning institutions and active labour market policies, besides a dynamic economy in general (see also Berglund and Furåker, 2011). ...
The so-called flexicurity approach suggests that security for employees can be successfully combined with flexibility for organizations and companies. This article studies if affective job insecurity (worry about losing one's job) is compensated for by perceptions of employment security (possibilities of finding an equal or better job) and income security. Data derive from a survey carried out in 2010 among employees in Sweden. The main findings are that cognitive job insecurity (the perceived risk of job loss) increases affective job insecurity, whereas both employment and income security have the opposite effect. Moreover, cognitive job insecurity and employment security interact, implying that the effect of cognitive job insecurity on affective job insecurity is reduced in the presence of employment security but is reinforced in the absence of it. These results are discussed in relation to the flexicurity approach, concluding that flexicurity may be a risky venture for employees.
... Labour market mobility and job openings are important for individuals' possibilities of avoiding unemployment. Studies of mobility in Nordic labour markets in [2000][2001][2002][2003][2004][2005][2006] show that the mobility rates from unemployment to employment within a 1-year period were higher in Norway than in Sweden (Berglund and Furåker, 2011). Conversely, mobility from employment to unemployment was higher in Sweden than in Norway. ...
... During the period studied, unemployment was lower in Norway than in Sweden. Mobility into and out of the Swedish labour market as well as into and out of permanent jobs was also lower (Berglund and Furåker, 2011). This may explain the (very) high risk for temporary employees to be unemployed 5 years later, reflecting smaller chances to establish themselves in the labour market than their Norwegian peers. ...
We compare the effects of relatively liberal regulations on the use of temporary employment in Sweden and more restrictive rules in Norway. We find not only that temporary work may be a stepping stone out of unemployment but also that fixed-term employees are exposed to significant risks of long-term marginalization. Moreover, fixed-term employees in Sweden face greater risks of long-run unemployment and low earnings compared to those in Norway.
... Transition rates into insider positions are lower in Sweden and Finland than in Norway (Berglund and Furåker, 2011;Svalund, 2013b), which may mean that insecure positions in the labour market are less likely to be considered transitional; one might therefore expect insider-outsider differences to reflect this. However, in comparative terms, all three countries have low rates of long-term unemployment and rather high rates of mobility into the labour market, so segmentation is low and objective outsider status is more transitional than permanent. ...
... Mobility rates between employment and unemployment and from temporary to permanent employment have been high in Denmark (Berglund and Furåker, 2011;Svalund, 2013b). The lax regulation of permanent contracts and high mobility rates may encourage fewer insider-outsider differences in attitudes towards job security, compared to the other Nordic countries, while the limited legislation and the large variation between different collective agreements may lead to attitudinal variation between employee groups. ...
This article investigates employees’ attitudes towards job protection legislation and attitudinal differences between employees with different levels of job security. National surveys from three Nordic countries, using different measures of insider–outsider positions in the labour market, do not support the assumption that outsiders (those with insecure jobs) prefer laxer job protection legislation. On the contrary, workers in secure jobs seem more likely to prefer laxer regulation.
... Berglund et al. 2014;Berntson 2008;Garsten and Jacobsson 2004;Silla et al. 2009). Employment security is believed to be enhanced by institutional arrangements such as lifelong learning institutions and active labor market policies, as well as a dynamic economy in general (Berglund and Furåker 2011). Important antecedents to employment security are age, education, and tenure. ...
... ALMP is likely to affect employment security, especially if unemployment is high (Chung and Van Oorschot 2010). Thus the proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on ALMP per percentage point of unemployment is used as an indicator of the ambitiousness and prioritization of ALMP (Berglund and Furåker 2011). Levels of ALMP investment relative to the unemployment level are quite similar in all three countries. ...
This article describes how the flexicurity arrangement of low job security, high employment security, and good income security advocated by various authors affects the mental well-being of employees. Data are derived from a survey carried out in 2010–2011 among employees in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The main findings are that all three forms of cognitive security (the perceived risk) have an independent effect on mental well-being and that the worry of insecurity (the affective component) mediates the relationship with mental well-being. The interaction effects show that high levels of employment security can alleviate the detrimental effects of job insecurity on mental well-being. No similar interaction effect was found with job insecurity and income security. The results are discussed in relation to the institutional arrangements of the Nordic countries’ welfare states, concluding that the high employment security needed for a successful flexicurity arrangement requires either low levels of unemployment or effective and extensive active labor market programs. Flexicurity is thus susceptible to economic turmoil and requires further labor market investments, even in the Nordic countries.
... Berglund et al. 2014;Berntson 2008;Garsten and Jacobsson 2004;Silla et al. 2009). Employment security is believed to be enhanced by institutional arrangements such as lifelong learning institutions and active labor market policies, as well as a dynamic economy in general (Berglund and Furåker 2011). Important antecedents to employment security are age, education, and tenure. ...
... ALMP is likely to affect employment security, especially if unemployment is high (Chung and Van Oorschot 2010). Thus the proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on ALMP per percentage point of unemployment is used as an indicator of the ambitiousness and prioritization of ALMP (Berglund and Furåker 2011). Levels of ALMP investment relative to the unemployment level are quite similar in all three countries. ...
This article describes how the flexicurity arrangement of low job security, high employment security, and good income security advocated by various authors affects the mental well-being of employees. Data are derived from a survey carried out in 2010–2011 among employees in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The main findings are that all three forms of cognitive security (the perceived risk) have an independent effect on mental well-being and that the worry of insecurity (the affective component) mediates the relationship with mental well-being. The interaction effects show that high levels of employment security can alleviate the detrimental effects of job insecurity on mental well-being. No similar interaction effect was found with job insecurity and income security. The results are discussed in relation to the institutional arrangements of the Nordic countries’ welfare states, concluding that the high employment security needed for a successful flexicurity arrangement requires either low levels of unemployment or effective and extensive active labor market programs. Flexicurity is thus susceptible to economic turmoil and requires further labor market investments, even in the Nordic countries.
... As a result, flexicurity policies can be assumed to establish labour markets with 'relatively higher levels of job insecurity for employees' (Berglund et all 2014: 166). Although flexicurity may appear to provide a solution to the flexibility versus security debate, not all authors agree (Burchell 2009;Berglund and Furaker 2011), as work and income security may not necessarily compensate for a lack of job security (Berglund et al 2014). ...
This study examines the lived experiences of temporary agency workers in a UK fresh food factory. The UK food supply chain, like other lower paid and lower skilled sectors, is heavily reliant on this precarious form of employment and the voice of these workers has not been adequately heard. Whilst temporary agency work has been subject to extensive research, few accounts take into consideration the view from below to consider the overall lived experiences of these workers. This is surprising and, given the significance of this form of employment, warrants further examination. In this study I give an ethnographic account of the lived experiences of temporary agency workers in a salad processing factory, focusing on three aspects. The first aspect considers precarious work and employment insecurity and explores the experiences of temporary agency workers as they seek work and then aim to maintain work, whilst the second aspect examines these agency workers as they undertake work. These temporary agency workers experience multi-faceted relationships whilst at work - which is the third aspect of their lived experiences that this study examines. The ethnographic approach that I adopted for this study combined participant observations and semi structured interviews to provide valuable insights into the work experiences of temporary agency workers. As the motivation for this study was to further understand the lived experiences of temporary agency workers in the food supply chain, an ethnographic approach was necessary as we cannot really learn a great deal about what actually happens or about how things work in organizations without undertaking the intensive and close-up participative research that is central to an ethnographic approach. By examining the lived experiences of temporary agency workers in this way, this thesis makes an important contribution to the literature in the following areas. First, I add to our knowledge of temporary agency work by highlighting and explaining how temporary agency workers exhibit individual agency to lessen the effects of precarious work and employment insecurity. Second, many temporary agency workers carry out intense work and this thesis contributes to the literature on temporary agency work by examining how the combined effect of temporality and hard work intensifies their workplace experiences. Third, the relationships experienced by temporary agency workers from within a blended workforce have not been adequately examined from their perspective and this thesis contributes to the literature in this area. Whilst blending suggests a workplace which is smooth and homogenous, I introduce the concept of the mixed-up organisation to appropriately reflect that life on the diverse factory shop floor is far more complicated. Finally, this study reveals how discreet acts of resistance are enacted by temporary agency workers, and in doing so further highlights that these workers possess a surprising degree of individual agency.
... From a theoretical point of view, there are other alternatives. One could be the Danish flexicurity road, combining a liberal EPL with generous UI, which evidently reinforces mobility (see Jørgensen and Madsen, 2007;Nordic Council of Ministers, 2010;Berglund and Furåker, 2011). However, this direction may RIO, Nº 9, 2012 Transformations of Swedish Labour Market Institutions. ...
The article studies how changes in 2007 in the Swedish unemployment insurance (UI) have influenced employees’ turnover cognitions. It is argued that the combination of a strict employment protection legislation (EPL) and a generous UI in 2006 made employees more inclined to risky transitions. The post-2007 combination of a strict EPL and an ungenerous UI reinforces non-mobility intentions. Analyses of two surveys show a smaller proportion of employees with turnover cognitions in 2010 than in 2006.
... The increase in temporary positions in Sweden for adolescents (15 to 24 years of age) has constituted over 50 per cent of all positions available and has been higher in Sweden than in the other Nordic countries throughout the 2000s. The opportunities for transforming from temporary to permanent employment have also been lower in both Sweden and Finland (Berglund and Furåker 2011;Svalund 2013). In general, the employment rate for young people in Sweden and Finland is lower than in the other Nordic countries (OECD 2018). ...
... In order for workers to leave for another job their labour power needs to be in demand, that is, alternative jobs must be available and unemployment should not be too high. It has been shown that lower levels of unemployment are associated with higher mobility rates (Andersen et al., 2008: 74-75;Berglund et al., 2010;Berglund and Furåker, 2011). On the other hand, when there is a downturn in the economy, employees are more at risk of being laid off leading to more involuntary quits at the same time as employees are apt to cling to the jobs they have. ...
This article focuses on the relationship between employment protection regulation (EPL), trade unions and tenure of employment. A main hypothesis is that EPL strictness tends to prolong tenure, because rigorous rules imply that remaining with the same employer gives more job security. The role of unions can be expected to be similar. These assumptions are related to issues regarding dualisation in the labour market. Data used are the European Working Conditions Survey 2010—including 23 countries and more than 18,500 employees—combined with national-level data on EPL, unemployment, union density and collective bargaining coverage. The analyses reveal that EPL strictness and bargaining coverage are associated with longer tenure. The same goes for having an employee representative in the workplace. The institutional variables work through interactions with individual-level variables. For example, the impact of age, which is strongly linked to tenure, increases with stricter EPL and higher bargaining coverage.
... The assumption is that through certain institutional arrangements, employers can have the workforce flexibility they desire while workers' needs for security can be met. One popular idea is to combine liberal legislation regarding employment protections with generous income protections, active labour market policies and plentiful opportunities for continuing education for workers who are unemployed or disabled (Berglund -Furåker 2011, Wilthagen -Tros 2004. However, active labour market policies have received mixed evaluations in terms of their efficiency (Card -Kluwe -Weber 2009). ...
This volume, Labour Markets at a Crossroads: Causes of Change, Challenges and the Need to Reform, investigates numerous vital aspects of the European labour markets and the challenges they face. The chapters provide new perspectives regarding the ways in which Western Europe’s labour markets and systems of wage formation function, as well as the consequences that these systems have. The authors are scholars in economics, political science, sociology and economic history from a variety of European countries. Several of the chapters are theoretical in nature, whereas others are empirical. Taken together, this approach offers a solid background and good opportunity for policy comparison and evaluation.
... An odds ratio above 1 indicates higher mobility rates compared to the mean rate and below 1 the reverse. Some transitions can be evaluated as negative, for example transitions from employment to unemployment, while others are more positive (Berglund and Furåker 2011 In the questionnaire, we asked about mobility intentions. Furthermore, one battery of questions asked about factors affecting the will to stay or change employer/workplace. ...
... in transition: Volatility, flexibility and mobility significantly lower in Sweden and Finland than in the other two countries(Berglund et al. 2011;Svalund 2013).9 The increase in temporary positions in Sweden -which for adolescents (15 to 24 years of age) constitutes over 50 per cent of the employment -has not led to any noticeable decrease in youth unemployment, which throughout the 2000s has been far higher in Sweden than in the other Nordic countries(LO 2014). ...
The Nordic countries have clear similarities. With their small, open economies, well-developed welfare states and organized working life, they have given us the term “the Nordic model”. NordMod 2030 is a Nordic research project analyzing developments of the past 25 years and identifying the challenges that the Nordic countries will face in the years through 2030. This final report summarizes the insights and findings of the project’s 17 subreports. It is intended to serve as a source of knowledge in debates over the renewal and further development of the Nordic model. The project was commissioned
by SAMAK in cooperation with FEPS. The English translation of this Final report is financed by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
El propósito del presente estudio es reevaluar la fase de moderación salarial que tuvo lugar en las economías avanzadas durante el periodo 2008-2016 desde un enfoque que combina algunos de los hallazgos de la literatura sobre polarización en Economía Política Comparada con aquellos que pueden encontrarse en la serie de trabajos que abordaron el aplanamiento de la curva de Phillips salarial durante el mismo periodo. Para ello, partimos de la hipótesis de que la disminución del crecimiento de los salarios en la fase que sucedió a la Gran Recesión obedece tanto al fenómeno de la segmentación laboral, que se agudiza durante la fase 2008-2016, como a la evolución de la generosidad de las políticas distributivas dirigidas a los outsiders. Los resultados empíricos que obtenemos permiten sostener esta hipótesis y apuntan a que allí donde la presión salarial deflacionaria de la dualidad laboral era menor, como en el caso de algunas economías anglosajonas o europeas continentales, esta podría haberse visto compensada por otros mecanismos de dualización en sentido amplio y, más concretamente, por la evolución de las políticas de compensación dirigidas a los outsiders.
This chapter deals with temporary and part-time work in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. After reviewing the relevant literature, I will empirically test the hypothesis that these forms of non-standard employment (NSE) are increasing in the Western capitalist world, including the Nordic countries. Using data from national labour force surveys as presented by Eurostat, I will describe the development of part-time and temporary work in the Nordic area since the late 1990s. Subsequently, I will study how people in NSE perceive various aspects of their jobs and their labour market situation. This analysis is based on data from the European Social Survey (ESS) collected in 2010. Four topics are scrutinized with regard to job characteristics: whether respondents experience variety in their work, whether they think that their job necessitates learning new things, whether they can choose when to start and finish work, and whether they feel that the job demands very hard work. Concerning the labour market dimension, I focus on three issues: whether respondents consider their job secure, how they judge their opportunities for advancement in the workplace and how easy it would be to find another, similar or better job elsewhere. Throughout the chapter I look for cross-national similarities and dissimilarities. The Nordic countries are fairly similar in terms of welfare state arrangements and labour market institutions, at least in comparison with other countries (Andersen et al., 2007).
This article investigates employees’ attitudes towards job protection legislation and attitudinal differences between employees with different levels of job security. National surveys from three Nordic countries, using different measures of insider–outsider positions in the labour market, do not support the assumption that outsiders (those with insecure jobs) prefer laxer job protection legislation. On the contrary, workers in secure jobs seem more likely to prefer laxer regulation.
The diminished ability to hear and communicate affects the quality of life of the elderly. The aim of the study was to determine how a hearing aid can positively influence the quality of life for the elderly. Method: structured interviews with 34 people aged 65+ who had been using hearing aids for at least one year. For 70 % of them, impaired conversation was the main incentive to start using a hearing aid. On average, the participants took part in 4 instructional sessions on how to use a hearing aid and 47 % of them considered their knowledge of the device very good. One half of them used their hearing more than 8 hours a day and with all activities. 97 % of the elderly reported a subjective improvement to the quality of their lives when using a hearing aid. Most of them reported a better understanding of spoken language and revived their social life. The study showed that if used regularly, a hearing aid helps to facilitate interaction and communication in day-to-day activities, positively affecting the quality of life of the elderly.
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