"A Dutch miracle" : job growth, welfare reform and corporatism in the Netherlands

The Dutch polder model- recently dubbed a "success story" by Bill Clinton and Jacques Delors - plays a prominent role in current discussions about possibilities for a new "capitalism with a social face", and appeals to experts all over the world. Just ten years ago the Swedish sociologist Gran Therborn described the Dutch employment policy as a "spectacular failure". The authors single out three policy changes to explain the "miracle" that has taken place since then. The "Dutch miracle" shows that it is difficult but not impossible to overcome the drawbacks of the welfare state and that in this age of globalization and integration, it remains necessary to coordinate policy on a national level as well. In the last section the authors investigate the dynamics of social-economic policy which will have to be developed under increasingly stringent international conditions. Ch. 1. How To Explain A Miracle? -- Ch. 2. Miracle Or Mirage? Job Growth And Labour Market Developments -- Ch. 3. Welfare Reform, Institutional Theory And Social Learning -- Ch. 4. Policy Learning Under Corporatism -- Ch. 5. Corporatism Regained: External Adjustment, Wage Moderation, And Trade Unions -- Ch. 6. Corporatism Unrestrained: Reversing The Spiral Of Welfare Without Work -- Ch. 7. Truncated Corporatism: The Crooked Path Towards An Active Labour Market Policy -- Conclusion. Some Lessons From The Dutch Experience. Jelle Visser & Anton Hemerijck. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 187-197) And Index. Explores the Netherland's recovery from the severe unemployment crisis in the early 1980s to record job growth in the 1990s. Distinguishes three policy changes to explain the "miracle": the wage restraints since the early 1980s; the reform of the social security system ten years later; and the active employment policy of the 1990s 206 p. : 24 cm Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-197) and index An analysis and explanation of the success of the Dutch "polder model".