Chiara Benassi
The project investigates the role of industrial relations (IR) institutions in the knowledge economy. While some scholars have argued for the liberalization of industrial relations to foster investments in innovation (Alesina and Giavazzi 2008, Martin and Scarpetta 2012), others have been adapting traditional arguments on comparative institutional advantage (Streeck, 1991; Hall and Soskice, 2001) to the transition to the knowledge economy (Erikson and Pontusson 2022; Ornston 2013; Thelen 2019). However, these ‘new’ arguments on the role of IR for different productive specialisation have not been systematically tested yet.
This project addresses this gap through a multilevel cross-country study. At the establishment level, the analysis consists in a series of panel regressions testing the influence of IR on technological upgrading and innovation based on the German IAB establishment dataset and on the Italian INAPP-RIL establishment dataset. At the national level, the analysis will test the effect of national IR systems on export specialisation in high and low value-added services and manufacturing across OECD countries. It will use a cross-national database combining variables on IR, global trade and export value added.
The project is of high political relevance and will be of interest not only to academics but also to trade union officials, works councillors and policy makers. Given the calls for flexibilizing IR and the lack of rigorous analysis on the role of different IR systems in the knowledge economy, there is need to deepen this line of research. In particular, our comparative and multilevel findings allow developing theoretical arguments and policy recommendations that acknowledge the specificities of national IR systems.