Corporatism in Denmark and Norway - yet another century of Scandinavian corporatism?
Artikel af Mikkel Mailand
The literature of corporatism tends to bypass most Scandinavian countries and ignore state-social partner relations not related to wage bargaining and income policy. This contribution attempts to overcome both these shortcomings. It concludes that corporatism is alive in Denmark and Norway. The social partners have, as general rule, been involved in formulating and implementing changes in welfare state policies, and corporatist arrangements are also seen in relation to some industrial relations issues. The two countries share a number of contextual features important for corporatism. However, in Norway ‘peak-level' corporatism on wage setting remains stronger than in Denmark, whereas ‘meso-level' corporatism (corporatism in specific policy area) is stronger in Denmark than in Norway.
The article is a contribution to a special issue on the Nordic countries of WSI Mitteilungen - Monatszeitshrift des Wirtscharfts- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Instituts in der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, 1/2009. (Translated title: Perspektiven des skandinavischen Korporatismus).