Corporatism and Democracy : Consequences of Electoral Competition for Government Vs. Teacher Union Relations in the Mexican States
This paper outlines a larger planned project on the effect of democracy on corporatism in Mexico. The “state corporatism” by which autocratic governments harnessed major societal interests was common in Latin America during much of the 20th century. As the region democratized, theorists expected these tight state-labor bonds to disappear, and in fact organized labor does appear much more fragile today than before the transition. Yet this weakness is most likely a function of economic, not political, liberalization. Rather, this paper posits that corporatism is likely to survive and possibly thrive in new democracies, all else equal. Yet it has been empirically difficult to isolate the effects of democracy from those of economic opening. Furthermore, the relative distinctiveness of the corporatist experience across countries has hindered systematic comparison. A subnational analysis of the education sector in Mexico reduces these problems. Teachers are largely protected from the international competition associated with mobile capital. And the variation in the level of electoral competition across relatively similar Mexican states facilitates comparative analytic leverage. Nevertheless, the strength of corporatism remains difficult to measure. As such, this paper proposes the use of three education policy areas through which the extent of union-government ties can be seen. Preliminary evidence supports the hypothesis that democratization by itself does not undermine corporatism
Year of publication: |
2009
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Authors: | Hecock, Douglas |
Publisher: |
[S.l.] : SSRN |
Subject: | Mexiko | Mexico | Lehrkräfte | Teaching profession | Gewerkschaft | Trade union | Demokratie | Democracy | Korporatismus | Corporatism |
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