A large body of research has investigated the impact of industrial relations on workplace innovation. Econometric research based on U.S. data suggests that unions are detrimental to innovation, while evidence from Europe is more mixed. This points to the importance of "contextualized" theorizing...

Drawing on responsive regulation theory, this article analyses how the nature and legal setting of collective bargaining regulation in Australia and Italy influence the regulatory space of multinational corporations (MNCs) in shaping working conditions. We aim to identify how these two systems...

A widespread belief considers decentralization of collective bargaining as a key element in introducing relevant innovations and changes in the work organization. In relation to this belief, since 2011 the Italian collective bargaining system is being specifically monitored by European...

Italy is not immune from the long term process towards greater bargaining decentralization under way in Western Europe. The article surveys the main actions, either defined by social partners or by government intervention, which have attempted to encourage this process in recent years, without...

How do we explain divergent trajectories of change in wage bargaining institutions? Existing studies maintained that European economic integration and liberalisation, decline in trade union power, changing work organization and new pay systems would push national wage-setting institutions...

In this paper we present a search and matching model in which firms invest in sunk capital equipment. By comparing two wage setting scenarios, we show that a two-tier bargaining scheme, where a fraction of the salary is negotiated at firm level, raises the amount of investment per worker in the...

The growth of Italian exports has lagged that of euro area peers. Against the backdrop ofunit labor costs that have risen faster than those in euro area peers, this paper examines whether there is a competitiveness challenge in Italy and evaluates the framework of wage bargaining. Wages are set...

In this paper we present a search and matching model in which firms invest in sunk capital equipment. By comparing two wage setting scenarios, we show that a two-tier bargaining scheme, where a fraction of the salary is negotiated at firm level, raises the amount of investment per worker in the...

In this paper we investigated empirically the nature of the relation between underground employment and unions in Italy, focusing on certain productive sectors. The motivation for this analysis is the hypothesis of the existence of two different opposite channels through which unions affect...

According to the aims of the labour market reforms of the 90s implemented in many European countries, workers may stay at their first job for a shorter time, but should be able to switch jobs easily. This would generate a trade-off between job opportunities and job stability. This paper...