Consequences of the neoliberal policies of the U.S. and Germany’s labor market


Consecuencias de las políticas neoliberales en los mercados laborales de Estados Unidos y Alemania


https://doi.org/10.21670/ref.2013.28.a05

Authors

  • Enrique Casais Padilla Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Keywords:

Labor market reforms, inequality, United States, Germany

Abstract

Since the 1970s, the major capitalist economies have a profitability crisis that led to international capital to seek alternative performance. In order to maximize profit rates, among other measures, these reforms proposed labor market reforms. This strategy began in the United States, and is quickly seconded by many Latin American governments and the United Kingdom. In Germany this process took a few years mainly due to political issues such as the existence of a strongly organized labor unions, and the existence of the Soviet Union, who exercised counterweight to U.S. hegemony. This article addresses the socioeconomic consequences of these reforms of labor markets in the U.S. and Germany, which mainly imposed wage restraints and the deterioration of the quality of life of the majority of workers linked to significant increases in inequality.

Resumen

Desde la década de 1970, las principales economías capitalistas presentan una crisis de rentabilidad que motivó al capital internacional a buscar alternativas de rendimiento. Con el objetivo de maximizar las tasas de ganancia, entre otras medidas, se proponen reformas en los mercados laborales. Esta estrategia se inicia en Estados Unidos y es rápidamente secundada por gobiernos latinoamericanos y por el Reino Unido. En Alemania este proceso tarda en imponerse unos años, debido principalmente a aspectos políticos, como la presencia de sindicatos laborales fuertemente organizados y la existencia de la extinta Unión Soviética, que ejercía un contrapoder real a la hegemonía estadunidense. El artículo aborda las consecuencias socio-económicas de las reformas laborales en Estados Unidos y Alemania, que principalmente impusieron contenciones salariales y el deterioro de la calidad de vida de la mayoría de los trabajadores unido a importantes aumentos de la desigualdad.

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Published

2013-07-01

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Author Biography

Enrique Casais Padilla

Profesor de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid.