Labor Migration in the European Union: De-institutionalization or Re-institutionalization of Social Protection?

Hassel, Anke and Knudsen, Jette Steen and Wagner, Bettina (2015) Labor Migration in the European Union: De-institutionalization or Re-institutionalization of Social Protection? [Conference Proceedings] (Submitted)

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Abstract

The literature on European Union (EU) integration sees increasing liberalization as a major challenge for models of national capitalism within Member States. EU liberalization, it is argued, erodes national welfare regimes and prevents the re-embedding of markets in social protection systems. However, other scholars highlight the ability of national institutions to reinvent themselves to offer social protection. This paper assesses these claims by exploring an extreme case of labor market pressure driven by EU liberalization. Employment conditions in the meat production sector in Germany and Denmark have been affected in very different ways by EU liberalization. We explore whether, and to what extent, low wage labor migration has weakened the position of social partners and the rules that shape the employment conditions in the industry. We see evidence of deinstitutionalization in both Germany and Denmark but we also see evidence of distinct institutional reinvention that reflects national political traditions. We find that some degree of solidaristic labor market regulation can be maintained – at least in the short term – even in the face of relocation and job losses.

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