Between a shock and a hard place: The dynamics of labor-backed adjustment in Poland and Argentina

Comparative Politics

Volumn 30, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 171-192

  Levitsky, Steven ^a   Way, Lucan A ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0005072496     PISSN: 00104159     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/422286     Document Type: Review

References (89)

1. By economic adjustment we mean a set of economic policies aimed at both the stabilization and the liberalization of statist economies. Such programs generally include policy measures such as wage restraint, sharp reductions in government spending, the elimination of price controls and many subsidies, trade and investment liberalization, the deregulation of both capital and labor markets, and in most cases privatization and state restructuring.
2. Stephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman, The Politics of Economic Adjustment (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992); and Beverly Crawford, "Post-Communist Political Economy: A Framework for the Analysis of Reform," in Beverly Crawford, ed., Markets, States, and Democracy: The Political Economy of Post-Communist Transformation (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995), pp. 3-42.
3. Stephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman, The Politics of Economic Adjustment (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992); and Beverly Crawford, "Post-Communist Political Economy: A Framework for the Analysis of Reform," in Beverly Crawford, ed., Markets, States, and Democracy: The Political Economy of Post-Communist Transformation (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995), pp. 3-42.
4. See Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Guillermo O'Donnell, "Delegative Democracy," Journal of Democracy, 5 (January 1994), 55-70.
5. See Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991); Guillermo O'Donnell, "Delegative Democracy," Journal of Democracy, 5 (January 1994), 55-70.
6. See Barbara Geddes, Comments on Leslie Elliot Armijo, "Tradeoffs Implicit in Alternative Sequences of Economic and Political Liberalization," paper prepared for the South California Workshop on Political and Economic Liberalization, January 14, 1993.
7. Throughout this paper "labor" refers to organized labor or unions.
8. We use the term "party" in a fairly loose manner to refer to the governing coalition/party. Solidarity was poorly institutionalized and could scarcely be called a "party" by western European standards.
9. On the crisis in Argentina, see Paul Lewis, The Crisis of Argentine Capitalism (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990); and William Smith, "State, Market and Neoliberalism in Post-Transition Argentina: The Menem Experience," Journal of Inter-American Studies and World Affairs, 33 (Winter 1991), 45-82. On Poland, see Andrzej Kondratowicz and Marek Okolski, "The Polish Economy on the Eve of the Solidarity Take-Over," in H. Kierzkowski, M. Okolski, and S. Wellisz, eds., Stabilization and Structural Adjustment in Poland (London: Routledge, 1993); and Batara Simatupang, The Polish Economic Crisis: Background, Causes and Aftermath (London: Routledge, 1994).
10. On the crisis in Argentina, see Paul Lewis, The Crisis of Argentine Capitalism (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990); and William Smith, "State, Market and Neoliberalism in Post-Transition Argentina: The Menem Experience," Journal of Inter-American Studies and World Affairs, 33 (Winter 1991), 45-82. On Poland, see Andrzej Kondratowicz and Marek Okolski, "The Polish Economy on the Eve of the Solidarity Take-Over," in H. Kierzkowski, M. Okolski, and S. Wellisz, eds., Stabilization and Structural Adjustment in Poland (London: Routledge, 1993); and Batara Simatupang, The Polish Economic Crisis: Background, Causes and Aftermath (London: Routledge, 1994).
11. On the crisis in Argentina, see Paul Lewis, The Crisis of Argentine Capitalism (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990); and William Smith, "State, Market and Neoliberalism in Post-Transition Argentina: The Menem Experience," Journal of Inter-American Studies and World Affairs, 33 (Winter 1991), 45-82. On Poland, see Andrzej Kondratowicz and Marek Okolski, "The Polish Economy on the Eve of the Solidarity Take-Over," in H. Kierzkowski, M. Okolski, and S. Wellisz, eds., Stabilization and Structural Adjustment in Poland (London: Routledge, 1993); and Batara Simatupang, The Polish Economic Crisis: Background, Causes and Aftermath (London: Routledge, 1994).
12. On the crisis in Argentina, see Paul Lewis, The Crisis of Argentine Capitalism (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990); and William Smith, "State, Market and Neoliberalism in Post-Transition Argentina: The Menem Experience," Journal of Inter-American Studies and World Affairs, 33 (Winter 1991), 45-82. On Poland, see Andrzej Kondratowicz and Marek Okolski, "The Polish Economy on the Eve of the Solidarity Take-Over," in H. Kierzkowski, M. Okolski, and S. Wellisz, eds., Stabilization and Structural Adjustment in Poland (London: Routledge, 1993); and Batara Simatupang, The Polish Economic Crisis: Background, Causes and Aftermath (London: Routledge, 1994).
13. Smith, pp. 53-54; Victoria Murillo, "Union Response to Economic Reform in Argentina," paper prepared for the Eighteenth International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Atlanta, March 10-12, 1994, p. 3-5.
14. Latin America Weekly Report, Oct. 25, 1990, p. 11; Murillo, pp. 4, 6; Peter Ranis, Argentine Workers (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992), pp. xviii-xix.
15. Latin America Weekly Report, Oct. 25, 1990, p. 11; Murillo, pp. 4, 6; Peter Ranis, Argentine Workers (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992), pp. xviii-xix.
16. Economist Intelligence Unit: Poland 1993/1994, 32; Carol A. Timko, "The New Third Way? Synthesizing Area Studies and Comparative Politics," paper presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies National Convention, Philadelphia, November 17-20, 1994.
17. Economist Intelligence Unit: Poland 1993/1994, 32; Carol A. Timko, "The New Third Way? Synthesizing Area Studies and Comparative Politics," paper presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies National Convention, Philadelphia, November 17-20, 1994.
18. Achim Wachendorfer, "Sindicalismo Latinoamericano, un Futuro Incierto," Nueva Sociedad (November-December 1991), 81; and James McGuire, Peronism without Perón: Unions, Parties, and Democracy in Argentina (Stanford: Stanford University Press, forthcoming), pp. 252, 255-256.
19. Achim Wachendorfer, "Sindicalismo Latinoamericano, un Futuro Incierto," Nueva Sociedad (November-December 1991), 81; and James McGuire, Peronism without Perón: Unions, Parties, and Democracy in Argentina (Stanford: Stanford University Press, forthcoming), pp. 252, 255-256.
20. Murillo, p. 3; Smith, p. 62; and Ricardo Falcon, "Politicas Neoliberales y Respuestas Sindicales (1989-1992)," in Omar Moreno, ed., Desafios Para el Sindicalismo en la Argentina (Buenos Aires: Editorial Legasa, 1994), p. 106.
21. Ben Slay, "The Dilemmas of Economic Liberalism in Poland," Europe-Asia Studies, 45 (1993) 241.
22. Torcuato Di Tella, "Letter from Argentina," Government and Opposition (Winter 1992).
23. For discussions of Solidarity's turn towards the market, see Gary Fields, "The Road from Gdansk: How Solidarity Found Haven in the Marketplace," Monthly Review, 43 (July-August 1991), 95-122; and David Ost, Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics: Opposition and Reform in Poland since 1968 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990).
24. For discussions of Solidarity's turn towards the market, see Gary Fields, "The Road from Gdansk: How Solidarity Found Haven in the Marketplace," Monthly Review, 43 (July-August 1991), 95-122; and David Ost, Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics: Opposition and Reform in Poland since 1968 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990).
25. International Labour Office, World Labour Report 1993: Forced Labour, Employment, Trade Unions, Social Protection in Developing Countries, Stress at Work, Statistical Annex (Geneva: ILO Press, 1993), p. 1125.
26. For example, Lodz Solidarity was particular active in organizing a wave of strikes and protests against the state's neglect of the mining industry. Foreign Broadcast Information Service Eastern Europe (FBIS-EE), Mar. 26, 1991, p. 39, Jan. 8, 1991, p. 28.
27. The national commission, for example, rejected a call by Solidarity in Lodz for a nationwide protest against nomenclature privatization and the drop in wages. FBIS-EE, Jan. 30, 1991, July 5, 1991, p 23.
28. See David Ost, "Labor in the Post-Communist Transformation," Center for German and European Studies. University of California, Berkeley, Working Paper 5.17; and Peter Ranis Class, Democracy, and Labor in Contemporary Argentina (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1994), pp. 127-36.
29. See David Ost, "Labor in the Post-Communist Transformation," Center for German and European Studies. University of California, Berkeley, Working Paper 5.17; and Peter Ranis Class, Democracy, and Labor in Contemporary Argentina (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1994), pp. 127-36.
30. It should be noted that in Poland many of the protests of the late 1980s were aimed primarily against the regime rather than against reform.
31. Ruth Berins Collier and David Collier, "Inducements versus Constraints: Disaggregating Corporatism," American Political Science Review, 73 (December 1979). 967-86; and Mancur Olson, The Rise and Decline of Nations (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983).
32. Ruth Berins Collier and David Collier, "Inducements versus Constraints: Disaggregating Corporatism," American Political Science Review, 73 (December 1979). 967-86; and Mancur Olson, The Rise and Decline of Nations (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983).
33. See, for example, Walter W. Powell and Paul DiMaggio, eds., The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991); James G. March and Johan Olsen, Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of Politics (New York: Free Press, 1989).
34. See, for example, Walter W. Powell and Paul DiMaggio, eds., The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991); James G. March and Johan Olsen, Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of Politics (New York: Free Press, 1989).
35. Mark Granovetter, "Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness," American Journal of Sociology, 91, (1985), 490.
36. See Powell and DiMaggio, eds.
37. Ronaldo Munck, Argentina: From Anarchism to Peronism (London: Zed Books, 1987), p. 134.
38. Review of the River Plate, Nov. 30, 1990, p. 335, Dec. 28, 1990, p. 427.
39. Review of the River Plate, Nov. 30, 1990, p. 335, Dec. 28, 1990, p. 427.
40. For example, after the flurry of adjustment measures imposed by Menem's government in the second half of 1989, UOM leader Hugo Curto declared: "We must trust the words of President Menem that workers will not be affected by the latest measures." Bimestre Economico (February 1990), 40.
41. Review of the River Plate, Aug. 30, 1990, p. 125, Feb. 29, 1993, p. 105; Latin America Weekly Report, July 1, 1993, p. 296; and Murillo, p. 12.
42. Review of the River Plate, Aug. 30, 1990, p. 125, Feb. 29, 1993, p. 105; Latin America Weekly Report, July 1, 1993, p. 296; and Murillo, p. 12.
43. Review of the River Plate, Aug. 30, 1990, p. 125, Feb. 29, 1993, p. 105; Latin America Weekly Report, July 1, 1993, p. 296; and Murillo, p. 12.
44. Alfonsin reached an accord with the conservative "15" faction of the CGT in 1987, bringing Light and Power union leader Carlos Alderete in as labor minister, but the pact was opposed by the bulk of the CGT leadership and fell apart after six months.
45. FBIS-EE, Oct. 21, 1991, p. 16. On the role of the intelligentsia in Solidarity, see Ost, Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics; and Jerome Karabel, "Polish Intellectuals and the Origins of Solidarity: The Making of an Oppositional Alliance," Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 26 (March 1993), 25-46.
46. FBIS-EE, Oct. 21, 1991, p. 16. On the role of the intelligentsia in Solidarity, see Ost, Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics; and Jerome Karabel, "Polish Intellectuals and the Origins of Solidarity: The Making of an Oppositional Alliance," Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 26 (March 1993), 25-46.
47. FBIS-EE, Oct. 21, 1991, p. 16. On the role of the intelligentsia in Solidarity, see Ost, Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics; and Jerome Karabel, "Polish Intellectuals and the Origins of Solidarity: The Making of an Oppositional Alliance," Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 26 (March 1993), 25-46.
48. Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Sept. 8, 1989, p. 2.
49. David Ost, "The Transformation of Solidarity and the Future of Eastern Europe," Telos (Spring 1989), 69-71; Staniszkis; Voytek Zubek, "The Rise and Fall of Rule by Poland's Best and Brightest," Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 579-608.
50. David Ost, "The Transformation of Solidarity and the Future of Eastern Europe," Telos (Spring 1989), 69-71; Staniszkis; Voytek Zubek, "The Rise and Fall of Rule by Poland's Best and Brightest," Soviet Studies, 44 (1992), 579-608.
51. Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Feb. 22, 1991, p. 19.
52. See, for example, an interview with Welesa's successor to the Solidarity leadership, Marian Krzaklewski, FBIS-EE, Feb. 25, 1991, p. 43, Oct. 21, 1991, p. 17; Feb. 21, 1992, p. 11; Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Feb. 22, 1991, p. 19, Sept. 8, 1989, p. 2.
53. See, for example, an interview with Welesa's successor to the Solidarity leadership, Marian Krzaklewski, FBIS-EE, Feb. 25, 1991, p. 43, Oct. 21, 1991, p. 17; Feb. 21, 1992, p. 11; Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Feb. 22, 1991, p. 19, Sept. 8, 1989, p. 2.
54. See, for example, an interview with Welesa's successor to the Solidarity leadership, Marian Krzaklewski, FBIS-EE, Feb. 25, 1991, p. 43, Oct. 21, 1991, p. 17; Feb. 21, 1992, p. 11; Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Feb. 22, 1991, p. 19, Sept. 8, 1989, p. 2.
55. See, for example, an interview with Welesa's successor to the Solidarity leadership, Marian Krzaklewski, FBIS-EE, Feb. 25, 1991, p. 43, Oct. 21, 1991, p. 17; Feb. 21, 1992, p. 11; Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Feb. 22, 1991, p. 19, Sept. 8, 1989, p. 2.
56. See, for example, an interview with Welesa's successor to the Solidarity leadership, Marian Krzaklewski, FBIS-EE, Feb. 25, 1991, p. 43, Oct. 21, 1991, p. 17; Feb. 21, 1992, p. 11; Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Feb. 22, 1991, p. 19, Sept. 8, 1989, p. 2.
57. Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Sept. 8, 1989, p. 3
58. See union leader Krzaklewski's comments in Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Feb. 22, 1991, p. 19.
59. Thus, in his attempt to oppose Mazowiecki in 1990 Walesa insisted that the progovernment newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza be banned from using the Solidarity logo on its masthead.
60. FBIS-EE, June 13, 1991, p. 24.
61. International Labour Office, World Labour Report 1993 (Geneva: ILO, 1993), p. 1125.
62. FBIS-EE, Sept. 15, 1992, p. 14.
63. The Argentine Workers Congress (CTA), which consists primarily of white collar and public sector unions, was formed in late 1992. The Argentine Workers Movement (MTA), which is made up largely of transportation workers' unions, was created in 1993. Both organizations have militantly opposed the Menem government's neoliberal policies, but neither has made substantial headway into the CGT-dominant labor movement.
64. Jytte Klausen, "Labor's Loss: The End of Keynesianism and the Crisis of Organized Labor: Left Politics in Great Britain, the United States, and Scandinavia after 1973" (Ph.D. diss., New School for Social Research, 1991).
65. Ost, "Labor in the Post-Communist Transformation"; FBIS-EE, Mar. 19, 1991, p. 35.
66. Rzeczpospolita, Oct. 30, 1991, p. 2, Sept. 23, 1991, p. 2.
67. Rzeczpospolita, Oct. 30, 1991, p. 2, Sept. 23, 1991, p. 2.
68. La Nacion (Edición Internacional), Apr. 4, 1995, p. 5.
69. FBIS-EE, Jan. 25, 1990, p. 70, Aug. 30, 1989, p. 47.
70. FBIS-EE, Jan. 25, 1990, p. 70, Aug. 30, 1989, p. 47.
71. Tygodnik Solidarnosc, Feb. 22, 1991, p. 19.
72. FBIS-EE, Aug. 19, 1992, p. 17.
73. Kazimierz Kloc, "Polish Labor in Transition (1990-1992)," Telos (Summer 1992), 141.
74. For a discussion of different types of party-union linkages, see Steven Levitsky, Lucan A. Way, and Ruth Berins Collier, "Coalitions under Stress: Governing Party-Labor Alliances in the 1980s and 1990s." paper presented at the workshop "Coalitions under Stress: Governing Labor-Based Parties in a Liberalizing World," Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, January 12-13, 1996.
75. When Menem was elected in 1989, unionists held the party vice-presidency (Roberto García), the union secretariat (Jose Lingieri), and twenty-three legislative seats.
76. Katrina Burgess, "Ties That Bind: Economic Reform and Party-Union Alliances in Mexico, Venezuela and Spain," paper presented at the workshop "Coalition under Stress: Governing Labor-Based Parties in a Liberalizing World," Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, January 12-13, 1996.
77. Total union income from membership dues does not exceed $800,000 whereas the 291 obras sociales manage $2.6 million annually. McGuire, Peronism without Perón, p. 257.
78. Sarah Kelsey and Steven Levitsky, "Captivating Alliances: Unions, Labor-Backed Parties, and the Politics of Economic Adjustment," paper presented at the Eighteenth International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Atlanta, March 10-12, 1994.
79. Richard Gillespie, "The Break-up of the 'Socialist Family': Party-Union Relations in Spain, 1982-1989," West European Politics, 13 (January 1990), 47-62; and Katrina Burgess, "Un divorcio a medias: Reforma económico y políticas laborales en España," Política y Gobierno, 2 (1995), 207-42.
80. Richard Gillespie, "The Break-up of the 'Socialist Family': Party-Union Relations in Spain, 1982-1989," West European Politics, 13 (January 1990), 47-62; and Katrina Burgess, "Un divorcio a medias: Reforma económico y políticas laborales en España," Política y Gobierno, 2 (1995), 207-42.
81. Ruth Berins Collier, The Contradictory Alliance: State-Labor Relations and Regime Change in Mexico (Berkeley: International and Area Studies, 1992); and Burgess, "Ties That Bind."
82. Ruth Berins Collier, The Contradictory Alliance: State-Labor Relations and Regime Change in Mexico (Berkeley: International and Area Studies, 1992); and Burgess, "Ties That Bind."
83. Gay Seidman, Manufacturing Militance: Workers' Movements in Brazil and South Africa, 1970-1985 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994); and Eddie Webster, "Inside and Outside the State: Trade Unions, Economic Reform and the Consolidation of Democracy in South Africa," paper presented at the workshop "Coalitions under Stress: Governing Labor-Based Parties in a Liberalizing World," Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, January 12-13, 1996.
84. Gay Seidman, Manufacturing Militance: Workers' Movements in Brazil and South Africa, 1970-1985 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994); and Eddie Webster, "Inside and Outside the State: Trade Unions, Economic Reform and the Consolidation of Democracy in South Africa," paper presented at the workshop "Coalitions under Stress: Governing Labor-Based Parties in a Liberalizing World," Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, January 12-13, 1996.
85. The OPZZ has about sixty parliamentary representatives within SLD and depends on the government to maintain its leading role in the tripartite commission. For a discussion of different views within OPZZ on the alliance, see Gazeta Wyborcza, May 25, 1994, p. 3.
86. In Mexico, while union competition is low on the shop floor, it is actually quite high at the confederational level. Nevertheless, because all the Mexican confederations are linked to the PRI, competition tends to produce a "cooperative" dynamic rather than a radicalizing one. Victoria Murillo, "Institutional Legacies and Union Choices Facing the Transformation of Labor-Based Parties: The Case of Mexico in Comparative Perspective," paper presented at the workshop "Coalition under Stress: Governing Labor-Based Parties in a Liberalizing World," Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, January 12-13, 1996.
87. See Barbara Geddes, Politicians' Dilemma: Building State Capacity in Latin America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994); and Haggard and Kaufman.
88. This point is closely related to Peter Evans, Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995). However, with the exception of Gerardo Munck, "Argentina"s New Critical Juncture? the Menem Revolution in Comparative Perspective," paper prepared for the Eighteenth International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Atlanta, March 10-12, 1994, p. 11, we have not seen such an argument elaborated for recent cases of neoliberal adjustment.
89. This point is closely related to Peter Evans, Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995). However, with the exception of Gerardo Munck, "Argentina"s New Critical Juncture? the Menem Revolution in Comparative Perspective," paper prepared for the Eighteenth International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Atlanta, March 10-12, 1994, p. 11, we have not seen such an argument elaborated for recent cases of neoliberal adjustment.