INDUSTRIAL-RELATIONS AT REGIONAL LEVEL IN EUROPE - STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF AN INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL OF SOCIAL REGULATION

The industrial relations literature has traditionally focused on eithe r the national or company levels. However, there are reasons to believ e that the intermediate, regional level is becoming an increasingly si gnificant arena for employment regulation. This article discusses this development on the basis of comparative research in 'dynamic' regions in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. While there are important variat ions between the cases, a common finding is that regional industrial r elations practices display the advantages of flexibility and adaptabil ity but the weaknesses of poor coordination and discontinuity.