Österreich

Karlhofer, Ferdinand

doi:10.1007/978-3-531-19183-6_18

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…This parliament elects the WKÖ leadership and decides on major policy issues. In the 2010 elections, the business wing of the ÖVP (Österreichischer Wirtschaftsbund [ÖWB]) gained about 70% of the seats (Karlhofer, 2012). Since membership fees are linked to the payroll sum (ILO, 1986), large firms are underrepresented relative to the fees they pay.…”

Section: The Organization Of Business Interestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Did Austrian Business Oppose Welfare Cuts? How the Organization of Interests Shapes Business Attitudes Toward Social Partnership

Paster

2013

Comparative Political Studies

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In recent decades, business interests became protagonists of welfare retrenchment in many countries. In contrast, Austria’s national business organization, the WKÖ (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich), defended welfare programs and social partnership against government initiatives to dismantle them. Drawing on interviews and media reports, this article analyzes the reasons for this deviation, focusing on reforms in two fields: (a) public pensions and (b) social insurance administration. The article suggests that the institutional setup of interest representation in Austria explains this stance better than alternative explanations that focus on competitive advantages. The article identifies compulsory membership, equal voting rights, and encompassing organization as the relevant features of the institutional setup. These features shaped the WKÖ’s social policy attitudes in two ways: first, by ensuring a strong role for small firms, and second, by reducing the vulnerability of the organization to discontented minorities. The findings point to the importance of organizational structures in shaping associational policy preferences

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Section: The Organization Of Business Interestsmentioning

confidence: 99%