Roads to Post-Fordism

Max Koch is a lecturer in Sociology in the School of Sociology and Applied Social Studies at the University of Ulster, where he is also a member of the European Studies Unit within the Research Institute of the Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages. He received both his PhD in Sociology and his Habilitation (second 'doctoral degree', prerequisite for German professorship) from the Freie Universität Berlin. As a postdoctoral researcher he worked, among other places, in Santiago de Chile, Lund, Madrid, and Rotterdam. He is involved in several research networks both at European and international level. He has published widely (including three single-authored books in German and numerous articles) in the areas of social theory, the sociology of development, labor market regulation, stratification and social exclusion.

• Contents: Preface; Introduction; Inclusion, exclusion, and capitalism; The Regulation Approach; New directions in comparative research into labour markets and social structures; The country studies; Summary of empirical results from a comparative perspective; Concluding remarks; References; Index.

'This book is unique because regulation theory has not, to date, been related to changes in social structure. Empirically, there are relatively few existing comparative texts on the deregulation and re-regulation of labour markets and welfare systems in Europe. Roads to Post-Fordism will be a valuable addition to reading lists in all courses which are looking for an up-to-date account of work, socio-economic regulation and social stratification.' Bernhard Glaeser, Social Science Research Centre, Germany ’Roads to Post-Fordism provides an excellent analysis of the links between inclusion, exclusion and capitalism. Based on a cogently argued theoretical foundation it presents comparative research into labour markets and social structures in five European countries: Germany, Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. By demonstrating the value of theoretically informed comparative research into key issues in contemporary societies it will be of interest to readers across a wide range of disciplines, particularly sociology, political science and policy studies.’ Julia S. O'Connor, University of Ulster, UK 'After the crisis of Fordism and the end of the social market economy regime there is a need for new balances between economic competitiveness and social cohesion in European countries. Against the broad presumption that neo-Fordism automatically goes hand in hand with neo-liberalism, Max Koch empirically and theoretically shows very well that there exist different modes of re-regulation of labour markets and welfare systems. This book is not only of interest to academics due to its profound empirical test of regulation theories, but is] politically important as well: there are alternatives to the] polarization of interests and social structures, which are economically competitive and more promising for a sustainable development of European Good Governance.' Jens S. Dangschat, Vienna University of Technology, Austria '...the book bridges an imp