Dual Trajectories of Industrial Relations in Europe: Nationally Separated but Sectorally Equal?

In this paper it is argued that over recent decades industrial relations systems have changed in such a way that the national context has become less relevant in shaping industrial relations institutions, actors and processes. There is no doubt that the national context and national peculiarities are still able to explain some differences in industrial relations systems in different countries but it is argued that the relevant context in shaping industrial relations has shifted away from the national towards the trans-national and sectoral level. Consequently trans-national systems of industrial relations on a sectoral level might have emerged in recent years. In this paper we argue that the sectoral context matters more than the national. In order to test this hypothesis we investigate and compare the data properties of sector and country industrial relations indicators in 25 different sectors across 27 European Union member states. The results show strong empirical support for a convergence on the sectoral level. Given these results the paper concludes by a discussion on the role of methodological nationalism in the field of comparative industrial relations.