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This title was first published in 2001. Its main focus is on corporatism - which is largely concerned with representative structures between the state and organized interests. The book covers corporatism in both theoretical and descriptive forms and looks at consensus building in practice. Throughout the book corporatism is discussed with reference to the working hours regulation in Finland. Looking at the decision making process for fixing working hours regulations in Finland leads to a discussion on consensus and how the regulations were put forward and agreed, with an examination of the Finnish Parliamentary Committee for Labour Affairs and their role in policy making. Finally the book investigates the results of working hours regulation in Finland after it has been put into practice; and carries out a comparison between corporate pluralist Finland and a non-corporatist UK, to show if different labour market policies reflect how working hours are arranged on the shop floor.

At the close of the twentieth century, Denmark, Finland, and Ireland emerged as unlikely centers for high-tech competition. In When Small States Make Big Leaps, Darius Ornston reveals how these historically low-tech countries managed to assume leading positions in new industries such as biotechnology, software, and telecommunications equipment. In each case, countries used institutions that are commonly perceived to delay restructuring to accelerate the redistribution of resources to emerging enterprises and industries. Ornston draws on interviews with hundreds of politicians, policymakers, and industry representatives to identify two different patterns of institutional innovation and economic restructuring. Irish policymakers worked with industry and labor representatives to contain costs and expand market competition. Denmark and Finland adopted a different strategy, converting an established tradition of private-public and industry-labor cooperation to invest in high-quality inputs such as human capital and research. Both strategies facilitated movement into new high-tech industries but with distinctive political and economic consequences. In explaining how previously slow-moving states entered dynamic new industries, Ornston identifies a broader range of strategies by which countries can respond to disruptive challenges such as economic internationalization, rapid technological innovation, and the shift to services.