Managing Competition: Meso-Corporatism, Pluralism, and the Negotiated Order in Scotland

At the national level the full impact of Thatcherism is apparent, but how far her economic revolution has percolated down to regional and local levels is open to debate, as is the extent to which different sectors of the political economy have responded to the government's attempt to overthrow the corporatism of the 1970s and replace it with the discipline of the market and a competitive environment. This book analyzes the changes that have occurred since 1979 in Scotland, the north east and other regions and identifies failures by public and private sectors to adjust, as well as successful attempts to create a more enterprising environment. After introducing the reader to corporatist theory and various models of Scottish politics, the authors discuss the distinctive political, economic and social arrangements within Scotland, the degree to which organized interests there are responsible for implementing public policy and the forms of public intervention in the Scottish economy. The authors argue that references to the "death of corporatism" are premature. They suggest that in the last decade new forms of bargaining and negotiation between interest groups and the State have emerged, linking central market values to the regional culture in a new mix which enables centre and periphery to work together. They conclude with a review of the case for going beyond pluralism and corporatism and recognizing the importance of a negotiated order at the meso-level of the UK political economy.