Mirella DAMIANI
Lecturer in Economics
Faculty of Political Sciences
University of Perugia
Via Pascoli 20, 06123 Perugia
ITALY
ABSTRACT:
Over the last decade increasing attention has been paid to the degree of centralization of the wage bargaining schemes as one of the main determining factors of the labor market performance. Many OECD countries has experienced in the last decade a remarkable process toward a decentralization in the wage setting rules. For several countries, the process has evolved toward multilevel bargaining frameworks, since the decentralization trend has been accompanied by the maintenance of a central or an intermediate level of negotiations. This trend has experienced a significant reshaping of its labor market institutions.
After reviewing the main properties of a multilevel bargaining arrangement the present paper provides a preliminary evaluation of its application in the Italian experience.
KEY WORDS: labor market institutions, wages, unions and collective bargaining.
