The politics of labor market reform in coordinated welfare capitalism: comparing Sweden, Germany, and South Korea

Since the 1990s, coordinated welfare capitalism has been subject to comprehensive change, with workfare measures and the deregulation of employment protection at the heart of labor market reforms. Developments in Sweden, Germany, and South Korea not only challenge the assumption of relative stability that is commonly associated with the study of coordinated mar-ket economies, but also the assertion that this stability is associated with the persistence of established political coalitions. Instead, we contend a collapse of old welfare state coalitions as key political driver of labor market reform, with the withdrawal of employers from previous welfare settlements at the center of this development.