TY - JOUR
T1 - The determinants of social policy. A case study
T2 - Regulating health and safety at the workplace in Sweden
AU - Navarro, V.
PY - 1983
Y1 - 1983
N2 - This article presents an analysis and critique of the 'technocratic' view of occupational health and safety policies, which sees the values of the personnel of the 'postindustrial' regulatory agencies as the most important determinant of those policies. An alternate position is put forth which explains those occupational health and safety policies as primarily the result of different degrees of political power of the two major classes (capital and labor) and the set of influences exerted on the regulatory agencies by the instruments (e.g., political parties, unions, trade organizations) of those classes. It is shown how an analysis of the historical evolution of those classes in Sweden and their conflict in both civil and political societies better explains the Swedish occupational health and safety policies than the mere analysis of the regulators' views. It is concluded that the occupational health and safety policies in Sweden are not identical to the U.S. policies - as the 'technocratic' theorists assume - but rather they offer more protection to the workers than the U.S. ones. This situation is a result of labor's greater power in Sweden than in the United States. The different class formations and class behavior in both societies are compared, and the implications of this comparison for occupational health and safety policies are discussed.
AB - This article presents an analysis and critique of the 'technocratic' view of occupational health and safety policies, which sees the values of the personnel of the 'postindustrial' regulatory agencies as the most important determinant of those policies. An alternate position is put forth which explains those occupational health and safety policies as primarily the result of different degrees of political power of the two major classes (capital and labor) and the set of influences exerted on the regulatory agencies by the instruments (e.g., political parties, unions, trade organizations) of those classes. It is shown how an analysis of the historical evolution of those classes in Sweden and their conflict in both civil and political societies better explains the Swedish occupational health and safety policies than the mere analysis of the regulators' views. It is concluded that the occupational health and safety policies in Sweden are not identical to the U.S. policies - as the 'technocratic' theorists assume - but rather they offer more protection to the workers than the U.S. ones. This situation is a result of labor's greater power in Sweden than in the United States. The different class formations and class behavior in both societies are compared, and the implications of this comparison for occupational health and safety policies are discussed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0021083104&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0021083104&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2190/W9H7-5C52-UKKB-PNJW
DO - 10.2190/W9H7-5C52-UKKB-PNJW
M3 - Article
C2 - 6642811
AN - SCOPUS:0021083104
SN - 0020-7314
VL - 13
SP - 517
EP - 561
JO - International Journal of Health Services
JF - International Journal of Health Services
IS - 4
ER -