They are questions of long standing in political science: Do parties matter? What effects, if any, do politics have on society? The authors of this careful and articulate book approach these questions by looking at one social group -- public sector employees -- and examine the hypothesis that parties and governments of the left are more generous toward these employees than those of the right. This far-reaching study encompasses the central governments of four countries -- Canada, United States, Britain, and France -- from the 1950s to the end of the 1980s. Public sector employees, being both part of society and part of government, offer an excellent case study to test the autonomy of politics from society. After rigorous research, Blais, Blake, and Dion confirm that in the great majority of cases, the left is indeed more generous than the right, with some unusual and provocative exceptions. There is an alliance, they affirm, albeit a loose one, between pubic sector employees and the left, an alliance that is consistent over time in Europe and in North America. Governments, Parties, and Public Sector Employees also shows that when the left has to choose between more employment and higher wages for public employees, it tends to choose the former, suggesting that ideology is more important than supporters' pressures in inducing party divergence. "This is solid piece of comparative analysis. Rather than just supporting conventional wisdom, (the authors) find enough odd cases, nuances, and surprises to fully justify their analysis as something new and very interesting. Its combination and accessibility and solid social science should make this book useful to both advancedundergraduates, the informed public, and the social science community". David Loweny University of North Carolina

Do parties matter? What effects, if any, do politics have on society? Government, Parties, and Public Sector Employees addresses such long-standing questions political science by looking at one social group -- public sector employees -- and examining the hypothesis that parties and governments of the Left are more generous toward these employees than those of the Right. The central governments of four countries -- Canada, United States, Britain, and France -- from the 1950s to the end of the 1980s are the basis of the study.Public sector employees, as part of both society and government, offer an excellent case study to test the autonomy of politics from society. After rigorous research, Andre Blais, Donald E. Blake, and Stephane Dion confirm that the great majority of cases the Left is indeed more generous to employees than the Right, with some unusual and provocative exceptions. There is an alliance, albeit a loose one, between public sector employees and the Left, an alliance consistent over time Europe and North America.

"Daniel DiSalvo contends that the power of public sector unions is too often inimical to the public interest"--

Examines the transformation of the employment relationship in governmental agencies, with particular emphasis on human resources policies and workplace practices.

Adopting a comparative approach and covering four countries over the period 1950-1990, studies the relationship between parties, government, and public sector employees. Examines how different parties and governments treat public sector employees, with regard to level of employment, wages, workers rights and the right to engage in political activity, focusing on whether parties and governments of the left are more generous towards public sector employees than those of the right.

Although many industrialized countries have had to face the same political and economic pressures in reforming their public sectors there have been different reactions and a diversity of solutions to the emerging problems. This book examines the most significant initiatives targeted towards the restructuring of public sector employment relations in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The contributors focus on national and local governments, and health, education and social services. The first section provides an up-to-date analysis of six European countries. The second part considers the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan.