¿El fin de la Era de la Dualización? Un análisis comparado de cincuenta años de reformas laborales en España e Italia

Manuel Alvariño Vázquez, Alessandro Arrigoni, Llorenç Soler-Buades, Emanuele Ferragina

Resumen


El artículo analiza las reformas laborales en el largo plazo utilizando una metodología en dos pasos. Primero, desarrolla una taxonomía de ocho categorías para clasificar las reformas laborales — incluyendo protección colectiva, del empleo y del desempleo — según cómo afectan los niveles de (des)mercantilización de insiders y outsiders. Esto ofrece una metodología replicable para analizar el cambio en las políticas. Segundo, mediante un análisis histórico comparado de 61 reformas a lo largo de cincuenta años (1970-2020), examina las trayectorias de reforma en España e Italia, dos ejemplos destacados de dualización del mercado laboral. Más allá de las diferencias en los tiempos y características legislativas, el artículo revela un proceso de “liberalización a través de la dualización”. Este se caracteriza por dos fases: (1) una transición desde el fordismo en declive hacia la dualización, que debilitó principalmente la protección de los outsiders, y (2) una convergencia a la baja de la protección de los insiders. Este patrón cuestiona la idea de que la Era de la Dualización es un equilibrio persistente en casos fuertemente dualizados, lo que exige una reevaluación de su naturaleza y alcance temporal.

Palabras clave: Europa del Sur, regulación del mercado de trabajo, dualización, liberalización, reformas políticas, metodología cualitativa

 

The end of the Age of Dualization? A comparative analysis of fifty years of labour market reforms in Spain and Italy

This article analyses labour market reforms over the long term using a two-step methodology. First, it develops a taxonomy of eight categories to classify labour market reforms — including collective, employment, and unemployment protection — according to how they affect the levels of decommodification and commodification of insiders and outsiders. This provides a replicable methodology for analysing policy change. Second, through a comparative historical analysis of 61 reforms over fifty years from 1970 to 2020, it examines reform trajectories in Spain and Italy, two prominent examples of labour market dualization. Beyond differences in legislative timing and characteristics, the article reveals a process of “liberalization through dualization.” This process is characterized by two phases: (1) a transition from declining Fordism to dualization, which primarily weakened the protection of outsiders, and (2) a downward convergence in the protection of insiders. This pattern challenges the idea that the Age of Dualization is a persistent equilibrium in strongly dualized cases, calling for a reassessment of its nature and temporal scope.

Keywords: Southern Europe, labour market regulation, dualization, liberalization, policy reforms, qualitative methodology

   

ARK CAICYT: https://id.caicyt.gov.ar/ark:/s16668979/5at66dbnr


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.62174/arg.2026.11224

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