Sectoral patterns of labour market reform: A comparative analysis of seasonal tourism in Spain and Italy

Do sector-specific factors influence the trajectory of labour market liberalization across different countries? This paper applies Thelen's ‘varieties of liberalization’ framework to the tourism industry in Spain and Italy in 2010–2019, thereby transcending its bias for core sectors including manufacturing and high-end services. Whereas in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisis the two member states diverged in terms of social protection coverage and labour market actors’ coordination in traditional areas of employment, this research reveals significant convergence in the booming hospitality sector. Driven by structural similarities such as high seasonality, low unionization, and a predominance of small enterprises, both countries’ tourist industries underwent ‘deregulatory flexibilization’, that is, the simultaneous reduction in coverage and coordination. In the Italian case, this marks a stark contrast to the attempts at expanding employment protection in core sectors, that is, ‘embedding flexibilization’. Serving as a complement to existing comparative political economy scholarship, this study underscores the importance of industry-specific analyses encompassing a wider range of sectors for a comprehensive understanding of labour market liberalization across different national contexts.