Has "Discretionary Learning" declined during the Lisbon Agenda? A cross-sectional and longitudinal study of work organization in European nations

This article explores changes in the organization of work in European nations over 2000-2010. Results show a decline in the Discretionary Learning (DL). Periods of economic expansion tend to be DL enhancing, while periods of economic stagnation tend to reinforce the use of more hierarchical forms of work organization. More generally, the results show that cross-country comparisons do not provide a sound basis for drawing conclusions about how the evolution of national labor market policies impact on changes in work organization over time within nations.