Christine Trampusch, The Politics of Institutional Change: Transformative and Self-Preserving Change in the Vocational Education and Training System in Switzerland

On the basis of an in-depth study of the Swiss Vocational Education and Training (VET) system—an extreme case among collectivist regimes—the employer' constellation and the elites of the public education administration affect patterns of institutional change. If large firms are the dominant actors and collaborate with elites in the public education administration, institutional change follows a transformative pattern. If small and medium firms are in a strong position and have the power to influence public elites according to their interests, self-preserving institutional change results. With reference to causal mechanism of institutional change in VET systems, developments in the international political economy and Europe are important intervening factors in patterns of institutional change.