ILO Working Paper 16

The Effectiveness of National Social Dialogue Institutions: From Theory to Evidence

This paper analyses the effectiveness of National Social Dialogue Institutions (NSDIs). The study evaluates how and when NSDIs prove less effective than they should in performing their tasks, how to measure such effectiveness, and how to improve their operational capacity and impact. Combining the results from a 2017 ILO-AICESIS survey of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions around the globe with the analysis of four case studies (Italy, South Korea, Brazil and Tunisia), the study shows substantial evidence that two sub-dimensions are key to enhance the policy effectiveness of NSDIs: enjoying political support and having an ‘effective mandate’ as opposed to relying on just a formal remit to deal with socioeconomic issues of interest.