Kate Nicholls is Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences and Public Policy at AUT University, New Zealand.

This book analyses the development policies of Greece, Ireland, and Portugal between 1990 and 2008, before the Eurozone crisis. It identifies national-level differences between the policy strategies and outcomes that have characterized recent developments in the Greek, Irish, and Portuguese political economies. In addition, it provides an explanation for these differences that takes into account variations in political institutions and state-society relations. In doing so, it locates an explanation for policy divergence in the presence or absence of the policy-making institutions and processes that make up a "zone of mediation". Overall, it argues there is significant variation in the extent to which Ireland, Portugal and Greece have adapted their developmental goals and strategies in order to address the labour market challenges posed by the post-industrial era.

1. A Tale of Three Crises: Same Symptoms, Different Underpinnings 2. Labour Market Challenges for Greece, Ireland, and Portugal 3. Explaining Policy Divergence 4. Ireland 5. Portugal 6. Greece 7. Conclusions and Further Reflections Appendix: List of Interview Subjects