In twenty-three original essays this book reviews the course of labor economics over the more than two centuries since the publication of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. It fully examines the contending theories, changing environmental contexts, evolving issues, and varied policies affecting labor's participation in the economy. While the intellectual framework of the book looks partly to the past--explaining the labor factor in classical and neoclassical systems--its emphasis is on contemporary problems that will figure prominently in future developments, such as the operation of internal labor markets, dispute resolution, concession bargaining, equal employment opportunity, and individual labor contracting.
As the outcome of the 7th International Congress, the papers in this Volume cover a wide range of topics related to the main theme of the conference, titled “Current Debates in Social Sciences”, and basically focus on labor economics and industrial relations. In this context, the articles in the book draw attention to the different aspects of labor markets such as migration, agricultural workers, child workers, cooperatives, seafarers, poverty, social assistance, social dialogue, emotional labor, labor and discipline, pensions, and ethical leadership. Both theoretical and empirical papers deal with the issues regarding labor market of Turkey. We believe that these papers will contribute to the development of debates in labor economics and industrial relations and encourage interdisciplinary approaches.
In developing countries, labour markets play a central role in determining economic and social progress since employment status is one of the key determinants of exiting poverty and promoting inclusion. Yet the reality in most developing countries is that the labour market fails to create the jobs in the formal economy that would help individuals and their families prosper. In recognition of these challenges, governments and other stakeholders in developing countries have increasingly prioritised policies and programmes to promote decent work. However, this requires navigating a range of complex issues and debates surrounding the linkages between development processes and labour market outcomes. This volume consists of three main thematic parts. Part I provides a broad overview of key issues, including characterising the employment challenge in developing countries and the link between economic growth, distribution, poverty and employment. Drawing on the literature and country examples, Part II analyses the specific topics of wages, migration and education. The final section shifts to a more normative focus, addressing labour market institutions and policies, along with systematic approaches to quantifying labour markets in developing countries. Perspectives on Labour Economics for Development is an invaluable reference for policy-makers in middle- and low-income countries as well as an ideal handbook for teachers and students of economics and development.
Richard B. Freeman and James L. Medoff’s now classic 1984 book What Do Unions Do? stimulated an enormous theoretical and empirical literature on the economic impact of trade unions. Trade unions continue to be a significant feature of many labor markets, particularly in developing countries, and issues of labor market regulations and labor institutions remain critically important to researchers and policy makers. The relations between unions and management can range between cooperation and conflict; unions have powerful offsetting wage and non-wage effects that economists and other social scientists have long debated. Do the benefits of unionism exceed the costs to the economy and society writ large, or do the costs exceed the benefits? The Economics of Trade Unions offers the first comprehensive review, analysis and evaluation of the empirical literature on the microeconomic effects of trade unions using the tools of meta-regression analysis to identify and quantify the economic impact of trade unions, as well as to correct research design faults, the effects of selection bias and model misspecification. This volume makes use of a unique dataset of hundreds of empirical studies and their reported estimates of the microeconomic impact of trade unions. Written by three authors who have been at the forefront of this research field (including the co-author of the original volume, What Do Unions Do?), this book offers an overview of a subject that is of huge importance to scholars of labor economics, industrial and employee relations, and human resource management, as well as those with an interest in meta-analysis.
Labour economics as a discipline has changed dramatically in recent years. Gone are the days of a "job for life". These days, firms and employees are part of a less regulated, more fluid, and more international labour market. Knowledge, training, human resource development and human capital are all major factors on the contemporary scene. This new textbook is the first properly international textbook to reflect these swingeing changes. Its key areas of concentration include: the increasing importance of human capital including education and occupational choice the major subdivision of personnel economics including economic inactivity and absenteeism comparative cross country studies and the impact of globalization and migration on national labour markets equal opportunities and issues of discrimination on the basis of race, gender and disability conflict at work, including both strikes and, uniquely, individual disputes. Other issues explored include the supply and demand of labour, wages, the current role of trade unions, bargaining and conflict, and working time. The book is written in a clear, accessible way with some mathematical exposition, reflecting the text’s grounding in current microeconomic theory. The book also contains case studies designed to illuminate theoretical concepts and exercises and discussion questions to test the students understanding of the various concepts outlined in the text.
Why our workplaces are authoritarian private governments—and why we can’t see it One in four American workers says their workplace is a “dictatorship.” Yet that number almost certainly would be higher if we recognized employers for what they are—private governments with sweeping authoritarian power over our lives. Many employers minutely regulate workers’ speech, clothing, and manners on the job, and employers often extend their authority to the off-duty lives of workers, who can be fired for their political speech, recreational activities, diet, and almost anything else employers care to govern. In this compelling book, Elizabeth Anderson examines why, despite all this, we continue to talk as if free markets make workers free, and she proposes a better way to think about the workplace, opening up space for discovering how workers can enjoy real freedom.
This book examines industrial and employment relations in the emerging economies of Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Turkey, and assesses the contribution of industrial relations institutions to inclusive development. The book uses real-world examples to examine the evolution of industrial relations and of organised interest representation on labour issues. It reveals contested institutional pathways, despite a continuing demand for independent collective interest representation in labour relations.
The book examines the ways in which collective bargaining addresses a variety of workplace concerns in the context of today.s global economy. Globalization can contribute to growth and development, but as the recent financial crisis demonstrated, it also puts employment, earnings and labourstandards at risk. This book examines the role that collective bargaining plays in ensuring that workers are able to obtain a fair share of the benefits arising from participation in the global economy and in providing a measure of security against the risk to employment and wages. It focuses on a commonly neglected side of the story and demonstrates the positivecontribution that collective bargaining can make to both economic and social goals. The various contributions examine how this fundamental principle and right at work is realized in different countries and how its practice can be reinforced across borders. They highlight the numerouschallenges in this regard and the critically important role that governments play in rebalancing bargaining power in a global economy. The chapters are written in an accessible style and deal with practical subjects, including employment security, workplace change and productivity and working time.
Actors in the world of work are facing an increasing number of challenges, including automatization and digitalization, new types of jobs and more diverse forms of employment. This timely book examines employer and worker responses, challenges and opportunities for social dialogue, and the role of social partners in the governance of the world of work.
ÔWachter and Estlund have assembled a feast on the economic analysis of issues in labor and employment law for scholars and policy-makers. The volume begins with foundational discussions of the economic analysis of the individual employment relationship and collective bargaining. It then progresses to discussions of the theoretical and empirical work on a wide range of important labor and employment law topics including: union organizing and employee choice, the impact of unions on firm and economic performance, the impact of unions on the enforcement of legal rights, just cause for dismissal, covenants not to compete and employment discrimination. Anyone who wants to study what economists have to say on these topics would do well to begin with this collection.Õ Ð Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt, Indiana University Bloomington School of Law, US This Research Handbook assembles the original work of leading legal and economic scholars, working in a variety of traditions and methodologies, on the economic analysis of labor and employment law. In addition to surveying the current state of the art on the economics of labor markets and employment relations, the volumeÕs 16 chapters assess aspects of traditional labor law and union organizing, the law governing the employment contract and termination of employment, employment discrimination and other employer mandates, restrictions on employee mobility, and the forum and remedies for labor and employment claims. Comprising a variety of approaches, the Research Handbook on the Economics of Labor and Employment Law will appeal to legal scholars in labor and employment law, industrial relations scholars and labor economists.
