Japanese Women Working provides a wide range of perspectives on the study of working women in Japan over the last century. Contributors address issues of state policy towards and management of women workers, and also provide accounts of the experiences of particular groups of workers: domestic servants, hospital care assistants, textile workers , miners, homeworkers and 'professional' housewives. The book highlights many of the issues and decisions that have faced working women in Japan, and calls into question the accuracy of the prevailing domestic stereotype of Japanese women. Essays included span a period rapid economic change, and look at Japan as an industrializing country, indicating the importance of the overall economic environment, as well as taking into account cultural factors, in determinig women's position in the labour market. Bringing together contributions by historians, economists, anthropologists and management specialists from Europe, Japan and the United States, the book underlines the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to the study of women working. It is a major addition to the existing English language literature on Japanese Women, and will make life easier for non-specialists to inform themselves about a critical area of Japanese social and economic development.

The life-worlds and personal experiences of workers and employees in three enterprises in East Berlin at the moment of political and economic upheaval stand at the centre of the book. It sets out in 1989 at the moment of the fall of the Berlin Wall witnessing the confrontations with the market economy and examining the reinterpretations of the socialist past as the political and economic changes take place. Disenchantment with Market Economics captures a unique moment in history and unveils myths and promises of liberal market economy from the perspective of those who lived through the break down of the planned economy at their workplaces in East Berlin. While Western managers regarded the expansion of their businesses towards Eastern Europe as a civilising mission, the East German employees reacted with complex strategies of individual adaptation and resistance.

In recent years, Mediterranean agriculture has experienced important transformations which have led to new forms of labour and production, and in particular to a surge in the recruitment of migrant labour. The Mediterranean Basin represents a very interesting arena that is able to illustrate labour conditions and mobility, the competition among different farming models, and the consequences in terms of the proletarianization process, food crisis and diet changes. Migration and Agriculture brings together international contributors from across several disciplines to describe and analyse labour conditions and international migrations in relation to agri-food restructuring processes. This unique collection of articles connects migration issues with the proletarianization process and agrarian transitions that have affected Southern European as well as some Middle Eastern and Northern African countries in different ways. The chapters present case studies from a range of territories in the Mediterranean Basin, offering empirical data and theoretical analysis in order to grasp the complexity of the processes that are occurring. This book offers a uniquely comprehensive overview of migrations, territories and agro-food production in this key region, and will be an indispensable resource to scholars in migration studies, rural sociology, social geography and the political economy of agriculture.

Building on the work of labor historians, industrial relations scholars, and institutional labor economists, this book offers not only a comprehensive analysis of the changing nature of shopfloor labor-management relations in the large manufacturing firms of this century, it also supplies empirical evidence of the effect of these institutional changes on labor productivity growth and injury rates. No other study has dealt with the broad sweep of shopfloor governence during the twentieth century, paid as careful attention to the process by which shopfloor institutional arrangements changed over these years, or offered hard evidence on the relationship between changing shopfloor institutions and changing shopfloor outcomes.

A compelling account of the intersection of globalization and neo-racism in a rural Greek community, this book describes the contradictory political and economic development of the Greek countryside since its incorporation into the European Union, where increased prosperity and social liberalization have been accompanied by the creation of a vulnerable and marginalized class of immigrant laborers. The author analyzes the paradoxical resurgence of ethnic nationalism and neo-racism that has grown in the wake of European unification and addresses key issues of racism, neoliberalism and nationalism in contemporary anthropology.

Economy, Work and Education: Critical Connections addresses effects of neoliberal capitalism in particular regard to work and education. The book elaborates key aspects and problems of generalized policy models of knowledge-based economies and learning societies in contexts of liberalized firm action, accelerated competitiveness and labor market flexibility. It discusses limits and paradoxes of higher skilled, knowledge-based economies which include significant disparities in labor market absorption of higher level skills, a deterioration of qualitative conditions of work and a re-subordination of workers. This volume provides a research-intensive crossing of these fields to contribute a closer disciplinary and scholarly dialogue between interested thinkers across fields who too often must labor and converse apart. It offers the vantage point afforded by traversing old boundaries and exploring concerns shared by many scholars and researchers in international circles in pursuit of social and cultural innovation in the governance of work and education and advancing wider social debate

The current shift in demographics - aging and shrinking populations - in many countries around the world presents a major challenge to companies and societies alike. One particularly essential implication is the emergence and constant growth of the so-called "graying market" or "silver market", the market segment more or less broadly defined as those people aged 50 and older. Increasing in number and share of the total population while at the same time being relatively well-off, this market segment can be seen as very attractive and promising, although still very underdeveloped in terms of product and service offerings. This book offers a thorough and up-to-date analysis of the challenges and opportunities in leveraging innovation, technology, product development and marketing for older consumers and employees. Key lessons are drawn from a variety of industries and countries, including the lead market Japan.

Migration - both within and between countries - is increasingly one of the world's most important policy issues. The faster the Indian economy grows, the larger will be the geographical redistribution of the workforce from localities of low to those of high employment growth. Thus, territorial mobility is fundamental both to realizing the full economic potential of India's people and to allowing the population to escape from rural poverty. The book analyses the decisive factors in labour migration. Based upon a thorough and robust examination of migrants to three slum localities of Delhi stretching over four decades, the author examines why people migrate, the circumstances of their decision and their experience at their destination. He investigates the myths of urban policy - that "rural development" will reduce migration to the cities, that "growth poles" can be created to divert migrant flows, and that government has the power to influence significantly migration scales and directions while pursuing essentially unpredictable market-driven economic growth. Testing the essential theoretical basis for urban policy in India, the book is of interest to academics studying migration of labour and urbanization, and those interested in South Asian Studies.

Unfree labor has not disappeared from advanced capitalist economies. In this sense the debates among and between Marxist and orthodox economic historians about the incompatibility of capitalism and unfree labor are moot: the International Labour Organisation has identified forced, coerced, and unfree labor as a contemporary issue of global concern. Previously hidden forms of unfree labor have emerged in parallel with several other well-documented trends affecting labor conditions, rights, and modes of regulation. These evolving types of unfree labor include the increasing normalization of contingent work (and, by extension, the undermining of the standard contract of employment), and an increase in labor intermediation. The normative, political, and numerical rise of temporary employment agencies in many countries in the last three decades is indicative of these trends. It is in the context of this rapidly changing landscape that this book consolidates and expands on research designed to understand new institutions for work in the global era. This edited collection provides a theoretical and empirical exploration of the links between unfree labor, intermediation, and modes of regulation, with particular focus on the evolving institutional forms and political-economic contexts that have been implicated in, and shaped by, the ascendency of temp agencies. What is distinctive about this collection is this bi-focal lens: it makes a substantial theoretical contribution by linking disparate literatures on, and debates about, the co-evolution of contingent work and unfree labor, new forms of labor intermediation, and different regulatory approaches; but it further lays the foundation for this theory in a series of empirically rich and geographically diverse case studies. This integrative approach is grounded in a cross-national comparative framework, using this approach as the basis for assessing how, and to what extent, temporary agency work can be considered unfree wage labor

Whilst there is widespread agreement about the goals of economic policy, consensus about how best to achieve them can be harder to achieve. No issues are more contentious than employment and income distribution. In recent years full employment and a just distribution of incomes have been downgraded as policy objectives, as greater priority has been given to price stability and balance of payments objectives. This emphasis has been supported by a mainstream economic theory which has an unswerving belief in the ability of market forces to achieve a satisfactory regulation of employment and income distribution Other economists have remained more sceptical, and none more so than Kurt Rothschild. This new volume collects together his twenty two most important essays in the area, many of which are appearing in English for the first time. Throughout pure theory is linked to relevant practical investigations.

At a time when part-time jobs are ubiquitous, it is easy to forget that they are a relatively new phenomenon. This book explores the reasons behind the introduction of this specific form of work in West Germany and shows how it took root, in both norm and law, in factories, government authorities, and offices as well as within families and the lives of individual women. The author covers the period from the early 1950s, a time of optimism during the first postwar economic upswing, to 1969, the culmination of the legislative institutionalization of part-time work. It is published in association with the German Historical Institute, Washington, D.C.

Labour reform is only one component of the larger process of reforming economy and society experienced by China over the last three decades. This book uses historical analytical tools in order to shed light on how policymaking takes place in contemporary China: an experimental and self-fulfilling process where decisions are taken only long after being introduced into daily practice. It will be valuable to students of contemporary Chinese society and key to the understanding of 25 years of Chinese labour reform.

In nearly all OECD countries, the labour market has been in flux in recent decades. This book examines the labour markets and the institutional frameworks that condition their functioning in four different countries: Canada, the United States, Denmark and Sweden. Through a comparative study of these cases, the book discusses the nation-specific patterns that exist in a world that seems to become increasingly subject to common social and economic development.

This book provides a detailed examination of the impact of globalisation on plantation labour, dominated by women labour, in India. The studies presented here highlight the perpetuation of low wages, inferior social status and low human development of workers in this sector and point out the movement of labour away from this sector and the resultant labour shortage. It also highlights the perils involved in doing away with the Plantation Labour Act 1951 and provides a plausible way forward for improving the conditions of plantation workers. Rich in empirical analysis, this volume will prove essential for scholars and researchers of labour economics, development studies, gender studies and sociology.

The life-worlds and personal experiences of workers and employees in three enterprises in East Berlin at the moment of political and economic upheaval stand at the centre of the book. It sets out in 1989 at the moment of the fall of the Berlin Wall, witnessing the confrontations with the market economy and examining the reinterpretations of the socialist past as the political and economic changes take place. Disenchantment with Market Economics captures a unique moment in history and unveils myths and promises of liberal market economy from the perspective of those who lived through the break down of the planned economy at their workplaces in East Berlin. While Western managers regarded the expansion of their businesses towards Eastern Europe as a civilizing mission, the East German employees reacted with complex strategies of individual adaptation and resistance.

People from West Africa are risking their lives and surrendering their citizenship rights to enter exploitative labour markets in Europe. This book offers an explanation for this phenomenon that is based on close analysis of the contradictory economic and political agendas that create and constrain labour migration. It shows how global capitalism regulates different stages of the process within an interconnected system of economic dispossession, the construction of an illegal status, border control, labour exploitation and processes of underdevelopment. This is summarised as a regime of 'unfree labour mobility'. Combined with structural and historical approaches, this book is based on ethnographic research. It incorporates those who are left behind, those who decide to stay, migrants who fail and those who are on the move, alongside clustered migrant communities in Senegal, Mauritania and Spain. The book's panoramic approach shows how West African 'step-wise' journeys to Europe by land and sea sees competing territorial and economic policies regulating an unstable and unpredictable trajectory, creating 'illegal' labour through dual logics of border security and selective labour mobility. This book demonstrates that the diverse channels through which people migrate in the modern era are mediated by European states and labour markets, which utilise border regimes to control labour and be globally competitive. The themes and patterns that emerge, in their context of inter-generational change, present a challenge to the accepted wisdom about the individual and household dynamics of labour migration. This book is of interest to students and scholars of migration, transnationalism, politics, security, development, economics, and sociology.

The essays in this book, originally published in 1984, examine many problems within the structure of industry including wage policies, financial incentives and other economic policies. The book discusses the problems from two standpoints: that of the economist who is concerned with labour as a resource and the psychologist concerned with the behavioural activity of the labour force. This inter-disciplinary approach ensures the relevance of the essays to social scientists, managers and policy-makers.

This book offers a selection of intensely researched essays focused on the critical planning objectives and policy priorities that would enhance the promotion of inclusive growth in a developing country. It has taken Bangladesh as the case study. It argues for rethinking of traditional policies and provides arguments and ways to reorient these toward inclusive growth and better social inclusion. These involve a dedicated focus on employment and inclusion in the design of monetary and fiscal policies, trade and industrial policies, policies toward rural non-farm employment, social protection and safety net strategy and the nature of institutional and governance reforms which are imperative for ensuring inclusive growth. The studies included in the book were prepared before or at the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the unfolding economic crisis; yet they provide cursory observations on its likely impact, and underscore how the stated principles and policies of an inclusive growth strategy have become even more significant in the present situation. Bangladesh has been growing respectably during the past decade and a half and has arguably shown strong progress in several social indicators. However, inequality and vulnerability are rising alarmingly, and the economy is beset with high levels of corruption, as well as with various other governance deficits that can adversely affect future growth and social inclusion. The book provides a critical assessment of how far growth in Bangladesh has been inclusive, both over time, and in comparison to selected South and Southeast Asian countries. It constructs a specific 'inclusive growth index' with reference to what the study considers as the significant goals and pillars of inclusive growth. Bangladesh is not the only developing country that is faced with the arduous task of tackling unbalanced economic growth and of implementing the 2030 Agenda. Rising vulnerability, inequality, disappointing job growth and poor governance are also major challenges to inclusive growth for many countries in the Global South. Therefore, the appeal of this book extends well beyond the borders of Bangladesh and the South Asian region. Corresponding to SDG 8, the book is aimed at academia, researchers, policymakers, civil society leaders as well as other national and international development practitioners with an avid interest in issues concerning growth with equity, and in sync with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addition, the book is a valuable resource for interested students of disciplines related to economics and development policy.

Integrating a focus on gender with Marx's surplus-based notion of class, this book offers a one-of-a-kind analysis of family farms in the United States. The analysis shows how gender and class struggles developed during important moments in the history of these family farms shaped the trajectory of U.S. agricultural development. It also generates surprising insights about the family farm we thought we knew, as well as the food and agricultural system today. Elizabeth A. Ramey theorizes the family farm as a complex hybrid of mostly feudal and ancient class structures. This class-based definition of the family farm yields unique insights into three broad aspects of U.S. agricultural history. First, the analysis highlights the crucial, yet under-recognized role of farm women and children's unpaid labor in subsidizing the family farm. Second, it allows for a new, class-based perspective on the roots of the twentieth century "miracle of productivity" in U.S. agriculture, and finally, the book demonstrates how the unique set of contradictions and circumstances facing family farmers during the early twentieth century, including class exploitation, was connected to concern for their ability to serve the needs of U.S. industrial capitalist development. The argument presented here highlights the significant costs associated with the intensification of exploitation in the transition to industrial agriculture in the U.S. When viewed through the lens of class, the hallowed family farm becomes an example of one of the most exploitative institutions in the U.S. economy. This book is suitable for students who study economic history, agricultural studies, and labor economics.

Due to changes in retirement and employment policies the participation of older workers in the German labour force has been increasing in the recent decade. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), the book examines developments in the training participation patterns of older workers. The author gives special attention to the relations between the rate of training participation and the level of job satisfaction. The findings indicate an increase in training participation, particularly of workers aged 55-59, and imply a positive correlation between the rate of training and job satisfaction.

In the past decade unions and community groups have come together around a wide range of campaigns for economic justice--from fighting for living wages, to electing progressive champions, to questioning market-oriented economic development, to promoting anti-sprawl/smart growth efforts. Partnering for Change brings together activists and intellectuals on the forefront of these organizing efforts. They discuss general patterns of labor-community coalitions in terms of alliances between unions and such community players as environmentalists, religious groups, low-income organizations, and local employers. The contributors also offer a wealth of case studies such as the successful campaign for corporate subsidy accountability in Minnesota, Vermont's Livable Wage Campaign, The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, and the model regional power building projects of the South Bay AFL-CIO. The volume's editor, David Reynolds, combines a broad overview of labor-community coalitions, practical examples applicable to diverse communities, and an appreciation of the challenges as well as the opportunities for building the movement for economic change.

The relations between Turkey and Germany deserve to be called unique because of their depth and extent. This book offers an interdisciplinary approach on these relations from political, socio-economic and business perspectives. In this context, it is a beneficial reference book for those academics in Political Science, Economics and Business Administration who focus their researches on various aspects of the relations between Turkey and Germany. It also provides useful insight for the practitioners such as policy makers, diplomats, investors, financial analysts, NGOs that are engaged in Turkish-German relations, German companies invested in Turkey and Turkish companies that transfer know-how from Germany.

This book analyzes the adverse effects of globalization and liberalization - acutely manifest in the increased financialization of capital and the concomitant global financial crisis of 2008-09 - on the labour force, especially in the developing countries. Drawing upon case studies from several countries including India, Columbia, Malawi, Brazil and Thailand, it highlights the worsening plight of working class as a whole and informal labour in particular. The essays examine issues such as down-sizing, lowering of wages, insecurity and erosion of labour rights, and show how labour is grappling with the situation. The volume critically re-assesses varied aspects of the growing informal sector: its dubious credential as an employment provider during crises; its non-adherence to internationally recognized standards of decent work; the problems and potential of workers' unions; and the need for a regulatory regime. It also discusses changes in the Indian labour market induced by business environment and technology as well as its future dynamics. Presenting a historical review of labour markets, the work explores the deregulation wave under the globalization of 1980s and the interactions between existing unstable asset markets and labour markets. The book will prove especially useful to students and scholars in economics, labour studies and sociology, and those engaged in public policy and governance.

In the alarming contemporary context of widespread corruption and fraudulence in the overseas labour recruitment system in India, this book attempts to understand the institution of emigration governance and recruitment practices in the country with a focus on the unskilled and semi-skilled sectors. It brings together the results of research in the major emigration hubs of India with the aid of quantitative and qualitative tools, drawing from all the major stakeholders -intending emigrants, recruiting agents, return emigrants, emigrant households, Protector of Emigrants, foreign employers, foreign recruiting agents, Indian missions and emigrant workers at the destination countries. The book unravels the underlying discriminatory rationality of the existing system of emigration governance, its logical and structural incoherencies and the consequent inefficacy in protecting the most vulnerable sections of workers leaving India for overseas employment, resulting in unaffordable levels of transaction and social costs. By outlining the institutional failure, the volume outlines the fundamental principles of a new institution which would facilitate orderly, safe and secure emigration, economically sustainable beneficial expatriate life and social protection after the emigrants return. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, law, economics, demography, anthropology, history, gender studies, cultural studies, Diaspora studies, migration studies and international relations, apart from policy-makers and administrators of transnational migration and NGOs working in the field of migration.

This study is based on a wide range of business sources as well as newspapers, journals, novels and oral history, allowing Heller to put forward a new interpretation of working conditions for London clerks, highlighting the ways in which clerical work changed and modernized over this period.