This book addresses work performance research undertaken to enhance individual and group productivity. Comprehensive in scope, it includes an unprecedented consolidation of theory, methodology, and application of human performance outcomes and research findings. It explores the relationship between human productivity and performance from a systems perspective, projects future research needs and applications of findings, and covers unique multidisciplinary research. The contributors to this volume have either participated in, contributed to, or had access to the latest empirical research data developed in government labs, academia, and industry.

This book examines the form and character of the internationalization of employee relations in the automobile industry. It goes onto examine the impact of the new forms of regionalization and their impact on employment relations within firms. Case studies are used to examine the transformation of employment standards, including General Motors, Toyota, Renault, FIAT and Peugeot. The book also assesses the significance of the emergence of regional integration processes in the form of regional economic spaces (EC, Nafta, Mercusor and ASEAN).

This book provides an understanding of the processes in which unions engage with young people, and views and opinions young people hold relating to collective representation. It features a selection of specific national cases of high relevance to contemporary debates of precariousness, trade union revitalization strategies and austerity policies.

This volume contains the lectures given by prominent civil servants and representatives of the "International Employers' Association" (IOE) and the "International Confederation of Free Trade Unions" to law students from various European countries at the occasion of their visit to the "International Labour Organization". The purpose of these lectures is to expand on the major problems the ILO, as the social conscience of the world, will be confronted with in the next century. These lectures open a panorama of worldwide trends, which will co-determine the future outlook of our societies. The "Geneva Lectures" deal with following important topics: the world of work; the informal economy; globalization and the confrontation it involves; the future of the trade union movement; the role of the employer's associations; the ILO Declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work (1998), child labour; international labour standards and the codes of conduct of multinational enterprises. They give the reader an insight in the world of tomorrow and how one of the leading international bodies reflects on how to deal with them.

This fully updated edition of the China Ethnic Statistic Yearbook, comprised of entirely original research, presents data on the socioeconomic situation of China's 56 ethnic groups. Although the majority of China's population is of the Han nationality (which accounts for more than 90% of China's population), the non-Han ethnic groups have a population of more than 100 million. China has officially identified, except for other unknown ethnic groups and foreigners with Chinese citizenship, 55 ethnic minorities. In addition, ethnic minorities vary greatly in size. With a population of more than 15 million, the Zhuang are the largest ethnic minority, and the Lhoba, with a population of only about three thousand, the smallest. China's ethnic diversity has resulted in a special socioeconomic landscape for China itself. How different have China's ethnic groups been in every sphere of daily life and economic development during China's fast transition period? In order to answer these questions, we have created a detailed and comparable set of data for each of China's ethnic groups. This book presents, in an easy-to-use format, a broad collection of social and economic indicators on China's 56 ethnic groups. This useful resource profiles the general social and economic situations for each of these ethnic groups. These indicators are compiled and estimated based on the regional and local data gathered from a variety of sources up to 2016 with up to date analysis. This Yearbook also includes a new chapter on China's spatial (dis)integration as a multiethnic paradox.

Amarjit Kaur examines wage labor's role in economic growth and change in Southeast Asia since the mid-nineteenth century, its focus is on globalization; the old and new international division of labor and how transnational economic processes shaped and continue to shape labor systems. There are five main themes--the labor process and labor systems in plantation, mining and manufacturing production; labor migration; labor in the urban sector; labor standard - wages, working conditions and labor rights, and labor organization.

During the past two centuries, major technological breakthroughs such as the steam engine and electricity have acted as the catalysts for growth and have resulted in a marked increase in material well-being. The dominant technology today - information and communication technology (ICT) - does not seem to drive growth as effectively and has coincided with an apparent increase in wage inequality. This book provides explanations of these two characteristics of modern economies and analyses them from both an individual and integrated perspective. Richard Nahuis explores and combines the seemingly separate phenomena of wage inequality between high-skilled and low-skilled workers, and the relatively low productivity growth experienced by most countries. The author provides a number of alternative theories for the increase in wage inequality as a result of new technologies, combined with an extensive review of the associated literature. He goes on to detail the technological revolution, describe why this does not necessarily result in high productivity growth and outline the best methods to measure productivity in the new economy. This exhaustive exploration of productivity growth and wage inequality between high-skilled and low-skilled workers in the knowledge economy will be welcomed by economists and policymakers interested in the complex relationships between labour markets, innovation and technical change.

A collection of essays by economists and political scientists, each with an interest in Austrian school arguments, Basic Income and the Free Market confronts the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) concept. It outlines Austrian arguments for and against the BIG; critiques of Austrian theory from market-socialist and post-Keynesian perspectives that lead to defense of the BIG; critiques of BIG that consider Austrian and other heterodox theory; comparisons of the policy to proposals by others, such as Milton Friedman's negative income tax; pragmatic arguments for the policy; and proposals which discuss complex systems theory (which is embraced by 'left' and 'right' thinkers alike) and its relationship to Hayek's spontaneous order. The collection opens a dialog between Austrian and other heterodox economists as well as between 'classical liberal, ' libertarian, and left-leaning or socialist political scientists and policymakers. The authors discuss whether the BIG could offer an alternative to both laissez-faire and existing welfare systems in developed countries, which are often criticized by both advocates and critics of laissez-faire, opening a constructive dialog in policy discussion. Included in this discussion is a systematic critique of pure laissez-faire interpretations of Austrian theory, and the analysis of the addition of a BIG to pure laissez-faire in the place of existing interventionist systems. Proposals making this case form the first section, followed by rebuttals and proposals against the policy, and rejoinders.

Estlund and Wachter 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.' - Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt, Indiana University Bloomington School of Law, USThis 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 volume's 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. Contributors: R. Arnow-Richman, S. Deakin, Z.J. Eigen, R.A. Epstein, C.L. Estlund, S. Estreicher, B.T. Hirsch, A. Hyde, S. Issacharoff, C. Jolls, B.E. Kaufman, M.M. Kleiner, B.I. Sachs, E. Scharff, S.J. Schwab, M.L. Wachter, D. Weil

The contributors to this edited collection argue that a flexible Job Guarantee program able to react to an economy's fluctuating need for work would stabilize the labor standard, the value of employment in relation to money. During economic downturns, the program would expand to provide more public sector jobs in response to private sector layoffs. It would then contract when economic growth offered private sector employment opportunities. This flexible full employment program would create a balanced, perpetually active labor force, providing the macroeconomic stability necessary to define a functioning labor standard. Just as the gold standard measured the worth of money against gold reserves, John Maynard Keynes argued, so a labor standard ought to measure the value of money in terms of its labor equivalent. However, he failed to account for the fact that, unlike a gold standard, a labor standard does not have any kind of surety that money will continue to match its value in paid work over time. Together, the contributors argue that full employment would provide this missing security and allow authorities to define the value equivalencies of money and labor, the way that money once represented its exact equivalent in gold.

Based on the author's first-hand research and experience in Saudi Arabia, this monograph presents a highly readable account of the internationalization of the Middle East's labor force during and after the oil boom of 1973-83. Written from the perspective of an active participant rather than that of an academic observer, "Oil and Labor in the Middle East" analyzes the expatriate workers' world and the multinational companies employing them. It will prove particularly valuable to readers -- business executives, workers, government representatives, and labor leaders -- involved in the exchange of labor across national borders..

Woodward demonstrates that the treatments influx of foreign workers into the Middle East during the oil boom created a complex supranational world of people and corporations -- and an inevitable clash of cultural, economic, and political perspectives. He explores facets of the expatriate experience that have received little treatment elsewhere: the labor pyramid, the relationship between expatriate and host country labor force, the commercial/industrial environment, bargaining position and risk, and the governments of countries sending labor overseas. Finally, Woodward examines individual considerations critical to the decision to become an expatriate worker: personal motivation, living conditions, cultural differences, salaries, and the value of savings.

This volume traces the history of organized labor in the Peru and Ecuador from its first appearance in the late nineteenth century until the end of the twentieth century. It discusses the relations of trade unionism with economic development and politics, particularly the political tendencies within organized labor. It also discusses the negative impact on the trade union movement of the "free-enterprise-free trade" policies of the last decades of the twentieth century.

Paul G. Buchanan and Kate Nicholls explore the political and economic fortunes of organized labor in five small open democracies between 1975 and 2000. Of particular interest is the role of labor market institutions, organizational histories, and trade union ideologies in shaping outcomes under conditions of economic liberalization. The book includes a theoretical and methodological introduction, followed by individual discussions of Australia and Chile, and New Zealand and Uruguay, grouped a cross-regional pairs, and Ireland as an extra-regional and atypical case.

This book explores various forms of highly skilled mobility in the European Union, assessing the potential for this movement to contribute to individual and societal development. In doing so, the authors illustrate some of the issues arising from the opening up of Europe's borders, and exposing its education systems and labour markets to international competition. While acknowledging the potentially positive aspects of mobility, they also reveal many of the negative consequences arising from flaws in mobility governance and inequalities in access to opportunities, arguing that when the management of mobility goes 'wrong', we are left with a heightened level of precariousness and the reproduction of social inequality. This discussion will be of interest to those working within Europe's mobility infrastructure, as well as policymakers in the mobility field and students and scholars from across the social sciences.

Dwindling innovation and deteriorating economic conditions are caused by a major force, a systemic shift in the American economy. In this gripping book, Dr. Samli makes the case that the US economy is shifting for the worse, tilting towards a finance-driven economy, and argues that investing in innovation will bring us out of the recession and back to a successful, market-driven economy. While the US is cost-cutting by sending jobs abroad, reducing education budgets, and redirecting government funds to military involvement, American innovation has been suffering and stifled. Dr. Samli explores the roots of the recession from this viewpoint and offers an 'innovative' solution for disciplining economic, political, and social activities to come out of the recession and restore the tilt towards the 99-percent.

Economic globalization, the adoption of export-oriented industrialism strategies and the global restructuring of manufacturing have resulted in the increased participation of women in the manufacturing sector in Asia. This collection, edited by Armajit Kaur, is an important comparative study that covers the major East, South and Southeast Asian countries. It explores the diversity of women's work in factory and small-batch production and home-based work. It also focuses on women's employment and health conditions in the context of internationally accepted core labor standards.

The book examines the development and the dynamics of the personal distribution of income in Germany, Great Britain, Sweden and the United States and some other OECD countries. Starting with the distribution of labour income, the issue is then expanded to include all monetary incomes of private households and to adjust for household size by an equivalence scale. Some authors analyse one country in detail by decomposing aggregate inequality measures, other authors focus on direct comparisons of some features of the income distribution in Germany with those in Great Britain or in the United States. The results suggest dominant influences of unemployment as well as of tax and transfer policies and different welfare regimes, respectively, but also show that our knowledge about distributional processes is still limited.

This book challenges the conclusions that link entrepreneurship to lower employee compensation. This challenge is based on more recent theories of entrepreneurship, which view the role of small firms as existing in a dynamic context rather than a static framework. The evolutionary theory of entrepreneurship views the startup as an endogenous response to economic knowledge and suggests that new firms are a diverse manifestation of the search process. Evolutionary theory has been strikingly silent about how employee compensation might differ in an evolutionary framework compared to a static one. This is important because employee compensation is a key measure of economic performance, complementing other measures such as growth and survival. This book argues that the link between entrepreneurship and wages is different in an evolutionary context than in the traditional static analysis, suggesting that, particularly in knowledge-based industries, firms will pay relatively lower levels of employee compensation subsequent to startup. If the firm learns that it is viable, and survives and grows, levels of employee compensation will rapidly rise. This research provides compelling empirical evidence suggesting that the relationship between firm age and employee compensation is very different in an evolutionary context than in a static analysis. While this study confirms that new and small enterprises compensate employees at lower levels than do their larger counterparts subsequent to startup, over time, the levels of employee compensation not only increase, but also at a higher rate than in larger enterprises. While the traditional static analysis leads to the policy prescription that new firms and the low wages associated with them represent a drag on economic welfare, the evolutionary view suggests that, in the knowledge economy, they are an essential component of the search for steep trajectories, both in terms of growth and wages.

This volume offers a comprehensive state-of-the-art portrait of entrepreneurship and small business management issues in former Yugoslavian countries. Further, it provides a wealth of theoretical and empirical evidence on the role of entrepreneurship in transition economies and emerging markets. Country-based studies identify the processes in each country that attract financial investors and yield new business and employment opportunities. In addition, the studies highlight institutional constraints and political factors that hinder the development of entrepreneurship in these countries, and offer recommendations for policymakers on how to improve the general business environment. This book will appeal to entrepreneurship researchers, as well as public policymakers in transition economies and emerging markets.

This edited collection provides the first in-depth analysis of social policies and the risks faced by young people. The book explores the effects of both the economic crisis and austerity policies on the lives of young Europeans, examining both the precarity of youth transitions, and the function of welfare state policies.

This book examines the impact of globalization on employment, income distribution and poverty reduction in developing countries using the five country studies of Ghana, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Nepal, and Vietnam. Market failures, possible displacement of previously sheltered economic activities, disparities in the initial levels of human capital and technological transfer associated with skill biased technological change may imply both an increasing within-country income inequality and an uneven process of job creation and poverty alleviation. This evidence paves the way for targeted economic and social policies both at national and international levels.

German and European immigration policies have only recently begun to cope with the inevitable: growing labor demand in the face of high unemployment and a shrinking labor force due to demographic change. Despite the implementation of Germany's first immigration act and several European initiatives towards legal harmonization at the EU level, an actively controlling immigration policy, which would be needed to master the challenges ahead, is not yet in sight. Against this background, the book draws conclusions from the German history of immigration policy. It analyzes the country's future demand for immigration and develops an economic model for the effective selection and integration of labor migrants that could provide the foundation for a joint European immigration strategy.

This is the first full length history of the National Federation of Women Workers - a pioneering, all-female trade union operating from 1906 to 1921. It centres on the leaders, organisers, activists and members throughout the regions of Britain who built and sustained the union. By focusing on strikes, disputes and branch life, Hunt provides vital details of the working lives of thousands of women workers in the early twentieth century. The Federation, led by the charismatic Mary Macarthur, was influential out of all proportion to its size and attracted brilliant women activists to its campaigns, many of whom became well known in British Labour politics. By highlighting grassroots activism as well as national leadership, this work brings fresh perspectives to trade union history, deepening our knowledge of women who, whilst living through the political and social upheavals of the First World War, knew the realities of women's work that was too often dominated by low pay, poor conditions and inequality.

Economic disparity between ethnic and racial groups is a ubiquitous and pervasive phenomenon internationally. Gaps between groups encompass employment, wage, occupational status and wealth differentials. Virtually every nation is comprised of a group whose material well-being is sharply depressed in comparison with another, socially dominant group.
This collection is a cross-national, comparative investigation of the patterns and dynamics of inter-group economic inequality. A wide range of respected experts discuss such issues as:
*a wide range of groups from the Burakumin in Japan to the scheduled castes and tribes in India
*policy attempts to remedy intergroup inequality
*race and labor market outcomes in Brazil.

Under the impressive editorship of William Darity Jr and Ashwini Deshpande, this collection forms an important book. It will be of interest to students and academics involved in racial studies, the economics of discrimination and labor economics as well as policy makers around the world.