This book examines the inclusive development experiences and impacts of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). It discusses the theoretical assumptions underlying the inclusive development of Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS), and draws conclusions based on robust data and real-world experiences with the MGNREGS - which has attracted global attention as India's most ambitious, rights-based development initiative and most expansive work-based social security measure, the world's largest public works programme, and people-centric approach to development. The book argues that the Scheme holds vast potential, and, in fact, has made significant contribution to the promotion of livelihoods of the poorest of the poor, but that the weak institutions of local-self-governance, entrusted for implementation of the Scheme, are incapable of exploiting them to the full. It ends with a concrete policy suggestion: the inclusive development experiences gathered with the EGS and presented here could offer a source of policy change in many developing Afro-Asian countries whose situations are similar to India's, provided the local conditions in the respective country are taken into consideration when designing the EGS. Its significance as a social security measure has increased in post-COVID loss of jobs and livelihoods of the poor.

This book enables the reader to understand labor markets and shows how to forecast the need for skills in developing countries. The forecasting of these skills has recently fallen into disrepute with the notion that all forecasting techniques that assessed the labor market requirements of the future were dubious and that the future lay with labor market analysis and labor market signaling. This book disputes this but acknowledges that the models of the past should be supplemented with better data and improved labor market analysis and in doing so produces its own model for analyzing the needs of labor markets.

This edited volume provides multidisciplinary and international insights into the policy, managerial and educational aspects of diverse students transitions from education to employment. As employers require increasing global competence on the part of those leaving education, this research asks whether increasing multiculturalism in developed societies, often seen as a challenge to their cohesion, is in fact a potential advantage in an evolving employment sector. This is a vital and under-researched field, and this new publication in Springer s Technical and Vocational Education and Training series provides analysis both of theory and empirical data, submitted by researchers from nine nations including the USA, Oman, Malaysia, and countries in the European Union.

The papers trace the origins of business demand for diversity in their workforce s skill set, including national, local and institutional contexts. They also consider how social, demographic, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity inform the attitudes of those seeking work and those seeking workers. With clear suggestions for future research, this work on a topic of rising profile will be read with interest by educators, policy makers, employers and careers advisors.

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The woman's role in society has often been undervalued and relegated to the background. Even though opportunities are increasingly made available for women in society, they are still at a great disadvantage. Years of thorough research have revealed how providing increased job opportunities in the labor market is vital for developing a republic's economy. Of course, a country with very little participation of the female population in the labor market will have nothing but a stunted economic and social situation seeing that only half the population are actively contributing to its growth. In the light of the knowledge boom in this modern age, policies have to be made, and strategies are drawn to promote gender equality and provide as many opportunities for women as men in the labor market. This book focuses on the global labor market and how the present and future improvements of gender equality reflect upon it. It also contains the strategies and policies created to combat gender discrimination in the labor market to provide equal opportunities to everybody irrespective of the gender or ethnic affiliations.

This book offers a new interpretation of the Employment Act of 1946. It argues that in addition to Keynesian economics, the idea of a living wage was also part of the background leading up to the Employment Act. The Act mandated that the president prepare an Economic Report on the state of the economy and how to improve it, and the idea of a living wage was an essential issue in those Economic Reports for over two decades. The author argues that macroeconomic policy in the USA consisted of a dual approach of using a living wage to increase consumption with higher wages, and fiscal policy to create jobs and higher levels of consumption, therefore forming a hybrid system of redistributive economics. An important read for scholars of economic history, this book explores Roosevelt's role in the debates over the Employment Act in the 1940s, and underlines how Truman's Fair Deal, Kennedy's New Frontier and Johnson's Great Society all had the ultimate goal of a living wage, despite their variations of its definition and name.

This useful collection of case studies of women in Arizona, Texas, Utah, and California state bureaucracies is a cooperative comparative venture among authors asking similar questions about obstacles to and facilitators of women's career advancement. The editors proceed from the proposition that bureaucracies should be democratic. More specifically, they submit that proportional representation of women in bureaucracies will result in public policy that is more in women's interests than policy produced by predominantly male bureaucrats. The authors find support for this proposition; female bureaucrats are generally more supportive than male bureaucrats of public policies responsive to women's needs. The case studies also illustrate how the status of women in state bureaucracies is dependent on gubernatorial electoral politics. "Choice"

While a number of researchers have focused on female employment at the managerial level, this book is the first to deal specifically with advances made by women in obtaining high-level positions in state government. Using questionnaire data from several southwestern states, Hale and Kelly examine the extent to which equal opportunity has become a reality for women in state and municipal civil service careers.

In two introductory chapters, Hale and Kelly develop the theoretical perspective and conceptual framework on which their analysis is based. They identify and discuss interrelationships of gender, democracy, and representative bureaucracy as well as the individual factors that promote and impede the career advancement of women. The findings of case studies undertaken in Arizona, Texas, Utah, and California are presented in separate chapters. Variables treated in the studies include career mobility, success, and satisfaction; employment behavior; perceptions of barriers to advancement; sources and types of support; domestic responsibilities and constraints; and childhood and professional socialization. The final section of the book summarizes the results of a separate study on work force trends, labor pool availability, and hiring and firing rates in 93 southwestern cities. Providing new information and a model for further research in the field, this book will be of interest for courses or independent work in women's studies, public policy, social change, political science, manpower studies, and public administration.

The book provides an interesting analysis of the time-use data to examine the extent to which active ageing is occurring in India. It also synthesizes data from the National Sample Survey Office All India Survey and another survey undertaken in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, and Ranchi (capital cities of East Indian states) to examine the role of the aged in the Indian Society. Nearly all countries in the world are experiencing an important issue of ageing. India faces its own set of challenges with its aging population due to the absence of a social security system-the shifting family dynamics questions the contribution of the elderly to the family in every aspect. Econometric models have been used in the book to study gender differences and variations across socio-economic conditions, correlating them to the contribution of the aged to their families and the extent of active ageing. The book broadens the understanding on the aged and facilitates their integration in the society so that they can age more actively. Active Ageing and Labour Market Engagement offers an analytical perspective to professionals, researchers, and policy makers interested in gerontology.

This timely and important work addresses the controversy surrounding discouragement among the unemployed. Using an unprecedented set of national and local studies, and drawing on disparate research in nearly every social science discipline, the authors produce an original, highly detailed portrait of discouraged workers. From their analysis they offer recommendations on what can be done to promote employment and reduce long-term dependency on government assistance. Other timely issues discussed are chronic minority unemployment, worker dislocation through plant closings, the impact of low wage jobs on reducing poverty, the "feminization of poverty," the plight of the working poor, and the importance of the family.

In today's climate, academics, professional community and policy makers all have input in critical gender issues, as well as in the entrepreneurship and human capital issues. Various gender issues are published involving many scientific fields, including business, management and accounting research. Presenting the topic of gender issues, entrepreneurship and human capital, this book collects the main output of the researches presented at the Annual Workshop of IPAZIA 2019 of Rome in Italy. The authors provide a renewed and fruitful analysis of these topics, with the purpose of advancing the gender theories in the international context.

This open access book builds on the European Union's (EU) Horizon 2020 project 'Financial and Institutional Reforms for an Entrepreneurial Society' (FIRES). The authors outline how Europe can move towards more inclusive, innovative and sustainable growth through reforms that will rekindle its entrepreneurial spirit. Based on decades of research and countless discussions with stakeholders, the book also features the FIRES project's full list of policy interventions and institutional reforms that can help policymakers make that agenda a reality.

This book provides a broad overview of the current research on various aspects of development, with a focus on India. The content and treatment of the subject of development in this volume is distinctive in many ways. It is a balanced mix of theory and practical elements, dealing with a number of issues at micro as well as macro levels. The analyses of the current socio-economic problems are attempted in an elegant yet simple manner which makes it equally useful for an aspiring researcher in economics or any inter disciplinary field. The methodologies of the articles include analytical verbal argumentative logic, theoretical constructs or different versions of statistical, econometric or programming techniques. It also contains well written survey articles, which are useful in grasping the fundamental research issues and in tracing the progress of research in an area. The general scope of the book is very wide as the readership can include researchers, scholars, graduate and undergraduate students, policy makers and practitioners. Though the contributors are primarily scholars in the field of Economics or Statistics, the book contains useful takeaways for those working in the area of Development. It will also be of interest to policy makers and practitioners interested in development issues, and to post graduate students in Economics or any field, in social science, management or development.

Attempting to explain increased income inequality and decreased productivity growth, this book considers distribution not just in terms of income but also in terms of education and health care: two long-term determinants of income. Reviewing partial explanations, it notes the conflict between claims of rapid technological change and decreased productivity growth and shows the limited impact of policies affecting income redistribution. Although education and health care have become more equally distributed, the work notes, higher educational attainment has had a minimal effect on occupational distribution, and with improved access to medical care, the disparity between the health of the poor and the rest of the population has not decreased. In conclusion, the work notes that attitudes toward income inequality differ from attitudes toward inequality in education and health care. Attitudes toward income inequalty accept a floor but no ceiling; whereas equal access to education, qualified by ability, and access to health care based on need are generally accepted.

The demand for economic inclusion has increasingly intensified, as manifested by the growing movements of farmers, workers, and social activists. Therefore, the question of adequate social representation of marginalized and underprivileged communities has to be made pivotal in the discourse of inclusion. This book investigates selected aspects of labour market informality in India. It examines the key factors that have expedited labour informality- contractualisation - in the manufacturing sector since the early 1990s. It analyses the features of informality and inclusion from the perspective of not just class but also the caste hierarchy in Indian society, thus offering readers an exhaustive overview of economic inclusion following the economic reforms and providing fresh insights into labour market informality through the lens of the social divisions in Indian society. Developed on a wide canvas of multiple processes, policies and factors that have contributed to this phenomenon, the book offers an elaborate analysis of contractualisation within the industry from the perspectives of labour legislation and the labour market. In addition, it contextualizes the issue of job informality for the post economic reforms era, from 1991 onwards. It examines the impact of the policies of economic reform on contractualisation across industries and states. Further, the book discusses the dynamics of the labour market reforms in India, given that there is a higher incidence of labour informality in India. It also highlights how the policy quest for inclusive growth has remained unfulfilled. This book will be a useful guide for advanced students, academic researchers, scholars and policy makers that are engaged with the issue of informal sector employment.

Research teams from Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, former East Germany and the United States of America examine the transition from paid employment to retirement in each country. The work is based on empirical data of the relevant actor systems: the states, collective organisations, firms and workers. Demographic trends and labour market dynamics, tight government finances and company budgets however give rise to fundamental changes in industrial work and social welfare regulation modes.

The global race for talent is on, with countries and businesses competing for the best and brightest. Talented individuals migrate much more frequently than the general population, and the United States has received exceptional inflows of human capital. This foreign talent has transformed U.S. science and engineering, reshaped the economy, and influenced society at large. But America is bogged down in thorny debates on immigration policy, and the world around the United States is rapidly catching up, especially China and India. The future is quite uncertain, and the global talent puzzle deserves close examination. To do this, William R. Kerr uniquely combines insights and lessons from business practice, government policy, and individual decision making. Examining popular ideas that have taken hold and synthesizing rigorous research across fields such as entrepreneurship and innovation, regional advantage, and economic policy, Kerr gives voice to data and ideas that should drive the next wave of policy and business practice. The Gift of Global Talent deftly transports readers from joyous celebrations at the Nobel Prize ceremony to angry airport protests against the Trump administration's travel ban. It explores why talented migration drives the knowledge economy, describes how universities and firms govern skilled admissions, explains the controversies of the H-1B visa used by firms like Google and Apple, and discusses the economic inequalities and superstar firms that global talent flows produce. The United States has been the steward of a global gift, and this book explains the huge leadership decision it now faces and how it can become even more competitive for attracting tomorrow's talent. Please click here to learn more about the book.

This book presents selected papers from the 23rd Eurasia Business and Economics Society (EBES) Conference, held in Madrid, Spain. While the theoretical and empirical papers presented cover diverse areas of economics and finance in different geographic regions, the main focus is on the latest research concerning international trade, public economics, and regional studies. The book also includes studies on the economics of innovation, inequality and tourism.

For a long time in-work poverty was not associated with European welfare states. Recently, the topic has gained relevance as welfare state retrenchment and international competition in globalized economies has put increasing pressures on individuals and families. This book provides explanations as to why in-work poverty is high in certain countries and low in others. Much of the present concern about the working poor has to do with recent changes in labour market policies in Europe. However, this book is not primarily about low pay. Instead, it questions whether gainful employment is sufficient to earn a living - both for oneself and for one's family members. There are, however, great differences between European countries. This book argues that the incidence and structure of the working poor cannot be understood without a thorough understanding of each country's institutional context. This includes the system of wage-setting, the level of decommodification provided by the social security system and the structure of families and households. Combining cross-country studies with in-depth analyses from a national perspective, the book reveals that in-work poverty in Europe is a diverse, multi-faceted phenomenon occurring in equally diverse institutional, economic and socio-demographic settings. With its rich detail and conclusions, this genuinely comparative study will be of interest to academics and researchers of labour and welfare economics, social policy and European studies as well as to policy advisers.

Through a collection of 13 chapters, Peggy Deamer examines the profession of architecture not as an abstraction, but as an assemblage of architectural workers. What forces prevent architects from empowering ourselves to be more relevant and better rewarded? How can these forces be set aside by new narratives, new organizations and new methods of production? How can we sit at the decision-making table to combat short-term real estate interests for longer-term social and ethical value? How can we pull architecture-its conceptualization, its pedagogy, and its enactment-into the 21st century without succumbing to its neoliberal paradigm? In addressing these controversial questions, Architecture and Labor brings contemporary discourses on creative labor to architecture, a discipline devoid of labor consciousness. This book addresses how, not just what, architects produce and focuses not on the past but on the present. It is sympathetic to the particularly intimate way that architects approach their design work while contextualizing that work historically, institutionally, economically, and ideologically. Architecture and Labor is sure to be a compelling read for pre-professional students, academics, and practitioners.

This book examines the work of Milton Friedman, which is amongst the most significant in modern economics and, equally, amongst the most contentious. Although Friedman became most famous for his views on money and monetary policy as well as his public writings, a large and important part of his work concerned other aspects of economics. All parts of Friedman's work are considered here, as is his account of his own life. By focussing on what Friedman wrote rather than what later authors have written about him, this volume seeks to analyse the character, qualities and development of the arguments he made. This text is important for anyone interested in this both celebrated and reviled figure in economics. James Forder clarifies messages in Friedman's writing that have otherwise so often been obscured by academic and public controversy.

This book explores the history and global expansion of AB Volvo, one of the hundred largest corporations in the world, through the experiences of its workers in Sweden, Mexico, South Africa, and India. It investigates how neo-liberalisation has transformed the company into a promoter of lean production, at the expense of the workers' needs.

From Consent to Coercion examines the increasing assault against trade union rights and freedoms in Canada by federal and provincial governments. Centring the struggles of Canadian unionized workers, this book explores the diminution of the welfare state and the impacts that this erosion has had on broader working-class rights and standards of living. The fourth edition witnesses the passing of an era of free collective bargaining in Canada - an era in which the state and capital relied on obtaining the consent of workers and unions to act as subordinates in Canada's capitalist democracy. It looks at how the last twenty years have marked a return to a more open reliance of the state and capital on coercion - on force and on fear - to secure that subordination. From Consent to Coercion considers this conjuncture in the Canadian political economy amid growing precarity, poverty, and polarization in an otherwise indeterminate period of austerity. This important edition calls attention to the urgent task of rebuilding and renewing socialist politics - of thinking ambitiously and meeting new challenges with unique solutions to the left of social democracy.

The economic crisis of 2007/2008 has prompted much debate as to what caused it and what remedies may be implemented in order to regain a healthy economy. This book addresses these issues through the lens of capitalism with a focus on labour economics, arguing that capitalism, and the employment of young people and migrants, may be a suitable antidote to the ongoing political crises in Europe that are taking place as a result of the financial crisis. Using economic history and the history of economic thought to inform debate, Is Capitalism Still Progressive?: A Historical Approach will be of interest to policy makers (especially in emerging countries), students and researchers interested in exploring the pros and cons, and persistence, of the capitalist system.

Migration, Unemployment and Trade focuses on the issues of migration, welfare and unemployment in a trade and development framework. Several chapters of the book analyze the implications of internal labor mobility in a model designed to highlight its implications for regional welfare, urban unemployment, rural-urban dichotomy and structural adjustment. An important innovation in this work is the disaggregation of the economy and the use of separate utility functions to highlight non-homogeneity of preferences. The book also deals with international mobility of factors in different frameworks. In particular it concentrates on the highly emotive issue of legal and illegal migration. Thus this work incorporates interesting and important features of labor economics and factor mobility into trade and distortion theory.

Consumption, Jobs and the Environment argues that the present pattern of development, based on everlasting economic growth, is completely unsatisfactory from a welfare point of view. It threatens ecological catastrophe while perpetuating poverty. Roy Carr-Hill and John Lintott propose an alternative policy framework based explicitly on welfare and suggest where cuts in consumption, working hours and ecological risks might be made most usefully.

This book analyzes the structural factors that underlie the persistent mass poverty and extreme inequality in South Asian countries. It highlights the fact that the supposed trade-off between output growth and job creation is a false dilemma. Growth can create jobs, and jobs can drive growth, mutually reinforcing one another. Increased employment and better jobs would mitigate the problems arising from a widening inequality gap. The book argues that policies focused on employment generation, mostly through industrialization, are the way forward in terms of providing livelihoods, sustaining growth and reducing inequality. The book is divided into two main parts. Part A explores cases in selected countries in South Asia in detail, primarily focusing on the opportunities and challenges of job creation in the manufacturing sector, as well as related issues, including constraints on manufacturing-sector growth in South Asia, exports and trade linkages, participation in value chains and the role of investment. In turn, Part B addresses a number of aspects that can promote a deeper understanding of strategies for industrialization and employment creation in the South Asian context, including regional cooperation, skill development, and industrial competitiveness. Gathering contributions from some of the region's top minds, this book is of interest to scholars, researchers, policymakers and industry analysts alike.