The amount of physical matter in the world is fixed and improvements to people's material circumstances are only created by their ability to reconfigure this matter. What distinguishes labour, and subsequently what allows for differing increments of value, are our capabilities, skills and understandings. In addition, the way society synchronises these individual talents and pieces of knowledge is significant. This innovative book sheds new light on the emerging confluence between labour and industrial economics: the view that labour as capital is the dominant factor of production. This factor is commonly embraced under the term intangible capital. This book examines the process by which firms accumulate intangible capital assets using a post-Keynesian perspective. It will be of interest to labour and industrial economists, especially those who favour post-Keynesian and Kaleckian economic thought.

Twenty professional women assess the extent of change in women's roles in many areas of modern life.

***Winner of an English PEN Award 2021*** In this sharp intervention, authors Luci Cavallero and Veronica Gago defiantly develop a feminist understanding of debt, showing its impact on women and members of the LGBTQ+ community and examining the relationship between debt and social reproduction. Exploring the link between financial activity and the rise of conservative forces in Latin America, the book demonstrates that debt is intimately linked to gendered violence and patriarchal notions of the family. Yet, rather than seeing these forces as insurmountable, the authors also show ways in which debt can be resisted, drawing on concrete experiences and practices from Latin America and around the world. Featuring interviews with women in Argentina and Brazil, the book reveals the real-life impact of debt and how it falls mainly on the shoulders of women, from the household to the wider effects of national debt and austerity. However, through discussions around experiences of work, prisons, domestic labour, agriculture, family, abortion and housing, a narrative of resistance emerges. Translated by Liz Mason-Deese.

This book investigates the success story of the fast fashion industry-mainly owned by Chinese migrants-in Prato, Italy. It outlines how Prato has become the center of a value chain stretching from suppliers in China and Turkey all the way to buyers in Europe. Despite this, a policy attacking Chinese entrepreneurship has been devised and implemented in Prato. This volume analyzes said policy against the crisis of Prato's textile industry. Based on the author's 15 years of fieldwork in Prato, the book sheds light on the entangled processes of city making and the restructuring processes linked to capital accumulation by tackling issues of governance, territory, migration, division of labor, labor mobility, housing, and human rights.

First published in 1974, Fogel and Engerman's groundbreaking book reexamined the economic foundations of American slavery, marking "the start of a new period of slavery scholarship and some searching revisions of a national tradition" (C. Vann Woodward, New York Review of Books).

A country's economic productivity is directly related to the health of its workforce. Thus, how a nation allocates resources to the physical health of its population is of vital importance in establishing the economic well-being of its citizens. This volume contains nine original and innovative articles that investigate the relationship between a nation's health policies, employee health and resulting labor market outcomes. Topics include the direct link between employees' health and wages, the employment impact of an unfavorable health shock, the relationship between job insecurity and a worker's mental health, the effect of career disruptions on already chronically ill workers, the consequences of arbitrary health insurance disenrollments, the impact of reducing publically available sick day benefits, the repercussions of increasing employers' sick pay benefits on absenteeism, the relationship between economic conditions and opioid abuse, and the consequences of parental migration on children's health. For researchers and students of labor economics, or anyone interested in understanding how a country's health policies affect its economic productivity, this volume is a fundamental text.

The idea of a moral economy has been explored and assessed in numerous disciplines. The anthropological studies in this volume provide a new perspective to this idea by showing how the relations of workers, employees and employers, and of firms, families and households are interwoven with local notions of moralities. From concepts of individual autonomy, kinship obligations, to ways of expressing mutuality or creativity, moral values exert an unrealized influence, and these often produce more consent than resistance or outrage.

This volume brings together the most innovative and important work on implicit contract theory, a key area of research which has developed over the past 20 years. Implicit contract theory is concerned with the workings of the macro-labour market over business cycles and focuses on a series of key questions including, how economists can explain unemployment levels and employment fluctuations during recessions in terms of rational economic behaviour, and, why wages do not fall to clear the market.

This volume of Research in Law and Economics contains articles that address important legal and economic developments in the areas of healthcare, intellectual property and labor settlements, competitive effects, cartel overcharges, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"). Four of the articles were initially presented at a conference on healthcare competition in Washington, D.C., which was sponsored by the American Antitrust Institute, this journal, and Navigant Economics. These articles explore practices that are under challenge in pharmaceuticals, where the Federal Trade Commission has been extremely active, as well as issues involving hospital and health insurance mergers. They are followed by a long and detailed discussion of the current and historic role of economists and economic analysis at the Federal Trade Commission. The next two articles analyze different aspects of the French economy, pre-trial labor settlements and the impact of e-commerce on franchisees. The volume ends with three technical economics articles - one on "upward pricing pressure", one on estimating price increases in cartel cases, and one critiquing a "meta-analysis" of research on the effectiveness of U.S. merger regulation. Taken together, these articles raise questions about appropriate competition policy, how to evaluate settlements and other firm behavior, and where economics and competition policy are headed.

This book provides a political, economic, and sociological investigation of how neoliberalism shapes 'working class capacities,' or the power of the working class to organize and struggle for its collective interests. Efe Can Gurcan and Berk Mete discuss the global importance of the labor question as it pertains to Turkey. They apply the main theoretical framework of the combined and uneven development of class capacities to Turkish trade unionism. They also address Turkey's recent history of neoliberalization and its repercussions for class capacities, as mediated by national regulations, conservative unionism, and Islamic social assistance networks. Finally, the authors explore how neoliberalism generates intra-class fragmentation through public regulatory mechanisms and cultural differentiation in the sphere of social unionism.

Interest in John Maynard Keynes's economic, political and philosophical thinking has undergone a tremendous revival in the last decade. The essays and comments collected in this volume were written on a set of themes representative of the current state of interpretation of Keynes's thinking. Some of the topics investigated have received much attention in the past, and some are of more recent interest. In the former category are topics on standard issues in the interpretation of Keynes's economics: the transition in Keynes's thinking from the The Treatise on Money to The General Theory, the nature of the argument in The General Theory, and Keynes's economic policy views. The latter category introduces themes of a wider nature, and includes two papers on Keynes's vision and one on Keynes's philosophical thinking. The strategy adopted in the selection of topics was to review the debates over Keynes's economics from fresh perspectives, and then go on to supply discussions of broader issues concerning the nature of Keynes as a thinker. This collection as a whole adds to our general understanding of Keynes's work, and contributes to the current revival of interest in Keynes.

Persistent Disparity provides a comprehensive examination of the magnitude and scope of racial economic disparity in the United States. The authors directly assess the extent of black economic progress in the US since World War II and address the controversy of whether the racial income gap is closing or widening as America approaches the 21st century. Darity and Myers explicitly make the connection between what the theory of racial inequality espouses and corresponding policy recommendations for remedying such disparity such as affirmative action and reparations. The authors challenge the cultural-genetic explanation and advance a new theoretical explanation that incorporates a more expansive characterization of the nature and role of discrimination. They also conclude that conventional anti-discrimination efforts are unlikely to be sufficient to close the gap. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in US social and economic history, political economy, African-American studies, and public policy.

This book examines Gunnar Myrdal's analysis of poverty in relation to Sweden, the United States, South Asia, and the international economy. The chapters investigate Mrydal's methodological development and his focus on the principle of circular and cummulative causation, dynamic economic analysis, institutional frameworks, value premises, and social engineering. The challenge of world poverty, the international dimension of poverty, and the legacy of The American Dilemma and Asian Drama are also discussed. This book aims to explore the development of Myrdal's analysis of poverty during his life. It will be relevant to students and academics interested in the history of economic thought, development economics, the political economy, and labor economics.

Costing billions of dollars annually, international trade in agricultural products is impactful and influenced by several factors, including climate change, food policy, and government legislation. The third edition of Agricultural Policy, Agribusiness, and Rent-Seeking Behaviour provides comprehensive economic analyses of the policies that affect agriculture and agribusiness in Canada and the United States. Looking at current agricultural policies, the third edition includes new chapters on food pyramids, climate change, and GMOs, while also highlighting the effect of international policies on Canadian trade, including the problematic US ethanol policy. The new edition addresses current issues, including how the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected agricultural value chains and played a hand in the ongoing growth in opioid use. Including a number of key findings, and discussing current debates on topics including foreign ownership of Canadian farmland, Agricultural Policy, Agribusiness, and Rent-Seeking Behaviour will appeal to students in agricultural economics and policy, as well as policymakers, agricultural firms, energy companies, and readers wishing to reduce their nation’s carbon footprint.

"The author has done a service to this line of study by collating and analysing a novel dataset in a manner that is going to be of use for researchers of the labour market in India, a subject in need of critical enquiry."- Shanti Chakravarty, Professor of Economics, Bangor University, Wales, UK This book deconstructs the dynamics of the job market in an emerging economy (India) that has vast capital resources, addressing a key concern in relation to inequality in the labour market by social groups. The author examines the changing impact of caste on employment opportunity using two sets of large databases, and extends this analysis into religious affiliation and gender. The findings in this book will be of importance to those working in both research and policy, and makes an important contribution through addressing the decomposition of inequality based on disparity and discrimination.

An empirical account of one of India's largest indigenous populations, this book tells the story of the Gonds-who currently face displacement and governmental control of the region's forests, which has crippled their economy. Rather than protesting and calling for state intervention, the Gonds have turned toward an informal economy: they not only engage with flexible forms of work, but also bargain for higher wages and experience agency and autonomy. Smita Yadav conceives of this withdrawal from the state in favour of precarious forms of work as an expression of anarchy by this marginalized population. Even as she provides rich detail of the Gonds' unusual working lives, which integrate work, labour, and debt practices with ideologies of family and society, Yadav illustrates the strength required to maintain dignity when a welfare state has failed.

This book examines the transition, transformation and future of the informal sector, informal work and informal workers in India from the perspectives of development economics as well as those of international organisations. Though the informal sector has a long tradition in India, it has been transformed in the wake of neoliberal economic policy. The sector took on new prominence in the 1980s, and has since grown much stronger and established itself as the country's dominant sector. Several reports on the informal sector appeared during this period, and the status of the sector in India is positioned in the context of this international scenario. The major debate concerns the definition of this sector. While international labour statisticians had suggested a mechanism of definition and measurement of the sector, Indian official statistics took a different approach. The book analytically elaborates the different definitions and measurement controversies in different countries and contextualises the official Indian position. While deliberating on the size, contribution, productivity, and potential of the informal sector, the heterogeneity and decomposition of the sector with respect to these aspects are also suggested. The book develops a political economic interpretation of the historical transition of the informal sector in India, employing heterodox economics as a theoretical basis, with a critical note on standard neoclassical economic analysis. The final part of the book focuses on understanding the development of capitalism in the country under neoliberalism, as that development is crucial to understanding the informal sector in any country, and particularly in India. In the current context, the volume will be of great relevance to researchers, non-government organizations, policy makers and international organisations working on the topic.

This book looks at the powerful global discourse on employability in labor markets, by providing case studies of local work practices. This is key to understanding contemporary changes in the workings of labor markets and highlights changes in ideas regarding responsibility and learning. This is the first major study of the connection between the global discourse and local practices of employability and provides a valuable contribution to the workings of labor markets today.

Workers in Brazil and the United States have followed parallel and entangled histories for many centuries. Recent experiences with progressive, popular presidents and authoritarian, populist presidents in the two most populous countries in the hemisphere have underscored important similarities. The contributors in this volume focus on the comparative and transnational histories of labor between and across Brazil and the United States. The countries' histories bear the marks of slavery, racism, transoceanic immigration, and rapid urbanization, as well as strong regional differentiation and inequalities. These features decisively shaped the working classes. Brazilian and US labor history debates have erupted and subsided at different times. This collection synthesizes those debates while adding new topics and new sources from both countries. The international group of historians' methodologically innovative chapters explore links, resonances, and divergences between US and Brazilian labor history. They widen the scope of analysis for themes and problems that have long been familiar to historians of work and workers in the two countries, but have not provoked close dialogues between scholars in the respective places. Though the histories themselves were often entangled, the debates about them have too rarely intertwined.

In development literature Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is traditionally considered to be instrumental for the economic growth of all countries, particularly the developing ones. It acts as a panacea for breaking out of the vicious circle of low savings/low income and facilitates the import of capital goods and advanced technical knowhow. This book delves into the complex interaction of FDI with diverse factors. While FDI affects the efficiency of domestic producers through technological diffusion and spill-over effects, it also impinges on the labor market, affecting unemployment levels, human capital formation, wages (and wage inequality) and poverty; furthermore, it has important implications for socio-economic issues such as child labor, agricultural disputes over Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and environmental pollution. The empirical evidence with regard to most of the effects of FDI is highly mixed and reflects the fact that there are a number of mechanisms involved that interact with each other to produce opposing results. The book highlights the theoretical underpinnings behind the inherent contradictions and shows that the final outcome depends on a number of country-specific factors such as the nature of non-traded goods, factor endowments, technological and institutional factors. Thus, though not exhaustive, the book integrates FDI within most of the existing economic systems in order to define its much-debated role in developing economies. A theoretical analysis of the different facets of FDI as proposed in the book is thus indispensable, especially for the formulation of appropriate policies for foreign capital.

Presents a research in employment policy. This title addresses the reform of the unemployment insurance system.

This Handbook incorporates a variety of disciplines and approaches in order to provide a comprehensive and authoritative examination of the issues that result from increasing age diversity at work. Despite interest in this area exploding over the past few years amongst academics, practitioners and policy makers, the analysis of age diversity has remained primarily within disciplinary 'silos' such as Psychology or Sociology with a focus on ageing or generational differences, rather than a combination of approaches to understanding age diversity. Unique in its coverage of multiple perspectives, it considers not only generational and ageing perspectives to age diversity, but also highlights the importance of context in driving both the impact and response to this issue. The Palgrave Handbook of Age Diversity and Work includes contributions from leading scholars in age and generational diversity from across the world, discussing cutting-edge research findings about the nature and impact of age diversity and presenting approaches to managing this phenomenon.

How disasters-that have wrecked work sites throughout American history, in all parts of the nation and all sectors of the economy-have also inspired policy reform. Workplace disasters have wreaked havoc on countless American workers and their families. They have resulted in widespread death and disability as well as the loss of property and savings. These tragic events have also inspired safety reforms that reshaped labor conditions in ways that partially compensated for death, suffering, and social dislocation. In Havoc and Reform, James P. Kraft encourages readers to think about such disastrous events in new ways. Placing the problem of workplace safety in historical context, Kraft focuses on five catastrophes that shocked the nation in the half century after World War II, a time when service-oriented industries became the nation's leading engines of job growth. Looking to growing areas of economic life in the Western Sunbelt, Kraft touches on the 1947 explosion of the Texas City Monsanto Chemical Company plant, the 1956 airliner collision over the Grand Canyon, the hospital collapses following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, the 1980 fire at the Las Vegas MGM Grand, and the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building. These incidents destroyed places of employment that seemed safe and affected a relatively wide range of working people, including highly trained, salaried professionals and blue- and white-collar groups. And each took a toll on the general public, increasing fears that anyone could be in danger of being killed or injured and putting pressure on public officials to prevent similar tragedies in the future. As Kraft considers how these tragedies transformed individual lives and specific work environments, he describes how employees, employers, and public leaders reacted to each event. Presented chronologically, his studies offer a unique and sobering outlook on the rise of a now vital and integral part of the national economy. They also underscore the ubiquity and persistence of workplace disasters in American history while building on and challenging literature about the impact of World War II in the American West. Within a broader frame, they speak to the double-edged nature of modern life.

Management & Workplace Culture Book of the Year, 2020 Porchlight Business Book Awards A Publishers Weekly Fall 2020 Big Indie Book The dark side of the gig economy (Uber, Airbnb, etc.) and how to make it equitable for the users and workers most exploited. When the "sharing economy" launched a decade ago, proponents claimed that it would transform the experience of work-giving earners flexibility, autonomy, and a decent income. It was touted as a cure for social isolation and rampant ecological degradation. But this novel form of work soon sprouted a dark side: exploited Uber drivers, neighborhoods ruined by Airbnb, racial discrimination, and rising carbon emissions. Several of the most prominent platforms are now faced with existential crises as they prioritize growth over fairness and long-term viability. Nevertheless, the basic model-a peer-to-peer structure augmented by digital tech-holds the potential to meet its original promises. Based on nearly a decade of pioneering research, After the Gig dives into what went wrong with this contemporary reimagining of labor. The book examines multiple types of data from thirteen cases to identify the unique features and potential of sharing platforms that prior research has failed to pinpoint. Juliet B. Schor presents a compelling argument that we can engineer a reboot: through regulatory reforms and cooperative platforms owned and controlled by users, an equitable and truly shared economy is still possible.