Is globalization making our world more equal, or less? Proponents of globalization argue that it is helping and that in a competitive world, no one can afford to discriminate except on the basis of skills. Opponents counter that globalization does nothing but provide a meritocratic patina on a consistently unequal distribution of opportunity. Yet, despite the often deafening volume of the debate, there is surprisingly little empirical work available on the extent to which the process of globalization over the past quarter century has had any effect on discrimination. Tackling this challenge, Discrimination in an Unequal World explores the relationship between discrimination and unequal outcomes in the appropriate geographical and historical context. Noting how each society tends to see its particular version of discrimination as universal and obvious, the editors expand their set of cases to include a broad variety of social relations and practices. However, since methods differ and are often designed for particular national circumstances, they set the much more ambitious and practical goal of establishing a base with which different forms of discrimination across the world can be compared. Deriving from a broad array of methods, including statistical analyses, role-playing games, and audit studies, the book draws many important lessons on the new means by which the world creates social hierarchies, the democratization of inequality, and the disappearance of traditional categories.

In the last decade, school shootings have decimated communities and terrified parents, teachers, and children in even the most "family friendly" American towns and suburbs. These tragedies appear to be the spontaneous acts of disconnected teens, but this important book argues that the roots of violence are deeply entwined in the communities themselves. "Rampage" challenges the "loner theory" of school violence and shows why so many adults and students miss the warning signs that could prevent it.

Is globalization making our world more equal, or less? Proponents of globalization argue that it is helping and that in a competitive world, no one can afford to discriminate except on the basis of skills. Opponents counter that globalization does nothing but provide a meritocratic patina on a consistently unequal distribution of opportunity. Yet, despite the often deafening volume of the debate, there is surprisingly little empirical work available on the extent to which the process of globalization over the past quarter century has had any effect on discrimination. Tackling this challenge, Discrimination in an Unequal World explores the relationship between discrimination and unequal outcomes in the appropriate geographical and historical context. Noting how each society tends to see its particular version of discrimination as universal and obvious, the editors expand their set of cases to include a broad variety of social relations and practices. However, since methods differ and are often designed for particular national circumstances, they set the much more ambitious and practical goal of establishing a base with which different forms of discrimination across the world can be compared. Deriving from a broad array of methods, including statistical analyses, role-playing games, and audit studies, the book draws many important lessons on the new means by which the world creates social hierarchies, the democratization of inequality, and the disappearance of traditional categories.

Laid Off, Laid Low provides a sobering portrait of the ailing American labor system and the social and political consequences of increasing job insecurity. It proves that the health of the labor market is not a transitory issue brought low by the factors of recession, but a serious concern reflecting deep structural problems in American society. In this book, economists, sociologists, and public policy and political scientists reveal how the American labor market has grown particularly problematic for new job-seekers, trends that are not obvious when averaging the entire population. The contributors to this volume focus instead on changing job patterns between generations, which show that the job prospects for young Americans are more short-term than their predecessors, and that white-collar managers, once members of the most privileged sector, are now experiencing a faster negative rate of change. As this book makes clear, Americans will soon face epic job losses, irreversible trends in downward mobility, and long-lasting economic insecurity-politically polarizing outcomes that will cause even more anxiety among families. Encompassing a number of different disciplines, the prominent scholars of Laid Off, Laid Low provide a full analysis of today's most pressing economic issues. Contributors: Sheldon Danziger and Ben Keys: "Unemployment Risk among Low Wage Workers: 1970-2000"; Hank Farber: "Employment Insecurity: The Decline in Worker-Firm Attachment in the United States"; Elizabeth Jacobs and Katherine Newman: "Rising Angst? Change and Stability in Perceptions of Insecurity"; Philipp Rehm: "Partisan Politics and Labor Market Risks"; Ann Huff Stevens: "Holding Firm: The Stability of Long-Term Employment in the US, 1969-2004"

Laid Off, Laid Low provides a sobering portrait of the ailing American labor system and the social and political consequences of increasing job insecurity. It proves that the health of the labor market is not a transitory issue brought low by the factors of recession, but a serious concern reflecting deep structural problems in American society. In this book, economists, sociologists, and public policy and political scientists reveal how the American labor market has grown particularly problematic for new job-seekers, trends that are not obvious when averaging the entire population. The contributors to this volume focus instead on changing job patterns between generations, which show that the job prospects for young Americans are more short-term than their predecessors, and that white-collar managers, once members of the most privileged sector, are now experiencing a faster negative rate of change. As this book makes clear, Americans will soon face epic job losses, irreversible trends in downward mobility, and long-lasting economic insecurity-politically polarizing outcomes that will cause even more anxiety among families. Encompassing a number of different disciplines, the prominent scholars of Laid Off, Laid Low provide a full analysis of today's most pressing economic issues. Contributors: Sheldon Danziger and Ben Keys: "Unemployment Risk among Low Wage Workers: 1970-2000"; Hank Farber: "Employment Insecurity: The Decline in Worker-Firm Attachment in the United States"; Elizabeth Jacobs and Katherine Newman: "Rising Angst? Change and Stability in Perceptions of Insecurity"; Philipp Rehm: "Partisan Politics and Labor Market Risks"; Ann Huff Stevens: "Holding Firm: The Stability of Long-Term Employment in the US, 1969-2004"