A comparative study of how the current industrial relations systems come to be and of changes in such systems in non-industrialized countries since the 1980s. After an introduction, six essays look at the delusion of the Molotov cocktail in South African industrial relations, colonialism and industrial relations in India, from ostensible voluntarism to interventionism in Malaysia, corporatism and nationalism in Mexico, and colonialism and labor relations in Hong Kong.

Among the key debates fought in developing economies is whether globalization through liberalization is the means by which economies can industrialize and provide their labour forces with tangible improvements in the material conditions of living. This book addresses this issue head on, using empirical evidence from some of the fastest growing and transition economies from East and South Asia. Countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia have already started to deindustrialize before enjoying industrial maturity, while with the exception of China and evidence of some growth in real wages in the other economies, the evidence appears compelling to suggest that increased industrialization and integration into the capitalist economy have not succeeded in providing significant labour improvement. The evidence suggests that a proactive state, focusing on enhancing the material conditions of labour, is pertinent to ensuring sustainable long term industrialization and thus improving material conditions for workers. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy.

Among the key debates fought in developing economies is whether globalization through liberalization is the means by which economies can industrialize and provide their labour forces with tangible improvements in the material conditions of living. This book addresses this issue head on, using empirical evidence from some of the fastest growing and transition economies from East and South Asia. Countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia have already started to deindustrialize before enjoying industrial maturity, while with the exception of China and evidence of some growth in real wages in the other economies, the evidence appears compelling to suggest that increased industrialization and integration into the capitalist economy have not succeeded in providing significant labour improvement. The evidence suggests that a proactive state, focusing on enhancing the material conditions of labour, is pertinent to ensuring sustainable long term industrialization and thus improving material conditions for workers. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy.

Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains examines the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility on improving labor standards in global supply chains. Sarosh Kuruvilla charts the development and effectiveness of corporate codes of conduct to ameliorate "sweatshop" conditions in global supply chains. This form of private voluntary regulation, spearheaded by Nike and Reebok, became necessary given the inability of third world countries to enforce their own laws and the absence of a global regulatory system for labor standards. Although private regulation programs have been adopted by other companies in many different industries, we know relatively little regarding the effectiveness of these programs because companies don't disclose information about their efforts and outcomes in regulating labor conditions in their supply chains. Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains presents data from companies, multi-stakeholder institutions, and auditing firms in a comprehensive, investigative dive into the world of private voluntary regulation of labor conditions. The picture he paints is wholistic and raw, but it considers several ways in which this private voluntary system can be improved to improve the lives of workers in global supply chains.

Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains examines the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility on improving labor standards in global supply chains. Sarosh Kuruvilla charts the development and effectiveness of corporate codes of conduct to ameliorate "sweatshop" conditions in global supply chains. This form of private voluntary regulation, spearheaded by Nike and Reebok, became necessary given the inability of third world countries to enforce their own laws and the absence of a global regulatory system for labor standards. Although private regulation programs have been adopted by other companies in many different industries, we know relatively little regarding the effectiveness of these programs because companies don't disclose information about their efforts and outcomes in regulating labor conditions in their supply chains. Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains presents data from companies, multi-stakeholder institutions, and auditing firms in a comprehensive, investigative dive into the world of private voluntary regulation of labor conditions. The picture he paints is wholistic and raw, but it considers several ways in which this private voluntary system can be improved to improve the lives of workers in global supply chains.

In the thirty years since the opening of China's economy, China's economic growth has been nothing short of phenomenal. At the same time, however, its employment relations system has undergone a gradual but fundamental transformation from stable and permanent employment with good benefits (often called the iron rice bowl), to a system characterized by highly precarious employment with no benefits for about 40 percent of the population. Similar transitions have occurred in other countries, such as Korea, although perhaps not at such a rapid pace as in China. This shift echoes the move from "breadwinning" careers to contingent employment in the postindustrial United States.

In From Iron Rice Bowl to Informalization, an interdisciplinary group of authors examines the nature, causes, and consequences of informal employment in China at a time of major changes in Chinese society. This book provides a guide to the evolving dynamics among workers, unions, NGOs, employers, and the state as they deal with the new landscape of insecure employment.

Contributors: Fang Cai, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Baohua Dong, East China University of Politics and Law; Mark W. Frazier, University of Oklahoma; Mary E. Gallagher, University of Michigan; Sarosh Kuruvilla, Cornell University; Ching Kwan Lee, UCLA; Kun-Chin Lin, King's College, London; Mingwei Liu, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Albert Park, University of Oxford; Yuan Shen, Tsinghua University; Sarah Swider, Wayne State University; Lu Zhang, Temple University