Frank Wilkinson - Böcker

The emergence of a 'labour market' in industrial societies implies not just greater competition and increased mobility of economic resources, but also the specific form of the work relationship which is described by the idea of wage labour and its legal expression, the contract of employment. This book examines the evolution of the contract of employment in Britain through a close investigation of changes in its juridical form during and since the industrial revolution. The initial conditions of industrialization and the subsequent growth of a particular type of welfare state are shown to have decisively shaped the evolutionary path of British labour and social security law. In particular, the authors argue that nature of the legal transition which accompanied industrialization in Britain cannot be adequately captured by the conventional idea of a movement from status to contract. What emerged from the industrial revolution was not a general model of the contract of employment, but rather a hierarchical conception of service, which originated in the Master and Servant Acts and was slowly assimilated into the common law. It was only as a result of the growing influence of collective bargaining and social legislation, and with the spread of large-scale enterprises and of bureaucratic forms of organization, that the modern term 'employee' began to be applied to all wage and salary earners. The concept of the contract of employment which is familiar to modern labour lawyers is thus a much more recent phenomenon than has been widely supposed. This has important implications for conceptualizations of the modern labour market, and for the way in which current proposals to move 'beyond' the employment model, in the face of intensifying technological and institutional change, should be addressed.

The rapid pace of industrial restructuring and the emergence of new employment policies have focused attention on the role of employers in determining the quantity and quality of employment. This book draws on important new data from the ESRC's Social Change and Economic Life Initiative to test, modify, and challenge much of the current academic literature on the determinants of employer policy and how these influence employment structures and individual employment opportunities. The book begins with an authoritative synthesis of the influential debates on labour market segmentation, flexibility, post-Fordism, deskilling, the gendering of work, and the `new' industrial relations. Ten substantive chapters then extend these debates in several directions. The contributors make significant progress on three fronts:BL They suggest that the determinants of employer policy are both complex and strongly related to product market conditions.BL They find that employee attitudes and perceptions are critical to the implementation and effectiveness of employer policy.BL They explore the interdependency between internal employment policies and external labour market conditions and begin to develop an integrated approach to internal and external labour markets. Contributors: Brendan Burchell, Jane Elliott, Duncan Gallie, Anne Gasteen, Bob Morris, Roger Penn, Michael Rose, Jill Rubery, John Sewell, Jim Smyth, Michael White, Frank Wilkinson

The rapid pace of industrial restructuring and the emergence of new employment policies have focused attention on the role of employers in determining the quantity and quality of employment. This book draws on important new data from the ESRC's Social Change and Economic Life Initiative to test, modify, and challenge much of the current academic literature on the determinants of employer policy and how these influence employment structures and individual employment opportunities. The book begins with an authoritative synthesis of the influential debates on labour market segmentation, flexibility, post-Fordism, deskilling, the gendering of work, and the `new' industrial relations. Ten substantive chapters then extend these debates in several directions. The contributors make significant progress on three fronts:BL They suggest that the determinants of employer policy are both complex and strongly related to product market conditions.BL They find that employee attitudes and perceptions are critical to the implementation and effectiveness of employer policy.BL They explore the interdependency between internal employment policies and external labour market conditions and begin to develop an integrated approach to internal and external labour markets. Contributors: Brendan Burchell, Jane Elliott, Duncan Gallie, Anne Gasteen, Bob Morris, Roger Penn, Michael Rose, Jill Rubery, John Sewell, Jim Smyth, Michael White, Frank Wilkinson

Following the 2008 "global" financial crisis, the viability of globalised financial capitalism was called into question. The resulting fear and uncertainty produced a momentary return to "Keynesian" policies. But as soon as emergency stimuli – and bank bail-outs – appeared to stabilise the situation, there was a sharp reversal; and successive British governments and the financial sector have since attempted to return to business as usual.Historically, much smaller shocks have been able to produce dramatic change, with the 1978 "Winter of Discontent" providing a catalyst for the election of Margaret Thatcher, the ultimate abandonment of the post-war Keynesian consensus, and the ushering-in of neoliberalism. Nor is apparent success a guarantee against change, with Winston Churchill being swept from office by the first majority Labour government in 1945 – at a point which should have marked his greatest triumph.In this book, these apparently inexplicable shifts in the conventional wisdom and the accompanying policy paradigm are explored through the lens of the interest groups that have jostled for position since the second industrial revolution. In this context, inequality, poverty, free market capitalism and the social welfare state have interacted in an uneasy, dynamic dance – the "insecurity cycle". The authors explore these interactions, their impact on the relationship between society and the economy, and the possible implications of Brexit and a re-energised political left.Written in an engaging and accessible style, Labour, Finance and Inequality will be a key resource for academics and students of social and political economics as well as public policy. It will also offer considerable insight to policy makers and a more general non-specialist audience.

Based on findings of the recently published Joseph Rowntree Report, this book provides an up-to-the-minute review of current research on flexibility, job insecurity and work intensification. It examines the impact of these developments on individuals, their families, the workplace and the long-term health of the British economy, as well as an analysis of the impact across a wide range of OECD countries including the United States, France, Germany, Sweden and Japan. Key questions addressed include:* How are jobs more insecure?* Does just-in-time labour mean more flexible contracts or more flexible workers?* Does job insecurity entail a 'new flexible morality'?* How does workplace stress affect individual health and family relationships?Timely and thought-provoking, it is essential reading for all those involved in the fields of employment relations, HRM and the sociology of work.

First published in 1984, Industrial Relations in the Future highlights probable developments in Britain’s system of industrial relations into the 1990s. It also provides a basis for further and detailed analysis and debate of issues central to the nation’s future. Written by distinguished scholars in their respective fields, the three main sections give reviews from three contrasting traditions- mainstream industrial relations, industrial sociology and management, and labour economics. These accounts are highly complementary in the ways in which, in each and every case, issues of collective bargaining, managerial strategy and union response, and the behaviour of governments are all set against a broad backcloth of economic, political, and social changes. The authors see the ultimate outcome as depending greatly on the policies and types of action of organised labour, managements and governments, and possibly of wider social movements as well. This book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of labour economics, industrial sociology, economics, and public policy.

First published in 1984, Industrial Relations in the Future highlights probable developments in Britain’s system of industrial relations into the 1990s. It also provides a basis for further and detailed analysis and debate of issues central to the nation’s future. Written by distinguished scholars in their respective fields, the three main sections give reviews from three contrasting traditions- mainstream industrial relations, industrial sociology and management, and labour economics. These accounts are highly complementary in the ways in which, in each and every case, issues of collective bargaining, managerial strategy and union response, and the behaviour of governments are all set against a broad backcloth of economic, political, and social changes. The authors see the ultimate outcome as depending greatly on the policies and types of action of organised labour, managements and governments, and possibly of wider social movements as well. This book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of labour economics, industrial sociology, economics, and public policy.

This title was first published in 2000:  This text presents a study of collective learning, networking and high-technology regions in Europe. It first provides an overview of the subject area, then goes on to discuss topics such as the role of inter-SME networking and collective learning processes in European high-technology milieux.

This title was first published in 2000:  This text presents a study of collective learning, networking and high-technology regions in Europe. It first provides an overview of the subject area, then goes on to discuss topics such as the role of inter-SME networking and collective learning processes in European high-technology milieux.

Following the 2008 "global" financial crisis, the viability of globalised financial capitalism was called into question. The resulting fear and uncertainty produced a momentary return to "Keynesian" policies. But as soon as emergency stimuli – and bank bail-outs – appeared to stabilise the situation, there was a sharp reversal; and successive British governments and the financial sector have since attempted to return to business as usual.Historically, much smaller shocks have been able to produce dramatic change, with the 1978 "Winter of Discontent" providing a catalyst for the election of Margaret Thatcher, the ultimate abandonment of the post-war Keynesian consensus, and the ushering-in of neoliberalism. Nor is apparent success a guarantee against change, with Winston Churchill being swept from office by the first majority Labour government in 1945 – at a point which should have marked his greatest triumph.In this book, these apparently inexplicable shifts in the conventional wisdom and the accompanying policy paradigm are explored through the lens of the interest groups that have jostled for position since the second industrial revolution. In this context, inequality, poverty, free market capitalism and the social welfare state have interacted in an uneasy, dynamic dance – the "insecurity cycle". The authors explore these interactions, their impact on the relationship between society and the economy, and the possible implications of Brexit and a re-energised political left.Written in an engaging and accessible style, Labour, Finance and Inequality will be a key resource for academics and students of social and political economics as well as public policy. It will also offer considerable insight to policy makers and a more general non-specialist audience.