Ivar Berg - Böcker

Work occupies a pivotal role in the daily activities and over the course of a lifetime of members of modern societies. In anticipation, work influ­ ences education and training; it has much to do with shaping current earned income and status in the community; and in retrospect, it influ­ ences retirement income and activities. It is a powerful force affecting personal associations. In our society work is deeply encased in moral and religious values: As Poor Richard says, A Life of Leisure and a Life of Laziness are two Things. Do you imagine that Sloth will afford you more Comfort than Labour? No, for as Poor Richard says: ... Industry gives Comfort, and Plenty and Respect. Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. But few words have as many different meanings and nuances as "work": to forge or to shape, to stir or to knead, to solve, to exploit, to practice trickery for some end, to excite or to provoke, to persuade or to influence, to toil, and the like. A need for precision in meaning is requisite with respect to work, not only in common discourse, but, even more so, in scholarly communication.

This comprehensive handbook provides an overview of the key developments in a variety of labour market contexts and in the analyses of these that have occurred during the two decades since the publication of the 1981 volume "Sociological Perspectives on Labor Markets". A distinguished roster of authors (sociologists as well as economists) examines the interplay between social institutions and markets in producing important outcomes for producers of goods and services, their organizations' owners, and their customers. For example, the authors investigate how social institutions such as unions, business organizations, and the government interact with labour, product, political, and capital markets to produce a variety of labor market outcomes, widening income inequality, career paths, and a variety of changing employment relationships.

In this famous study, selected by the New York Times Book Review as one of the most important social science books of 1971, the author argues that the familiar correlation between educational training and job performance is a myth and that the upgrading of the supply of labor is meaningless unless we reconsider the nature of the demand. A lengthy new introduction by the author extends his critique into the 1990s. Originally published by Praeger in 1970. From the Foreword: '[P]rovides the reader with rich fare. . . . Berg has opened up important new questions and has cast serious doubts upon accepted answers to old questions . . . . In attacking the hallowed beliefs of statesmen, employers, economists, and educators, he has let in new light where light has long been needed. And he has done so with scholarly acumen, stylistic grace, and a saving sense of humor—qualities all too rare in academe.' Eli Ginzberg, Columbia University

A distinguished roster of contributors considers the state of the art of the field at the turn of the 21st century and charts an ambitious agenda for the future. Following what the editors describe as an `evolutionist' approach to the study of labor markets, the chapters address issues of continuity and discontinuity in a wide range of topics including: markets and institutional structures; employment relations and work structures; patterns of stratification in the United States; and public policies, opportunity structures, and economic outcomes.