Samuel Cohn - Böcker

Social scientists have not helped the working class make strategic deci­ sions. Unionists need to know how to carry on industrial conflict so as to provide concrete economic benefits for their members. Should unions strike or not strike? Should losses be avoided at all costs, or can unions afford to take chances? Does economism gut the class power of workers or provide a pragmatic strategy for increasing workers' wage gains? We can say with great confidence that workers should join unions; there is now an exhaustive and compelling literature demonstrating that union membership provides a wide variety of economic benefits. We can say that corporatist class compromises lower income but increase job security and overall employment. Beyond that, however, we cannot say much. In particular, we can do little to advise particular unions in partic­ ular fixed institutional and political environments how they should han­ dle the microtactics of individual confrontations. The United Farm Work­ ers do not need a speech about the miracle of the Swedish industrial relations system. They need to know whether they should strike or not strike, and how their tactics should change if rival Teamsters come into the field. Unfortunately, medical research often has to start with rabbits be­ fore it proceeds to humans, and so it is with research in industrial conflict. The realistic prospects of doing a large sample analysis of con­ temporary American wage settlements that simultaneously estimates the effects of union tactics and economic factors are poor.

In Race and Gender Discrimination at Work Samuel Cohns provides a fascinating, unorthodox account of the causes of discrimination at work. The book is packed with statistics, yet witty; rigorous, yet light. Cohn introduces readers to the fundamental realities of race and gender barriers in the workplace, and he goes beyond these as well by introduc

In Race and Gender Discrimination at Work Samuel Cohns provides a fascinating, unorthodox account of the causes of discrimination at work. The book is packed with statistics, yet witty; rigorous, yet light. Cohn introduces readers to the fundamental realities of race and gender barriers in the workplace, and he goes beyond these as well by introducing startling new reinterpretations. Cohn is tactful enough to appeal to the conservative student, but honest enough to appeal to the feminist student. In the first several chapters, Cohn provides a description of the historical and current states of race and gender inequality and explains how employers persist in seemingly irrational actions, even in the face of more profitable alternatives. Cohn then turns to an introduction of the five primary social and economic theories of wages: marginal productivity theory, human capital theory, dual sector theory, union strength theory, and internal labor market theory. He follows with a review of the implications for pay differentials between blacks and whites. In subsequent chapters, he explores racial and gendered theories of wages for employment and unemployment. Finally, Cohn concludes with a review of the trends and causes of white male exclusionary attitudes towards blacks and women. This book is ideal for gender courses at all levels. Cohn's compelling, non-standard reformulations of traditional explanations of workplace inequalities make the book important for all serious scholars of gender studies.

Development in Crisis: Threats to human well-being in the Global South and Global North, is a provocative, engaging and interesting collection of real-world case studies in development and globalization focusing on under-emphasized threats to growth and human welfare worldwide. Created by two of America's top development sociologists, it targets undergraduates, graduates, academics and development professionals. Crises such as falling state capacity, declining technological innovation, increasing class inequality and persisting gender inequality are considered, along with their economic and social consequences.

Development in Crisis: Threats to human well-being in the Global South and Global North, is a provocative, engaging and interesting collection of real-world case studies in development and globalization focusing on under-emphasized threats to growth and human welfare worldwide. Created by two of America's top development sociologists, it targets undergraduates, graduates, academics and development professionals. Crises such as falling state capacity, declining technological innovation, increasing class inequality and persisting gender inequality are considered, along with their economic and social consequences.

Social scientists have not helped the working class make strategic deci­ sions. Unionists need to know how to carry on industrial conflict so as to provide concrete economic benefits for their members. Should unions strike or not strike? Should losses be avoided at all costs, or can unions afford to take chances? Does economism gut the class power of workers or provide a pragmatic strategy for increasing workers' wage gains? We can say with great confidence that workers should join unions; there is now an exhaustive and compelling literature demonstrating that union membership provides a wide variety of economic benefits. We can say that corporatist class compromises lower income but increase job security and overall employment. Beyond that, however, we cannot say much. In particular, we can do little to advise particular unions in partic­ ular fixed institutional and political environments how they should han­ dle the microtactics of individual confrontations. The United Farm Work­ ers do not need a speech about the miracle of the Swedish industrial relations system. They need to know whether they should strike or not strike, and how their tactics should change if rival Teamsters come into the field. Unfortunately, medical research often has to start with rabbits be­ fore it proceeds to humans, and so it is with research in industrial conflict. The realistic prospects of doing a large sample analysis of con­ temporary American wage settlements that simultaneously estimates the effects of union tactics and economic factors are poor.