Debate on the proposed national minimum wage (NMW) has been dominated by its possible effects on employment. Yet these effects are far from automatic for they depend on the reactiond of firms. Two issues may be highlighted. First, estimates of employment effects turn on assumptions as to how...

The paper surveys the extensive literature concerned with the diffusion of employment practices within multinational companies. The literature concentrates on the transfer of practices from the country of origin to the foreign subsidiaries, which is termed 'forward diffusion'. The aim of this...

In this paper the author explores the series of initiatives taken at European level to regulate working time that culminated in the adoption of the Working Time Directive in November 1993. The paper analyses the political, economic and legal controversies that have accompanied this 'European...