Increased wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers is a stylized fact, which can be observed in many developed countries. Among the explanations advanced for this phenomenon is the increasing globalization, a skill-biased technical progress, restructuring of the firms, and last but...

Perhaps no other country in recent years has witnessed greater change in its collective bargaining framework than the UK. This paper describes the dramatic developments and their consequences. Like Gaul, it is in three parts. The first part charts the six major pieces of legislation –...

Drawing on evidence from the United States and Germany, this paper offers a survey of the effects of worker representation (in unions and works councils) and innovative work practices on firm performance. The focus is on the growing links between these two historically separate literatures. The...

The emergence of social media, from Facebook to Myspace and Linkedin to Twitter - much like the earlier evolution of email, IM and web 2.0 - have changed communications, expanding the virtual horizons for social networking and business promotion on these popular communications platforms....

In this paper, we examine and compare the impact of American and Japanese labor law on the relative bargaining power of the labor and management within the context of the new global economy based on information technology. We begin by providing a simple economic definition of bargaining power...

This paper reports some of our main findings in 'Turbulence: Boeing and the State of American Workers and Managers' (Yale University Press, 2010 and 2011) and raises questions that might serve to stimulate discussion about the health and vitality of labor unions in the Pacific Northwest at these...

The paper addresses the role of social partners in the European integration process. It gives an overview of the social dialogue structures and experiences in the European Union (EU) and evaluates the achievements and experiences in developing social dialogue in the former and present candidate...

How does the creation of markets affect the processes and outcomes of industrial relations? This paper examines German hospitals, where national liberalization policies have put immense pressure on wages, especially at the bottom of the labour market. We find that the effect of intensified...

This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of how the representation gap in micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in nine countries can be closed through a mapping exercise (both horizontal and vertical). The study draws on peripheral workers in MSEs predominantly from countries on the...