The under-utilization of human resources in industrial relations theory and practice

Industrial relations, as a theoretical and practical system of work arrangements between employees, unions, management and governments, have come under substantial pressure in recent decades, but neither theory nor practice has fully adjusted to the new circumstances. The article describes the changing conditions in relation to one aspect of the industrial relations (IR) system, namely influence and power sharing outside the sphere of collective bargaining. The analysis is based on two theoretical models derived from an accumulation of social science research evidence since the 1960s and further supported by recent comparative studies of countries with significant different IR philosophies.

The application of the human resources and motivated competence models to IR leads to the conclusion that long-term interests of employees and management as well as governments are best served by having a dual system of influence and power sharing, only one of which is adversarial.     

Gender differences in full-time self-employment

This analysis reveals interesting gender differences in full-time self-employment. Women who choose full-time self-employment have personal characteristics that are less highly valued in the marketplace than women who work full-time in wage-and-salary employment. The reverse is true for men. It is unclear whether the gender gap in self-employment income is the result of different supply decisions made by women, or greater constraints and/or discriminatory elements faced by women. There is some suggestion that women may place a higher value on nonwage aspects of self-employment than men do.     

Explaining the Passage of Living Wage Legislation in the U.S.

Using data from various sources to describe 1,077 U.S. cities, I examine the adoption of living wage legislation between 1995 and 2006. I analyze both the decisions to adopt such legislation and the timing of such decisions. My principal finding is that, while the size and political identity of the community play a significant role, the adoption of living wage legislation is also significantly influenced by local economic circumstances. An important implication is that researchers who seek to measure the economic impacts of the legislation must allow for its endogeneity, in order to separate its economic effect(s) from its economic cause(s).     

谁来付账？

在全球，一些当前存在和正在暴露出来的问题使工业国和发展中国家同样都面临新的威胁。这些问题聚集在一起将给各国政府带来重大的社会、政冶和经济挑战，而各国政府已经被来自国际恐怖主义和其他风险的新威胁搞得神经极度紧张。这些挑战包括如下几个方面：     

Disequilibrium rational expectations: Examples of unemployment with inflation

In this paper, we present a simple dynamic general disequilibrium model which generates both unemployment and inflation as a stationary long-run equilibrium. Rational expectations (in the mean) are an essential part of this equilibrium. Policy remedies are examined. By means of an example, it is shown that rational expectations are consistent with depressed economic activity and that government policy can play an important role. It is entirely possible for inflation and unemployment to persist indefinitely.