Challenging The Market

by Stanford, Jim; Vosko, Leah F.; Challenging the Market Conference

• ISBN13: 9780773527263
• ISBN10: 0773527265
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-11-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ

Summary

For two decades economic and social policy in most of the world has been guided by the notion that economies function best when they are fully exposed to competitive market forces. In labour market policy, this approach is reflected in the widespread emphasis on "flexibility" - a euphemism for the retrenchment of income support and social security, the relaxation of labour market regulations, and the enhanced power of private actors to determine the terms of the employment relationship. These strategies have had marked effects on labour market outcomes, leading to greater vulnerability and polarization - and not always in ways that enhance worker-centred flexibility. The authors offer a more balanced analysis of the functioning and effects of labour market regulation and deregulation. By questioning the underpinnings of the "flexibility" paradigm, and revealing its often damaging impacts (on different countries, sectors, and constituencies), they challenge the conclusion that unregulated market forces produce optimal labour market outcomes. The authors conclude with several suggestions for how labour policy could be reformulated to promote both efficiency and equity.

Table of Contents

Challenging the market : the struggle to regulate work and income	p. 3
The NAIRU, labour market "flexibility," and full employment	p. 33
The causes of high unemployment : labour market sclerosis versus macroeconomic policy	p. 51
Institutions and policies for labour market success in four small European countries	p. 75
Challenging segmentation in South Africa's labour market : "regulated flexibility" or flexible regulation?	p. 97
The Russian reforms and their impact on labour : a transition to what?	p. 119
Deregulating industrial relations in the apparel sector : the decree system in Quebec	p. 135
European labour market regulation : the case of European works councils	p. 151
Racializing the division of labour : neoliberal restructuring and the economic segregation of Canada's racialized groups	p. 175
Towards perfect flexibility : youth as an industrial reserve army for the new economy	p. 205
The crisis in rural labour markets : failures and challenges for regulation	p. 227
Technology, gender, and regulation : call centres in New Brunswick	p. 246
Neoliberalism, social democracy, and the struggle to improve labour standards for part-time workers in Saskatchewan	p. 265
Labour market deregulation and the U.S. living-wage movement	p. 289
Gendered resistance : organizing Justice for Janitors in Los Angeles	p. 309
Labour's current organizational struggles in Argentina : towards a new beginning?	p. 330
Critical times for French employment regulation : the 35-hour week and the challenge to social partnership	p. 346
How credible are international corporate labour codes? : monitoring global production chains	p. 365
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