Throughout the latter part of the 20th century, the U.S. labor market performed differently than the labor markets of the world's other advanced industrialized societies. In the early 1970s, the United States had higher unemployment rates than its Western European counterparts. But after two oil crises, rapid technological change, and globalization rocked the world's economies, unemployment fell in the United States, while increasing dramatically in other nations. At the same time, wage inequality widened more in the United States than in Europe. In At Home and Abroad, Cornell University economists Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn examine the reasons for these striking dissimilarities between the United States and its economic allies. Comparing countries, the authors find that governments and unions play a far greater role in the labor market in Europe than they do in the United States. It is much more difficult to lay off workers in Europe than in the United States, unemployment insurance is more generous in Europe, and many fewer Americans than Europeans are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Interventionist labor market institutions in Europe compress wages, thus contributing to the lower levels of wage inequality in the European Union than in the United States. Using a unique blend of microeconomic and microeconomic analyses, the authors assess how these differences affect wage and unemployment levels. In a lucid narrative, they present ample evidence that, as upheavals shook the global economy, the flexible U.S. market let wages adjust so that jobs could be maintained, while more rigid European economies maintained wages at the cost of losing jobs. By helping readers understand the relationship between different economic responses and outcomes, At Home and Abroad makes an invaluable contribution to the continuing debate about the role institutions can and should play in creating jobs and maintaining living standards.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Russell SAGE Foundation
ISBN-10
0871540827
ISBN-13
9780871540829
eBay Product ID (ePID)
61815859
Product Key Features
Author
Francine D. Blau, Lawerence M. Kahn
Publication Name
At Home and Abroad : U. S. Labor Market Performance in International Perspective
Format
Perfect
Language
English
Publication Year
2007
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
326 Pages
Dimensions
Item Length
9in
Item Height
0.9in
Item Width
6in
Item Weight
16 Oz
Additional Product Features
Copyright Date
2002
Target Audience
Scholarly & Professional
Topic
Labor & Industrial Relations, International / Economics, General, American Government / General, Labor
Dewey Decimal
331.12/0973
Genre
Business & Economics, Social Science, Political Science