This book examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on changing labour markets and accelerating digitalisation of the workplace in Central and Eastern Europe. It provides an innovative and enriching take on the work experience from the pandemic times and discusses the challenges of ongoing changes in labour markets and workplaces in a way that is not covered by the extant literature. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and digitalisation on labour market outcomes is analysed throughout 12 chapters, by 34 labour market experts from various CEE countries. Most chapters are based on empirical methods yet are presented in an easy-to-follow way to make the book also accessible for a non-scientific audience. The volume addresses the three key goals: to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the adoption of workplace digitalisation in the selected labour markets in CEE countries and the potential trade-offs facing those who do and do not have access to this benefit to complement the labour market research by incorporating the outputs of changing demand for skills to contribute new insight into policies and regulations that govern the future of work The book argues that the recent COVID-19 pandemic was a sombre reminder of the relevance and necessity of digital technology for a variety of sectors and market activities. It concludes that to downside the risks of vanishing jobs, as well as to minimise the threats and maximise the opportunities of digitalisation in CEE countries, labour market partners need to consider an effective governance tool in terms of inclusive access to the digital environment, re-skilling, and balanced regulations of the more problematic facets of digital work. The book will be of interest to postgraduate researchers and academics in the fields of labour economics, regional economics, and macroeconomics. Additionally, due to the broader policy implications of the topic, the book will appeal to policymakers and experts interested in labour economics. The Introduction, Chapters 4 and 12 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

This book examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on changing labour markets and accelerating digitalisation of the workplace in Central and Eastern Europe. It provides an innovative and enriching take on the work experience from the pandemic times and discusses the challenges of ongoing changes in labour markets and workplaces in a way that is not covered by the extant literature. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and digitalisation on labour market outcomes is analysed throughout 12 chapters, by 34 labour market experts from various CEE countries. Most chapters are based on empirical methods yet are presented in an easy-to-follow way to make the book also accessible for a non-scientific audience. The volume addresses the three key goals: to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the adoption of workplace digitalisation in the selected labour markets in CEE countries and the potential trade-offs facing those who do and do not have access to this benefit to complement the labour market research by incorporating the outputs of changing demand for skills to contribute new insight into policies and regulations that govern the future of work The book argues that the recent COVID-19 pandemic was a sombre reminder of the relevance and necessity of digital technology for a variety of sectors and market activities. It concludes that to downside the risks of vanishing jobs, as well as to minimise the threats and maximise the opportunities of digitalisation in CEE countries, labour market partners need to consider an effective governance tool in terms of inclusive access to the digital environment, re-skilling, and balanced regulations of the more problematic facets of digital work. The book will be of interest to postgraduate researchers and academics in the fields of labour economics, regional economics, and macroeconomics. Additionally, due to the broader policy implications of the topic, the book will appeal to policymakers and experts interested in labour economics. The Introduction, Chapters 4 and 12 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Over a quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 10 years after their accession to the European Union (EU), Central and Eastern Europe Countries (CEECs) still show marked differences with the rest of Europe in the fields of labour, work and industrial relations. This book presents a detailed and original analysis of labour and social transformations in the CEECs. By examining a wide range of countries in Central Europe, Labour and Social Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe offers a comprehensive and contrasting view of labour developments in Central and Eastern Europe. Chapters explore three related issues. The first deals with the understanding of the complex process of Europeanization applied in the sphere of labour, employment and industrial relations. The second issue refers to the attempt to link the Europeanization approach with an analysis mobilizing the theoretical concept of "dependent capitalism(s)". The third issue refers to the cumulative trends of labour weakening and labour awakening that has emerged, in particular in the aftermath of the crisis beginning in 2007-2008. This book will be of interest to academics, policy makers and stakeholders at European and national level in the EU member states.

The book makes a major new contribution to the sociology of employment by comparing the quality of working life in European societies with very different institutional systems--France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, and Sweden. It focuses in particular on skills and skill development, opportunities for training, the scope for initiative in work, the difficulty of combining work and family life, and the security of employment. Drawing on a range of nationally representative surveys, it reveals striking differences in the quality of work in different European countries. It also provides for the first time rigorous comparative evidence on the experiences of different types of employee and an assessment of whether there has been a trend over time to greater polarization between a core workforce of relatively privileged employees and a peripheral workforce suffering from cumulative disadvantage. It explores the relevance of three influential theoretical perspectives, focussing respectively on the common dynamics of capitalist societies, differences in production regimes between capitalist societies, and differences in the institutional systems of employment regulation. It argues that it is the third of these--an 'employment regime' perspective--that provides the most convincing account of the factors that affect the quality of work in capitalist societies. The findings underline the importance of differences in national policies for people's experiences of work and point to the need for a renewal at European level of initiatives for improving the quality of work.

This book addresses the complex socioeconomic situation in the Polish-Ukrainian borderland, in the context of the labour market, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It analyses and assesses the measures which influence the process of Ukrainian war refugees’ adaptation to the Polish labour market, surveying the engagement of local actors, such as employers, labour market institutions and nongovernmental organisations. It examines the impact of the refugee crisis on this market, as well as mobilisation of various groups of actors in order to support this specific group of migrants in adapting to life in Poland. The authors argue that this phenomenon of the migration of war refugees confirms the thesis that political instability can be a factor in pushing people abroad as equally important as inequalities in prosperity. The book identifies the characteristic features of the stream of war refugees from Ukraine as a category of cross-border flows. Before the Russian attack, the influx of Ukrainians to Poland was due mainly to economic pressures, whereas, after the outbreak of war, Ukrainians’ motivation to cross the border with Poland as well as the structure of this migration stream have radically changed. The book offers in-depth insight into the development of borderland regions, and especially the cross-border labour market as a specific element of the borderland economic ecosystem. It highlights the positive outcomes of the migration crisis, which will serve as examples of best practice for other regions in Europe. This book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and policymakers concerned with regional development, including contact regions, as well as cross-border flows, the labour market and migration.

The demand for economic inclusion has increasingly intensified, as manifested by the growing movements of farmers, workers and social activists. Therefore, the question of adequate social representation of marginalized and underprivileged communities has to be made pivotal in the discourse of inclusion. This book investigates selected aspects of labour market informality in India. It examines the key factors that have expedited labour informality—contractualisation—in the manufacturing sector since the early 1990s. It analyses the features of informality and inclusion from the perspective of not just class but also the caste hierarchy in Indian society, thus offering readers an exhaustive overview of economic inclusion following the economic reforms and providing fresh insights into labour market informality through the lens of the social divisions in Indian society. Developed on a wide canvas of multiple processes, policies, and factors that have contributed to this phenomenon, the book offers an elaborate analysis of contractualisation within the industry from the perspectives of labour legislation and the labour market. In addition, it contextualizes the issue of job informality for the post-economic reforms era, from 1991 onwards. It examines the impact of the policies of economic reform on contractualisation across industries and states. Further, the book discusses the dynamics of the labour market reforms in India, given that there is a higher incidence of labour informality in India. It also highlights how the policy quest for inclusive growth has remained unfulfilled. This book will be a useful guide for advanced students, academic researchers, scholars and policy makers that are engaged with the issue of informal sector employment.

There are few contemporary studies on the finances of unions. Indeed, little research exists on the internal operations of unions in the U.S. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the financial resources and performance of the largest national unions. It discusses the theoretical and practical relevance of the topic, which goes directly to the formation, maintenance, and potential advancement of labor organizations. Financial capacity and performance create incentives for unions to mobilize at the grassroots level and launch major drives to improve their position in society. Understanding how unions raise and spend money provides insight as to their administrative orientation and organizational capacity. Given its topical breadth and depth, the book stands apart from the extant literature on unions in society. It is unique in the range of financial information presented, how data are analyzed, and its treatment of such important matters as compensation and benefits; operating budgets; political activism as measured by expenditures from treasury-based funds and political mechanisms funded by members through voluntary donations. The authors show not only the scope of union financial wherewithal and how it varies across labor organizations but also how such indicators compare to corporate entities who employ the rank-and-file. The book provides a wealth of information on how to analyze the finances of unions and to use this information to prepare for collective bargaining and other aspects of labor-management relations. It informs employers and other observers about how unions are able to represent members and their ability to withstand strikes.

With a focus on the European labour market, this book seeks to understand how digital transformation affects changes in employee-employer relations. These consequences include shifts in job security and job flexibility as well as alternative work arrangements in the digital economy. This phenomenon has both positive and negative implications for employees and employers. The book presents a theoretical, conceptual and empirical analysis of employment relations in the digital economy, which are manifested, among others, in flexible or non-standard forms of employment, contract work and a radical shift from position-based to skill-based work. The approach taken in the book provides researchers and students of economics, business and other social sciences with an overview of interdisciplinary theoretical and conceptual perspectives and frameworks on labour market and employment relations. In particular, it presents a comprehensive range of research on flexible forms of employment in the digital economy. The range of issues covered is also tailored to business practitioners who wish to understand the ongoing changes in employment relations and the emergence of new forms of work as a result of digital transformation. It will also be of value to representatives of labour market institutions involved in implementing new forms of work and employer-employee relationships in Industry 4.0.

The overall context of this book is set by the decline of the globalization paradigm’s ability to grasp the complexity and uncertainty of the current era. It takes a new approach based on the frame of "transformation" viewed as a catalyst to understand the complex interconnected nature of the world around us from a concrete, grounded perspective. Labour or work is still what makes the world go round, and Latin America offers a unique laboratory of social transformation since the "pink tide" of the 2000s. The left it refers to is a new non-dogmatic version that does not just recycle old debates but, rather, opens up new perspectives. The book is at once global in its ambition while grounded in labour and Latin American realities. Theoretically based and empirically robust, it will enthuse the reader to pursue their own research on matters covered here. Part I deals with several key debates around labour including the emergence of a precariat, from a standpoint that foregrounds labour agency but also the view from the South, that is, the majority world. Part II takes up various debates around contemporary Latin America from a cultural political economy perspective with an emphasis on the dynamics of social transformation. Part III explores the contributions from the broadly defined left towards an understanding of the current challenges faced by those seeking an alternative to the status quo in Latin America and beyond. Providing a theoretically sophisticated yet readable text on key contemporary issues, this fully interdisciplinary book will find a broad audience among researchers, scholars, and advanced students of labour, Latin American and development studies, economics, sociology, and politics.

Economists measure the effects of immigration through the yardstick of income. This book offers a broad survey of the conventional approach but in addition, also considers better measures of welfare or well-being and provides a detailed description and evaluation of policies - rules, regulations and implementation. The book offers a long, historical perspective on the development of population density in the Netherlands. It begins with the history of the Netherlands: geological and cultural formation of the land - and water - and population development. The Netherlands is unique in that much of the land is man-made, in particular the western part, which is, economically speaking, the most developed area. It is also special for its very high population growth rate that took off during the 19th century. The key argument of the book is that population size is irrelevant for income per capita, that land is a binding constraint in the Netherlands and that negative external effects of increasing population size lead to welfare losses from further population growth, whether by natural growth or by immigration. At present, the battle for scarce land is intense and bitter, with a strong clash between developers who want to build houses, farmers who do not want to give up farming and conservationists who increasingly find support in the courts for insufficiently caring for the natural environment. The book combines a general analysis of population density, both theoretical and empirical, with an in-depth presentation of actual policies in a country with intense pressure on available land.