Challenging the Market: The Struggle to Regulate Work and Income - Softcover

Jim Stanford; Leah F Vosko

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0773527273 ISBN 13: 9780773527270

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004

Synopsis

A History for the Future will be of interest to all those who reflect on the relationship between memory, giving meaning to the past, writing history, and a society's common aspirations. The original French edition, Passer a l'avenir, won Quebec's Prix Spirale for the best non-fiction book of 2000.

About this title

Review:

Challenging the Market presents a trenchant and telling critique of the "American model" of deregulationist labour-market policy. This comprehensive and compelling volume will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding, and transcending, the present neoliberal conjuncture." Jamie Peck, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Synopsis:

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0773527273
• ISBN 13: 9780773527270
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400