The discipline of economics, as it is generally understood, taught, and practised today, is in various ways clearly at odds with authentic Catholic values. Therefore, where economics is taught in Catholic schools, colleges and universities, students should not only become acquainted with orthodox economic ideas; they should also learn how, from a…

Audit studies testing for discrimination have been criticized because applicants from different groups may not appear identical to employers. Correspondence studies address this criticism by using fictitious paper applicants whose qualifications can be made identical across groups. However, Heckman and Siegelman (1993) show that group differences…

On February 1, 2012, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a "right to work" (RTW) provision in the state's labor laws, making Indiana the 23rd RTW state in the nation. In addition to becoming the 23rd RTW state in the nation, Indiana is the first in more than a decade to pass a law undermining the ability of unions to organize and…

Using matched employer-employee data from ten African countries, we examine the relationship between wages, worker supervision, and labor productivity in manufacturing. Wages increase with firm size for both production workers and supervisors. We develop a two-tier model of supervision that can account for this stylized fact and we fit the…

Data from 2,061 British companies in the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey supported the hypothesis that powerful unions reduce the external threat of job loss and therefore the pace of work in unionized firms is less responsive to such threats. (SK)

Labor-management cooperation to improve the quality of products and work life are traced to the early nineteenth century. Government activities in labor relations and experiments in industrial democracy in the United States and abroad are described. (SK)

Productivity and employment data were collected from nine manufacturing plants at monthly intervals over a period of four to five years, during which time cooperative labor-management programs were introduced. Results showed productivity increased in six of eight firms and employment remained stable in eight of the nine. (Author/SK)

Reviews some dominant trends--diversification of the levels, forms, and functions of workers' participation; the role of collective bargaining; the revival of workers' councils; structural changes; expansion of scope; means of establishing workers' participation--and discusses problems such as the role of unions and the risks of complexity and…

Includes "AWIRS (Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey) and Productivity" (Wooden); "Workplace Productivity and Joint Consultation" (Alexander, Green); "Impact of Unions on Workplace Productivity in Australia" (Crockett et al.); and "AWIRS and Workplace Performance" (Drago, Wooden). (SK)

An analysis of the productivity offsets to achieve second tier wage increases for workers covered by Australian national and Queensland awards shows that the two-tier wage system increased competitiveness and productivity, especially in blue-collar industries. (JOW)

Assessment of West German and Japanese systems of worker participation and of attempts to adapt these models to the United States do not provide conclusive evidence that these methods improve productivity and job satisfaction. (SK)

Using individual student data from the Sustaining Effects Survey, the authors examine the question "Do teacher unions affect the productivity of public schools?" Results indicate that union districts are seven percent more productive for average students, but less productive for students who are significantly above or below average.…

Data from two surveys of manufacturers (325 of 650 responded) suggest that those with quality improvement programs jointly administered by labor and management achieve significantly greater improvements than those with no programs. Those with programs administered solely by management fared no better than those with no programs. (Author/SK)

Describes how a principal of an Australian parochial school tackled an onsite enterprise bargaining process. Indepth interviews suggested that to succeed, principals must be opportunists and reassurers, initiators and communicators, researchers and information providers, learners and responders, and standard-bearers and pragmatists. (Contains 25…

In the Canadian pulp/paper industry, management is focused on worker flexibility for productivity. Unions view workplace learning as a threat to job control and security. Although learning new skills enhances individual workers' flexibility and employability, collectively it weakens the union through job losses. (Contains 56 references.) (SK)