Syllabus

Econ 755:  Comparative Labor Markets and Employment Relations
Spring 2008
Bolton B64, Tuesdays 6-8:40pm

Lecturers:

Prof. Keith A. Bender
Office:  Bolton 836
Phone:  229-4761
email:  kabender@uwm.edu
Office Hours: Monday 1-3pm, Tuesday: 4:30-5:45pm, Thursday: 11-noon, and by appointment 		Prof. John Heywood
Office:  Bolton 842
Phone:  229-4310
email:  heywood@uwm.edu
Office Hours:  Wed 3-4:30pm and by appointment

Website:
http://www.uwm.edu/~kabender/755syllabus.htm

Course Description:
Recognizing that many companies have production facilities throughout the world and will therefore face different labor market situations, this course examines the employment relations and labor market institutions that are central to labor markets in developed countries.  The first half of the term will investigate the employment relations characteristics of several developed economies to see how different institutions and social beliefs affect the labor markets and industrial relations outcomes in these countries.  The second half of the course will examine various topic areas which affect the employment relations in those countries.  Comparisons to the employment relations situation in the US will also be a focus of the course.

Course Requirements:
Students are expected to come to class having read the suggested materials for that class and to be ready to participate in class discussions.  Students are strongly encouraged to utilize email and the World Wide Web as resources for information about the class, networking, communication, and research. The course will have a web site where important information will be posted.

Information on MHRLR policies on participation by students with disabilities, accommodation for religious observances, academic conduct, complaint procedures, grade appeal procedures and other standing policies (e.g. sexual harassment, incompletes) is available in the MHRLR office, Bolton 842.  Students with special needs of any sort should contact us after class, by phone, by email, or in the office during the first two weeks of class.

Assessment:
Student performance will be judged using the following methods:

Midterm evaluation:  Students can either complete a midterm exam (March 11) or write a paper.  This is worth 40% of the final grade.

Final exam:  The final exam will be given May 13 and is worth 50% of the final grade.

Class Participation:  Classes work best when all are active, not just the person at the front of the class.  Therefore class participation is encouraged.  To help enable this, the class will be split into two groups.  For each lecture, there is a group assigned to this lecture.  When its your group's time, we want each person in the group to send in (at least) two questions about the readings for that lecture.  These questions should be substantive, that is, questions that occur to you while you are reading or issues that you want us to talk about in more detail during the lecture portion of the class.  Submit these questions by noon on Tuesdays, so that we can have a chance to look at them before the class.  Participation (evaluated by both the questions sent in and discussion in class) is worth 10% of the final grade.

Texts and Reading Materials:
Required texts:

  • Greg Bamber, Russell Lansbury, and Nick Wailes (eds), International and Comparative Employment Relations, 4th ed, 2004. (ICER below)
  • Richard Freeman (ed), Working Under Different Rules, New York:  Russell Sage Foundation, 1994. (WUDF below)
    •

    Other readings:

    Other readings will be on e-reserve in the library, unless otherwise noted below.  Please see instructions handed out at the beginning of the class on how to access the e-reserve readings or click here for the e-reserve gateway. (Choose Professor Bender's name out of the 'Instructor' pull down menu.)  Please contact us or the e-reserve staff if you are having difficulties accessing the readings.  There are also some other books on comparative employment relations on traditional reserve.  Click here for information on these.
    Class Schedule:
    Jan 22 Introduction.
    The goals for this class are to cover the syllabus, outline the course and offer some context for analyzing international and comparative aspects of employment relations. 
    Readings: 
    • Greg Bamber, Russell Lansbury, and Nick Wailes, 'Chapter 1: Introduction' in ICER.
    • Boyd Black, 'Labour Market Incentive Structures and Employee Performance,' British Journal of Industrial Relations, 32:1, March 1994:  99-111. (on e-reserve)
    Jan 29
    		Relatively Decentralized ER Systems:  US and Canada  (Group 1)
    This class will review the system of employment relations in the US and Canada and offer some comparisons between the two systems 
    Readings: 
    • Harry C. Katz and Hoyt N. Wheeler, 'Chapter 3:  Employment Relations in the United States of America' in ICER.
    • Mark Thompson and Daphne Taras, 'Chapter 4:  Employment Relations in Canada' in ICER.
    • David Card and Richard Freeman, 'Small Differences That Matter:  Canada Vs. the United States', in WUDF.
    Feb 5
    		Tale of Two ER Systems:  Britain and Australia (Group 2)
    The industrial and employment relations systems of Britain and Australia shared many common characteristics until the 1980s.  This class examines the history of the systems in these countries.
    Readings:
    • Mick Marchington, John Goodman, and John Berridge, 'Chapter 2:  Employment Relations in Britain' in ICER.
    • Russell D. Lansbury and Nick Wailes, 'Chapter 5:  Employment Relations in Australia' in ICER.
    Feb 12 The Three Pillars of Japanese Employment Relations (Group 1)
    Almost totally decimated by WWII, Japan rose to be one of the major economic powerhouses of the late 20th Century.  This was due, in part, to their unique employment relations system.
    Readings:
    • Jack Eaton, 'From the Fabulous East:  The Japanese Origins of Human Resource Management and the Convergence Hypothesis' Comparative Employment Relations:  An Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell, 2000:  23-33. (on e-reserve)
    • Yasuo Kuwahara, 'Chapter 10:  Employment Relations in Japan' in ICER.
    • Takao Kato, 'Financial Participation and Pay for Performance in Japan' in Paying for Performance: An International Comparison, ed. by Michelle Brown and John S. Heywood, Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2002:  214-35. (on e-reserve)
    Feb 19
    		ER, Cooperation and the Role of Government:  Germany (Group 2)
    The idea of 'Works Councils' may have received much early academic press in the US, but has been an essential part of German ER over the last several decades.  This class will examine the German system of ER and the theory and practice of works councils.
    Readings:
    • Berndt K. Keller, 'Chapter 8:  Employment Relations in Germany' in ICER.
    • Heinz-Josef Tuselmann, 'The New German Model of Employee Relations,' International Journal of Manpower, 22:6, 2001:  544-59. (on e-reserve)
    • Rogers and Streeck, 'Workplace Representation Overseas:  The Works Councils Story', in WUDF.
    Feb 26 Centralized ER Systems:  Nordic Countries (Group 1)
    On the other end of the spectrum are countries where there is much centralization in the employment relationship, where aggregate worker and employer associations bargain to cover many workers in many industries.  The Nordic countries of Sweden and Norway have a long history of such systems, shown recently in the teamwork style of work systems in Sweden.
    Readings:
    • Olle Hammarström, Tony Huzzard, and Tommy Nilsson, 'Chapter 9:  Employment Relations in Sweden' in ICER.
    • Michael Wallerstein and Miriam Golden, 'Postwar Wage Setting in the Nordic Countries' in Unions, Employers and Central Banks ed. by T. Iversen, J. Pontusson, and D. Soskice, Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 2000:  107-37. (on e-reserve)
    Mar 4
    		Other European Systems (Group 2)
    Other European nations have modified versions of Nordic, Germanic, or decentralized systems.  This class examines a couple European countries who have different ER institutions.
    Readings:
    • Serafino Negrelli and Peter Sheldon, 'Chapter 6:  Employment Relations in Italy' in ICER.
    • Janine Goetschy and Annette Jobert, 'Chapter 7:  Employment Relations in France' in ICER.
    Mar 11 Midterm Exam
    Mar 18
    		 No class.  Spring Break
    Mar 25 HR Issues (Group 1)
    Along with Industrial Relations differences, there are a host of differences in traditional HR issues between countries.  This class examines some of these differences and compares them to the US human resources model.
    Readings:
    • Gerhard Bosch, 'Working Time Reductions, Employment Consequences and Lessons from Europe,' in Working Time:  International Trends, Theory and Policy Perspectives, ed by Lonnie Golden and Deborah M. Figart, London:  Routledge, 2000:  177-95. (on e-reserve)
    • Jack Eaton, 'Japanese-style Employment Practices outside Japan,' Comparative Employment Relations:  An Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell, 2000:  34-44. (on e-reserve)
    • Mike Leat, 'Employee Participation and Involvement' in Human Resource Issues of the European Union, Washington, DC:  Financial Times Management, 1998:  272-316. (chapter on e-reserve, book on traditional reserve)
    • Lynch, 'Payoffs to Alternative Training Strategies at Work' in WUDF.
    Apr 1-8
    		 Labor Market Centralization and Economic Performance (Group 2 and then Group 1)
    There has been a long running debate in the economics and industrial relations literature regarding the effect of unions and, more specifically, where wage bargaining takes place on the economic performance of countries.  This class surveys this literature and examines the arguments surrounding this issue.
    Readings:
    • Lars Calmfors, 'Centralisation of Wage Bargaining and Macroeconomic Performance - A Survey,' OECD Economic Studies, 21, Winter 1993:  161-91.  (on e-reserve)
    • David Chor and Richard B. Freeman, 'The 2004 Global Labor Survey:  Workplace Institutions and Practices Around the World,' NBER Working paper 11598, August 2005.  Click here to access the NBER Working Paper site through the UWM Libraries' portal (your Panther account logon is needed).
    • Robert J. Flanagan, 'Macroeconomic Performance and Collective Bargaining:  An International Perspective,' Journal of Economic Literature, 37:3, Sept 1999:  1150-95. (on e-reserve)
    • Richard B. Freeman and Lawrence F. Katz, 'Rising Wage Inequality:  The United States vs. Other Advanced Countries' in WUDF.
    • W. Stanley Siebert, 'Overview of European Labour Markets' in Labour Markets in Europe:  Issues in Harmonization and Regulation, ed by John T. Addison and W. Stanley Siebert, New York:  Harcourt Brace and Company, Ltd, 1997:  229-243. (on e-reserve)
    • W. Stanley Siebert, 'Labour Market Regulation:  Some Comparative Lessons,' IEA Economic Affairs, 25:3, 2005: 3-10. (on e-reserve)
    Optional Reading:
    • Boyd Black, 'National Culture and Industrial Relations and Pay Structures,' Labour, 15:2, 2001: 257-77. (on e-reserve)
    • OECD, 'Economic Performance and the Structure of Collective Bargaining', Employment Outlook, Paris:  OECD, 1997:  63-92. (on e-reserve)
    Apr 15 Decentralization and Transformation of ER Systems (Group 2)
    Even where unions have remained strong, there has been a push by employers to decentralize the wage bargaining procedure to more local levels to allow more flexibility within firms.  This class examines how this has been accomplished, where it has been successful and what impact it has had on the employment relationship and on workers.
    Readings:
    • Christopher L. Erickson and Sarosh Kuruvilla, 'Industrial Relations System Transformation,' Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 52:1, October 1998:  3-21. (on e-reserve)
    • Richard B. Freeman and Robert S. Gibbons, 'Getting Together and Breaking Apart:  The Decline of Centralized Collective Bargaining,' in Differences and Changes in Wage Structures, ed by Richard B. Freeman and Lawrence F. Katz, Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1995:  345-70. (on e-reserve)
    • Ariane Hegewisch, 'The Decentralization of Pay Bargaining:  European Comparisons,' Management Decision, 30:6, 1992:  92-99. (on e-reserve)
    • Harry C. Katz, 'The Decentralization of Collective Bargaining:  A Literature Review and Comparative Analysis,' Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 47:1, October 1993:  3-22. (on e-reserve)
    • Janet Walsh, 'Internalization v. Decentralization:  An Analysis of Recent Developments in Pay Bargaining,' British Journal of Industrial Relations, 31:3, Sept 1993:  409-32. (on e-reserve)
    Apr 22
    		 Public Programs and Institutions (Group 1)
    Governments have different policies to react to various economic and social issues which affect the employment relationship.  This class examines some of these policies and their apparent effectiveness from an economic point of view.
    Readings:
    • Rebecca Blank, 'Does a Larger Social Safety Net Mean Less Economic Flexibility' in WUDF.
    • Barry Eichengreen and Torben Iversen, 'Institutions and Economic Performance:  Evidence from the Labour Market,' Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 15:4, 1999:  121-38.  (on e-reserve)
    • Jonathan Gruber and David A. Wise, 'Introduction and Summary,' in Social Security and Retirement Around the World, ed by Jonathan Gruber and David A. Wise, Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1999:  1-36. (on e-reserve, book on traditional reserve)
    Optional Reading:
    • John Myles and Jill Quadagno, 'Recent Trends in Public Pension Reform:  A Comparative View,' in Reform of Retirement Income Policy:  International and Canadian Perspectives, ed by Keith G. Bantin and Robin Boadway, Kingston, Ontario:  Queen's University School of Policy Studies, 1997:  247-71. (on e-reserve)
    April 29 ER in Rapidly Changing Economies (Group 2)
    Employment relations are affected by rapid changes in economics and government institutions.  This class examines the Employment Relationships in a couple such countries.

    Readings:
    • Young-bum Park and Chris Leggett, 'Employment Relations in the Republic of Korea' in ICER.
    • TBD
    May 6
    		Public Sector Differences
    In many Western developed economies, the public sector is the last place for any significant union action.  However, the way wages are set in the public sector is also of interest from a policy point of view, particularly given the relative size of government in their economies.  This class examines differences in wage setting procedures in the public sectors of developed countries and highlights some of the changes that have occurred over the past 20 years.
    Readings:
    • Phillip B. Beaumont, 'Public Sector Industrial Relations in Europe,' in Public Sector Employment:  In a Time of Transition, ed by Dale Belman, Morley Gunderson, and Douglas Hyatt, Madison, WI:  Industrial Relations Research Association Series, 1996:  283-307. (on e-reserve)
    • Bender, Keith A. and Robert F. Elliott. “Chapter 1: The Theoretical Arguments for Decentralised Pay Setting Arrangements.” In Decentralised Pay Setting: A Study of the Outcomes of Collective Bargaining Reform in the Civil Service in Australia, Sweden and the UK, Aldershot, UK:  Ashgate, 2003. (on e-reserve)
    • Robert F. Elliott, Claudio Lucifora, and Dominique Meurs, 'Public Sector Pay Determination in the European Union:  Issues and Outcomes,' in Public Sector Pay Determination in the European Union, ed by Robert Elliott, Claudio Lucifora, and Dominique Meurs, New York:  St. Martin's Press, 1999:  1-28. (article on e-reserve, book on traditional reserve)
    Optional Reading:
    • Keith A. Bender, 'The Central Government-Private Sector Wage Differential,' Journal of Economic Surveys, 12:2, 1999:  178-220. (on e-reserve) (Concentrate on the first seven pages.)
    May 13  Final Exam

    Last Updated 16 January, 2008