The Global Evolution of Industrial Relations
Bruce E. Kaufman
2004, 600 pp., ISBN 92-2-114153-5
Hardcover: 100 Sw.frs.; US$74.95; £42.95; 65 Euros
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Reviews
Table of Contents
About the Author
REVIEWS
"Kaufman's book is a tour de force. It is a thoughtful and analytical history of the evolution of
international and comparative industrial relations as a field of study. It is an insightful overview of
the links between industrial relations and institutional economics and a passionate (and in my view
correct) argument for why we need to maintain and strengthen these linkages. It will be an
extremely valuable resource as we take up the challenges facing our field today and tomorrow."
- Thomas A. Kochan, MIT Sloan School of Management, Institute for Work and Employment
Research, USA
“This is the best work ever written on the historical development of industrial relations.”
- Tadashi Hanami, Professor Emeritus, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
“…an indispensable source of knowledge for anyone interested in the field of industrial relations,
in the work of the ILO and in the activities of the IIRA.”
- Prof. Dr. Manfred Weiss, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
Essential reading for anyone concerned with the history and practice of industrial relations, this
landmark volume chronicles the evolution of the field to date. It focuses on the largely untold
story of how the globalization of industrial relations took hold and explores in depth the pivotal
events, ideas and people behind it.
For the most part, the roots of industrial relations field are found in the United Kingdom and North
America and this volume takes a substantive look at the field and practice that developed in these
regions before the Second World War.
A comprehensive and informative account of post World War II events is also provided. The book
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highlights the four all-important pillars that shaped industrial relations after this period: the
International Labour Organization, the International Industrial Relations Association (IIRA), the
leading role in industrial relations played by the United States following World War II, and the
spread of industrialism, market economies, trade union movements, and democratic forms of
government to many non-Western nations.
KEY FEATURES:
Provides the only comprehensive, up-to-date account of the evolution of the industrial relations
field
Outlines the four pillars that led to the internationalization of industrial relations after World War
II
Includes substantive background on the roots of industrial relations in the Anglo-Saxon countries,
including the role of the IIRA
Discusses the future prospects for the field of industrial relations
Traces the development of modern industrial relations in continental Europe, Japan, Republic of
Korea, India, Africa and Latin America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction: The Road Ahead
Chapter 1. The Roots of Industrial Relations
Chapter 2. The Birth and Early Development of Industrial Relations: North America
Chapter 3. Early Industrial Relations in Europe: The United Kingdom, the ILO and the IRI
Chapter 4. American Industrial Relations in the Golden Age
Chapter 5. The Institutionalization of Industrial Relations in Australasia, Canada and the United
Kingdom
Chapter 6. The IIRA: Taking the Industrial Relations Field Global
Chapter 7. Industrial Relations in the United States: Challenges and Declining Fortunes
Chapter 8. Modern Industrial Relations in Australasia, Canada and the United Kingdom
Chapter 9. Industrial Relations in Continental Europe
Chapter 10. Industrial Relations in Africa, Asia and Latin America
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Chapter 11. The IIRA and Contemporary Industrial Relations: Promoting Global Dialogue
Chapter 12: Industrial Relations: Retrospect and Prospect
References
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bruce E. Kaufman is Professor of Economics and Senior Associate of the W.T. Beebe Institute of
Personnel and Employment Relations at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. He has written
or edited fourteen books and numerous scholarly articles on labor economics, industrial relations,
and human resource management. His book The Origins and Evolution of the Field of Industrial
Relations in the United States won the 1992 Richard Lester prize for "Best Book in Labor
Economics and Industrial Relations." Professor Kaufman is past president of the University
Council of Industrial Relations and Human Resources Programs (US) and is currently co-chair of
the IR Theory and IR as a Field Study Group of the International Industrial Relations Association.
Updated by MM. Approved by IA. Last Updated: 1 November 2004.
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