The Global Evolution of Industrial Relations

Events, Ideas and the IIRA

Bruce E. Kaufman

Essential reading for all those 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.

Key  Feature :

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
Traces the development of modern industrial relations in continental Europe, Japan, Republic of Korea, India, Africa and Latin America
Discusses the future prospects for the field of industrial relations

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.

"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 
Professor, 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.”

Manfred Weiss
Professor, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

“... this is a book worth reading ... more than a compendium ... it is comprehensive. There can be no doubt that Kaufman has read and internalized virtually all of the field’s early literature (at least that is written in English) and that he has provided an excellent synthesis of the work.”

Industrial & Labor Relations Review
Cornell University, ILR School, USA