Securing Prosperity: The American Labor Market: How It Has Changed and What to Do about It by Paul Osterman Details
We live in an era of economic contradiction. The dynamics of the US economy are amazing - the country's industries are the most productive in the world and produce new…
We live in an era of economic contradiction. The dynamics of the US economy are amazing - the country's industries are the most productive in the world and produce new products and ideas at an amazing pace.
However, Americans are deeply uncomfortable about their economic future. Paul Osterman explains that the reason for this is that our recent prosperity is based on the ruins of the labor market that he was reassuring in the post-war period.
Workers can no longer expect stable, full-time jobs and rising incomes. Instead, they face stagnant wages, layoffs, increased inequality, and only the possibility of temporary employment.
In ensuring prosperity, Osterman explains clear terms that can be reached on why these changes occur and sets an innovative plan for new economic institutions that promise a safer future. Osterman begins by drawing the rise and fall of the labor market in the postwar period, which shows that companies have been the driving force behind the recent change.
It relies on original surveys of nearly 1,000 companies to demonstrate that companies have reorganized and reduced not only for obvious reasons - technological advances and shifts in capital markets - but also to take advantage of new team-oriented working methods. "We can not turn the clock back, because that would strip companies of competitiveness," says Osterman.
But he also argues that we should not simply surrender ourselves to the market. Ostermann argues that the new policies must be engaged on two fronts: addressing both higher mobility rates in the labor market and a significant shift in the balance of power against employees. To deal with greater mobility, Osterman discusses mobile benefits, a strong unemployment insurance system, and new labor market brokers to help workers navigate the labor market. To correct the power imbalance, Osterman assesses the potential for corporate governance reform, but concludes that the best approach is to strengthen "counter-power" through innovative unions and creative strategies to organize the voice of employees in communities.
Osterman gives life to these arguments with many examples of promising institutional experiences.
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