The book makes a major contribution to the controversy about the factors driving the persistence and expansion of the informal economy. Unlike most others studies which either take a structuralist or an actor’s choice approach to the topic, this study combines a careful assessment of the economic, social and political circumstances promoting informality with a meticulously carried out econometric analysis of the dominant characteristics of workers as well as enterprises in the informal economy in comparison to those ...

Der vorliegenden Arbeit geht es um die gegenseitige Plausibilisierung der theoretischen Strömung der Neuen Materialismen und der materialistischen Staatstheorie. Den Neuen Materialismen, so die Annahme, fehlt vor allem eine Perspektive auf den Staat, Politik und Gewalt. Demgegenüber bedarf die materialistische Staatstheorie der Öffnung für intersektionale Einflüsse, nicht-binäre Logiken und eine ontologische Fundierung ihrer Argumente, um essentialistischen Schließungen effektiv vorzubeugen. Die Plausibilisierung ...

The United States of America and the European Union are currently negotiating a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It is one of the most ambitious free trade and investment initiatives, going much further than eliminating tariffs. TTIP mainly aims at reducing “non-tariff barriers”. While tariffs on goods have been imposed with an eye to foreign competition, most of the non-tariff barriers are the laws and regulations that are the result of social struggles for the protection of consumers and ...

Up to 60 percent of the Global South’s work force toils in agriculture. Most smallholders and waged agricultural workers labor under poor health, safety and environmental conditions. This volume explores - the extent of the decent work deficit with a focus on women in agriculture, - the drivers of the poor remuneration and working conditions - some strategies for mitigating the decent work deficits. Its contributors argue that the severity of the decent work deficits in agriculture calls for action. Given the divers ...

A new collection of Case studies about gender and trade unions in nine countries, ranging from Turkey to India, Brazil to Africa, the Philippines and New Zealand. Researched and written by insider/outsider union activists and officers, the book is the culmination of five years of collaborative research by the Global Labour University Gender and Trade Unions Research Group.

Numerous uprisings and social movements in recent decades sprawled in seemingly disconnected political landscapes, from Turkey to Brazil, from South Africa to China, from Argentina to Portugal. These social protests centered on issues as varied as the right to affordable transportation, land dispossession or minority rights. The place of the working class in them seemed increasingly insignificant, and the framework of class analysis outdated. But did the concept of class really become obsolete? Are these social ...

Unionists part ways when it comes to the practical meaning of solidarity with workers who lack work permits. To some union members, undocumented migrant workers ought to be included in the bonds of union solidarity by virtue of being workers. To others, undocumented migrant workers are primarily illegal and unfair competitors undermining existing institutions of solidarity. In this controversial context, six union centers for undocumented migrant workers called MigrAr (German "Migration & Arbeit", English "migration ...

Dire working conditions are prevalent in the labor-intensive segments of global supply chains. Pronouncements by governments and corporations that claim to address the plight of workers are plentiful, but the enforcement of social and human rights is lacking. This volume explores the possibilities for better enforcement by: - providing a general overview of the currently considered enforcement instruments; - identifying governmental instruments that are yet to be employed; - assessing the effectiveness of social ...