Industries, Firms, and Jobs: Sociological and Economic Approaches PDF
Preview Industries, Firms, and Jobs: Sociological and Economic Approaches
Industries, Firms, and Jobs Sociological and Economic Approaches PLENUM STUDIES IN WORK AND INDUSTRY Series Editors: Ivar Berg, Universily of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Arne L. Kalleberg, Universily of Norlh Carolina, Chupel Hili, Norlh Carolina WORK AND INDUSTRY Strudures, Markets, and Processes Ame L. Kalleberg and Ivar Berg ENSURING MINORITY SUCCESS IN CORPORA TE MANAGEMENT Edited by Donna E. Thompson and Nancy DiTomaso INDUSTRIES, FIRMS, AND JOBS Sociological and Economic Approaches Edited by George Farkas and Paula England MA TERNAL EMPLOYMENT AND CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT Longitudinal Research Edited by Adele Eskeles Gottfried and Allan W. Gottfried WORKERS, MANAGERS, AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE Emerging Patterns of Labor Relations Edited by Daniel B. Cornfield A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon actual shipment. For further information please contad the publisher. Industries, Firms, and Jobs Sociological and Economic Approaches Edited by George Farkas and Paula England Universily of Texas al Dallas Richardson, Texas With a Foreword by Michael Piore Massachusells Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusells Springer Science+Business Media, LLC Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Industries, firms, and jobs: sociological and economic approaches I edited by George Farkas and Paula England. p. cm.-(Plenum studies in work and industry) Includes bibliographies and index. ISBN 978-1-4899-3538-0 ISBN 978-1-4899-3536-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-3536-6 1. Work. 2. Labor supply. 3. Industry. I. Farkas, George, 1946- . 11. England, Paula. ill. Series. HD4904.I57 1988 88-14858 331.l2-dc19 CIP © 1988 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1988 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1988 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher Contributors Robert T. Averitt, Department of Economics, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts Margaret Barton, Systems Research and Applications Corporation, Arling ton, Virginia E. M. Beck, Department of Sodology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia Ivar Berg, College of Arts and Sdences, University of Pennsylvania, Phila delphia, Pennsylvania Ronald L. Breiger, Department of SOdology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York Glenna S. Colclough, Department of Sodology, University of Alabama Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama William T. Dickens, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California Nancy DiTomaso, Rutgers Graduate School of Management, Newark, New Jersey Paula England, School of Sodal Sdences, University of Texas-Dallas, Richard son, Texas George Farkas, School of Sodal Sdences, University of Texas-Dallas, Richard son, Texas William Form, Department of Sodology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Mark Granovetter, Department of Sodology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York v vi Contributors Randy Hodson, Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana Jerry A. Jacobs, Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Phila delphia, Pennsylvania Ame L. Kalleberg, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel HilI, North Carolina Robert L. Kaufman, Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, Colum bus, Ohio Kevin Lang, Department of Economics, Boston University, Boston, Massa chusetts Toby L. Parcel, Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Leann Tigges, Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Department of Sociology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina Michael Wallace, Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, Colum bus, Ohio Oliver E. Williamson, Yale University Law School, New Haven, Connecticut Foreword This book is a welcome reassertion of an old tradition of interdisdplinary research. That tradition has tended to atrophy in the last decade, largely because of an enormous expansion of the domain of neoc1assical economics. The expansion has fed on two sdentific developments: first, human capital theory; second, contract theory. Both developments have taken phenomena critical to the operation of the economy but previously understood in terms of categories separate and distinct from those with which economists generally work and sought to apply the same analytical techniques that we use to understand other economic problems. Human capital theory has applied conventional techniques to questions of labor supply. It began this endeavor with the supply of trained labor and then expanded to a general theory of labor supply by broadening the analysis to the allocation of time over the individual's life, the interdependendes of supply decisions within the family, and finally to the formation of the family itself. Similarly, contract theory has moved from a theory that explains the existence of c10sed economic institutions to a theory of their formation and internaioperation. The hallmark of both of these developments is the extension and applica tion of analytical techniques based on purposive maximization under con traints and the interaction of individual decision makers through a com petitive market or its analogue. Some of the chapters in this volume reassert an earlier position, that the behavioral assumptions and analytical techniques of conventional neo c1assical economics apply to only a limited range of human experience. Out side that range, one must understand behavior in other terms. This position was hence much more tolerant of interdisciplinary approaches to sodal prob lems, but it has been fatally flawed by the fact that the predse domain of the conventional assumptions was never delineated. Thus although the existence of certain limits was widely accepted, the limits themselves were never de fined. In the place of a c1ear definition, the boundary was policed by sodal processes within the profession itself, and the logical flaw was covered by the ridicule and scorn that were heaped on people who moved economics beyond the "appropriate" boundaries. vii viii Foreword A chief victim of this approach was Gary Becker, who is the pioneer in applying economic theory to the family, crime, and altruism, all once consid ered to lie within the realm of sociology. This no doubt accounts for the tone of the introduction to his book, Economics 0/ Human Behavior, that of a hurt outsider, which belies his present position of preeminence among labor econ omists. It is ironic that Becker shares much in common in this regard with the left-wing radical economists. They were treated with much the same scorn and ridicule, and for much the same reason: they too sought to transgress the traditional boundaries that separated economics from other behavior. But if Becker's sin was to move economics into the realm of sociology, the sin of the radicals was to move sociology into economics. One can wonder whether in the long run, researchers can avoid the question of defining exactly what the boundaries of conventional economic assumptions are. The chapters in this volume show that, for the time being at least, the social strictures of the past have been overcome and it is again possible for economists to work with sociologists and to explore a range of alternative behavioral assumptions without calling into question one' s disciplinary credentials. Michael Piore Cambridge, Massachusetts Preface What are the links among industrial structure, segmentation, the internal structure of firms, job characteristics, technology, productivity, labor mar kets, and product markets? These questions cross the borders of sociology and economics. This volume presents articles by sociologists and economists working along this border, and sometimes crossing it. The chapters demon strate the overlap in the topics explored by sociologists and economists, even while they remind us of the continuing differences between the disciplines. In our concluding essay we delineate these differences, while sketching the terms of a possible integration. To put this volume in the context of the series of books on Work and Industry of which it is apart, we begin with an essay by the editors of the series, Ivar Berg and Arne Kalleberg. This essay, "Work Structures and Mar kets," presents a set of analytic categories developed in their book, Work and Industry: Structures, Markets, and Processes, which began the series. Kalleberg and Berg propose a multidimensional view that examines such work struc tures as states, classes, occupations, industries, firms, and unions. They ar gue that work structures affect and are affected by markets for products, capital, natural resources, and labor. What we see as important in this argu ment is that, while sociologists and ever more economists may dispute ex treme versions of the economic market model, this does not suggest that market forces are unimportant to the understanding of the organization and rewards of work. Indeed, economic reasoning about market forces is neces sary to explain new structuralist findings, even while such findings present an anomaly for some parts of the orthodox neoclassical market model. We thank Ivar Berg and Arne Kalleberg for encouraging us to pursue this project and make it apart of their book series. We are also grateful to the "Problems of the Discipline" grant program of the American Sociological Association for supporting the conference at University of Texas-Dallas for which the chapters by Averitt; Lang and Dickens; Farkas, England, and Bar ton; Williamson; Granovetter; and Hodson were prepared. The conference, organized by us and an economist, Margaret Barton, provided the rare event of sociologists and economists discussing their differences and prospects for integration face to face. Most of the remaining chapters in this volume were presented at a session of the 1986 American Sociological Association meetings ix
The list of books you might like
