Title: Inequality and labor processes.

POPLINE Document Number: 201483

Author(s):

Granovetter M
Tilly C

Source citation:

In: Handbook of sociology, [edited by] Neil J. Smelser. Newbury Park, California, Sage Publications, 1988. :175-221.

Abstract:

The authors argue that inequalities associated with labor result from bargaining and conflict among workers, capitalists, households, organizations, and governments over the ranking of positions and the sorting of individuals and groups into those ranked positions in the 3 areas of employment categories, jobs, and labor markets. This conflict is carried out within the limits of the contenders' interpersonal networks and the resources found within those networks which are, in turn, profoundly influenced by such demographic matters as population age structure and flows of immigration, and such macroeconomic conditions as the level of aggregate demand, the composition of demand for particular products, the looseness or tightness of the labor market, and the dispensability of particular types of labor. The authors veer away from the quest for One Big Equation specifying relations between labor processes and inequality toward a series of simultaneous contingent relationships. They point to complex relationships surrounding bargaining, resources, and the means of collective action. The links that they draw between their arguments and some of the most vital current traditions in sociology and history hold the promise that the study of inequality and labor processes will break out of its isolation from other sociological problems and be seen as a special case of questions to be asked in many other contexts.

Keywords:

Global
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Labor Force
Job Description
Population Characteristics
Population Dynamics
Inequalities
Manpower Needs
Marxism
Capitalism
Needs
Human Resources
Economic Factors
Personnel Management
Management
Organization and Administration
Demographic Factors
Population
Socioeconomic Factors
Socialism
Political Systems