2024’s Most Noteworthy Books in Industrial Relations and Labor Economics
In an annual tradition, Section members selected the most noteworthy books in the field of labor economics from 2024. Their comments about each book are included. There were no award winners chosen this year.
Title: Harnessing Technology for Inclusive Prosperity: Contemporary Work and Employment in Britain
Authors: Coulibaly, Brahima and Quereshi, Zia
Publisher: Brookings Institution
Comments: “The sentiment was unanimous among us about Coulibaly’s and Qureshi’s skillfully crafted views on the challenges of new technologies and their impact work, inequality, and economic growth.”
Title: Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value
Authors: Fasteau, Marc and Fletcher, Ian
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Comments: “Fasteau and Fletcher drew us in with their sound argument for a robust industrial policy that will strengthen, prosper, and secure the American economy.”
Title: Alt-Labor and the New Politics of Workers’ Rights
Author: Galvin, Daniel J.
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
Comments: “Galvin’s insight into these Alternative or Alt-Labor groups was impressive because he taught a few of us something new about finding creative ways to organize and protect marginalized workers from exploitation.”
Title: The Manufacturing of Job Displacement: How Racial Capitalism Drives Immigrant and Gender Inequality in the Labor Market
Author: Lopez – Sanders, Laura
Publisher: New York University Press
Comments: “We appreciate the healthy debates about the effects of replacing American workers with undocumented employees to improve costs and boost production.”
Title: Who We Are Is Where We Are
Author: LeQuieu, Amanda McMillan
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Comments: “Lequieu’s examination of deindustrialization captured us as she carefully unpacked why people continue to live and work in declining areas.”
Title: The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor
Author: Nolan, Hamilton
Publisher: Hatchette Books
Comments: “We agreed that Nolan did a fine job of discussing the transformative power of labor solidarity; and pinpointed how to tap into its revolutionary potential.”
Title: The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World
Author: Pugh, Allison
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Comments: “The concept of connective labor resonated strongly with us as a solution to restore humanity rather than jeopardizing it with artificial intelligence and labor-saving technologies.”
Title: Making It in America
Author: Slade, Rachel
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Comments: “We generated a lot of buzz in the reading room about Slade’s contemporary take on the likelihood of manufacturing a hoodie exclusively in America.”
Title: Thanks for Nothing: The Economics of Single Motherhood Since 1980
Authors: Wolfinger, Nicholas H. and McKeever, Matthew
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Comments: “We were intrigued by how this male author explores the poverty gap between children born to single mothers with this unique data-driven approach.”