Provides frameworks and empirical evidence for understanding employment relations in a truly comparative context
Interdisciplinary approach to link together distinct theoretical approaches
There have been numerous accounts exploring the relationship between institutions and firm practices. However, much of this literature tends to be located into distinct theoretical-traditional ’silos’, such as national business systems, social systems of production, regulation theory, or varieties of capitalism, with limited dialogue between different approaches to enhance understanding of institutional effects. Again, evaluations of the relationship between institutions and employment relations have tended to be of the broad-brushstroke nature, often founded on macro-data, and with only limited attention being accorded to internal diversity and details of actual practice. The Handbook aims to fill this gap by bringing together an assembly of comprehensive and high quality chapters to enable understanding of changes in employment relations since the early 1970s. Theoretically-based chapters attempt to link varieties of capitalism, business systems, and different modes of regulation to the specific practice of employment relations, and offer a truly comparative treatment of the subject, providing frameworks and empirical evidence for understanding trends in employment relations in different parts of the world.

1: Adrian Wilkinson, Geoffrey Wood and Richard Deeg : Introduction: Comparative Employment Systems
Section I: Defining the Field
2: Geoffrey Wood and Adrian Wilkinson: Institutions and Employment Relations
3: Harry Katz and Nick Wailes: Convergence and Divergence in Employment Relations
Section II: Institutions and Employment Relations Alternative Accounts, New Insights
4: Cathie Jo Martin: Getting down to business: Varieties of Capitalism and Employment Relations
5: Matt Allen: Business Systems Theory and Employment Relations
6: Robert Boyer: Developments and Extensions of Regulation Theory and Employment Relations
7: Christel Lane and Geoffrey Wood: Capitalist Diversity, Work and Employment Relations
8: Chris Brewster, Marc Goergen and Geoffrey Wood : Ownership Rights and Employment Relations.
9: Glenn Morgan and Marco Hauptmeier: Varrieties of Institutional Theory in Comparative Employment Relations
10: Niall Cullinane: Institutions and the Industrial Relations Tradition
11: Franco Barchiesi: Conflict, Order and Change
Section III: Comparative Evidence
12: Gregory Jackson and Anja Kirsch: Liberal Markets
13: Kristine Nergaard: Social Democratic Capitalism
14: Bob Hancké: Employment Regimes , Wage Setting and Monetary Union in Continental Europe
15: Harald Conrad: Continuity and Change in Asian Employment Systems: A Comparison of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan
16: Martin Myant: Economies Undergoing Long Transition: Employment Relations in Central and Eastern Europe
17: Johann Maree: Employment relations in Africa
18: Jose Aleman: The Left Turn in Latin America: Consequences for Employment Relations
19: Michele Ford: Developing Societies: Asia
20: Frank Horwitz: Employment Relations in the BRICs Countries
Section IV: Substantive Themes
21: Michel Goyer, Juliane Reinecke, and Jimmy Donaghey: Globalization and Labour Market Governance
22: Barbara Pocock: Work, Bodies, Care: Gender and Employment in a Global World
23: Michael Barry, Adrian Wilkinson, Paul J Gollan and Senia Kalfa: Where Are the Voices? New Directions in Voice and Engagement Across the Globe
24: Heidi Gottfried: Insecure Employment: Diversity and Change
25: Samanthi J Gunawardana and Lindah Mhando: The Migration-Development Nexus, Women Workers and Transnational Employment Relations
26: Colin Crouch: The Neo-liberal Turn and the Implications for Labour
Section V: Reflections
27: Guglielmo G Meardi: The State and Employment Relations
28: Peter Fairbrother: Unions
29: Gilton Klerck: Institutions, Management Strategies and HRM
30: Fang Lee Cook and Geoffrey Wood: New Actors in Employment Relations
31: Sabina Avdagic and Lucio Baccaro: The Future of Employment Relations in Advanced Capitalism: Inexorable Decline?