The “Compulsive Shift” to Institutional Concerns in Recent Labor Economics
Author(s)
Kinnear, Douglas
Abstract
While it may be debated whether Myrdal’s prediction has come true in other areas of the discipline, it has been partially realized in labor economics. This paper discusses the evolving employment relation of the post-World War II era and the recent changes in that relation – such as the breakdown of the postwar accord that is demonstrated by attacks on organized labor and the rise of contingent employment – that have posed difficulties for mainstream labor analysis. The responses to this paradigmatic crisis, which have resulted in a resurgence of institutionalist methods, will then be discussed.
