Cada año se produce una negociación institucional que afecta a millones de personas y familias en aspectos tan importantes como los salarios, las jornadas de trabajo, los despidos, las promociones, los traslados, la formación o las vacaciones. Son las relaciones de trabajo, vocablo este último, no nos olvidemos, que procede etimológicamente de la raíz latina tripalium o gran esfuerzo con que se roturaban las tierras con el arado romano. En este contexto, el libro tiene la firme intención de ahondar en algunos de los problemas fundamentales de lo que se considera el núcleo duro de dichas relaciones. El hilo principal que atraviesa la investigación de las relaciones laborales apunta a que el trabajo es más que una mercancía y un conjunto de recursos humanos. Del mismo modo, una suposición crítica que subyace en la obra es la existencia de un conflicto de intereses inherente entre empleados, empleadores y Estado que proviene de un choque de intereses económicos. El punto fuerte de esta obra es presentar una visión particular del mercado laboral español, fundamentalmente desde el ángulo de la negociación colectiva, las reformas laborales, la influencia de los mercados mundiales de la economía, que en su tiempo se denominó división internacional del trabajo, posteriormente globalización y en la actualidad cadenas de valor global; del uso y efectos de las tecnologías de la información y comunicación, que conducen las relaciones de trabajo hacia la transformación digital; del papel que desempeñan los sindicatos, en tanto que instituciones laborales y actores sociales; del rol de los empresarios como actores unitarios de negociación a partir de una evolución corporativista; de la formación continua, necesaria a lo largo de la vida laboral y de la actualización de los conocimientos de la fuerza de trabajo; de las habilidades y competencias necesarias para unos recursos humanos que se han quedado obsoletos y que se debaten entre la oferta y la demanda en lo que se conoce como desajuste; y, finalmente, del encaje de la inmigración y, más en concreto, de la situación de la población inmigrante que busca incorporarse al mercado laboral español.

This book helps connect the dots between economic theory, the role of capabilities, the lessons from history and the practical challenges of design and implementation of industrial policies. In so doing it provides an excellent policy roadmap for anyone interested in the challenge of promoting catch-up growth and productive transformation.

What is the proper subject matter of political theory? What kind of a theory is political theory? Uncertainty about the most appropriate way of answering these questions provides the key rationales for this volume: to provide a comprehensive overview of the central questions and debates in contemporary political thought and to offer guidelines for the reformation of political theory made necessary by the philosophical and substantive problems it faces today. The twelve essays in this book examine some of the classic traditional questions of political theory: the nature of obligation, equality, liberty, the public, the private, democracy, and justice. They also examine questions that relate these notions to a broader framework encompassing the many recent changes in the nation-state, forms of sovereignty, domestic and international law, violence and warfare, and domestic and international political economy. The contributors are leading scholars in political theory from the United States, Europe, and Africa: Samara Amin, Charles Beitz, Antonio Cassese, John Dunn, Jon Elster, David Held, Agnes Heller, Steven Lukes, Iain McLean, Claus Offe, Susan Moller Okin, Onora O'Neill and Ulrich K

There is long-standing debate on how population growth affects national economies. A new report from Population Matters examines the history of this debate and synthesizes current research on the topic. The authors, led by Harvard economist David Bloom, conclude that population age structure, more than size or growth per se, affects economic development, and that reducing high fertility can create opportunities for economic growth if the right kinds of educational, health, and labor-market policies are in place. The report also examines specific regions of the world and how their differing policy environments have affected the relationship between population change and economic development.

Understanding Computers and Cognition presents an important and controversial new approach to understanding what computers do and how their functioning is related to human language, thought, and action. While it is a book about computers, Understanding Computers and Cognition goes beyond the specific issues of what computers can or can't do. It is a broad-ranging discussion exploring the background of understanding in which the discourse about computers and technology takes place. Understanding Computers and Cognition is written for a wide audience, not just those professionals involved in computer design or artificial intelligence. It represents an important contribution to the ongoing discussion about what it means to be a machine, and what it means to be human. Book jacket.

A New York roofer requests payment in cash. A Bogota car mechanic sets up "shop" on a quiet side street. Four Mexican immigrants assemble semiconductors in a San Diego home. A Leningrad doctor sells needed medicine to a desperate patient. All are part of a growing worldwide phenomenon that is widely known but little understood. The informal or underground economy is thriving today, not only in the Third World countries where it was first reported and studied but also in Eastern Europe and the developed nations of the West. The Informal Economy is the first book to bring together studies from all three of these settings and to integrate them into a coherent theoretical framework. Taking an international perspective, the authors dispel a number of misconceptions about the informal economy. They make clear, for instance, that it is not solely a province of the poor. Cutting across social strata, it reflects a political and economic realignment between employers and workers and a shift in the regulatory mission of the government. Throughout, the authors' theoretical observations serve not only to unify material from diverse sources but also to map out directions for further research.