Minimum Wages, Collective Bargaining and Economic Development in Asia and Europe ― A Labour Perspective

Minimum Wages, Collective Bargaining and Economic Development in Asia and Europe offers a labour perspective on wage-setting institutions, collective bargaining and economic development. Sixteen country chapters, eight on Asia and eight on Europe, focus in particular on the role and effectiveness of minimum wages in the context of national trends in income inequality, economic development, and social security. Two chapters on Asia and Europe compare and contrast national experiences and discuss the relevance of a redistributive wages policy for worldwide as well as national economic recovery. Demand or wage-led economic recovery is explored as an alternative to the export-led strategies currently pursued by leading Asian and European countries. In light of the slow pace of recovery from recession in Europe, the renewed recession in Japan and the weakening growth rates of major Asian countries, this book provides a timely reconsideration of the macroeconomic policy options. As such, it contributes to the wider debate over sustainable economic growth and income inequality.

Maarten van Klaveren is an economist and researcher at the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS). He has taken part in many European and worldwide research projects. He co-authored Empowering Women in Work in Developing Countries (2012) and Multinational Companies and Domestic Firms in Europe (2013).

Denis Gregory is a labour economist and Director of the Trade Union Research Unit, Oxford, UK. For many years he taught International Labour and Trade Union Studies at Ruskin College, UK, and provided support to trade union negotiators in a variety of industries and services. He co-authored Multinational Companies and Domestic Firms in Europe (2013).

Thorsten Schulten is an economist at the Economic and Social Research Institute (WSI) in the Hans Bockler Foundation, Dusseldorf, Germany. He has been involved in many international and European research projects. He is a leading researcher in the field of comparing and evaluating the development of minimum wages across Europe.