"Labour, Globalisation and The New Economy" - rldwl

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Workshop 2 - New Forms of Economic Activities Chairman: Gian Primo Cella The aim of this work group is to discuss and to analyse how some emerging forms of economic activities diverge from the canonical categories of market and state intervention, for some aspects pointing out the persisting validity of the well known Polanyian model of the three forms of exchange (reciprocity, redistribution, market). We refer for instance to the growth of third (non profit) sector in the production of goods and services (even financial) both in the North and in the South of the world, in order to support the creation of new jobs and to improve the quality of services and goods, as well as working conditions in a framework of sustainable development. Besides, we are also witnessing that even within the market, new ways of organising the economic activities are blurring the boundaries between the "world of make" and the "world of buy" (as sketched in the seminal work of Coase in the 1930s). This is the typical situation created through the widespread practices of outsourcing, contracting-out, and partnership agreements. Something similar is also happening in connection with the increasing relevance of atypical or non standard work, since it allows the possibility for companies to use "autonomous" workers inside their own hierarchical structure, avoiding the transaction costs involved by contract definition. Finally, it is often misleading to consider the privatisation process boomed in the two latest decades as a simple, inevitable and due transition from the state to the market (as usually maintained by the neo-liberist ideology). In fact, it is rather a process of creation of new forms of regulation, which remain mid-way between state intervention and market. This is the case, for example, of the privatisation and liberalisation of public utilities. All of these three configurations emphasize the importance of institutions, as well as the role of social networks in the organization of economic activities and often have a regional dimension. In this work group we expect papers discussing case studies and relevant experiences in different economic environments but also papers on theoretical issues Programme Francesca Degiuli, University of California at Santa Barbara: The Development of Temporary Work in Italy (tent.) Manfred Fuchs, University of Graz/Austria: The Polarization and Differentiation of Employment and the Use of Idiosyncratic Knowledge Roy Green, University of Galway, Ireland: Structural Reform, Industry Policy and Labour Markets in Europe Zemfira Kalugina, Russia: Entrepreneurship as a New Form of Economic Activities in the Russian Countryside Julia M. Rozanova, Gorbatchev Foundation, Moscow/Russia: Big Russian Corporations: Sharing the Responsibility for Social Development and Participation in Social Policy Pascale Peters (University of Utrecht), Kea Tijdens (University of Amsterdam), Cécile Wetzels (TNO, all The Netherlands): Factors in Employees’ Telecommuting Opportunities, Preferences and Practices. Roberto Pedersini, University of Milano/Italy: Privatisation: Limits and Paradoxes of Changing Regulation Regimes Cali Nuur, National Institute of Working Life, Sweden: An Explanatory Case Study of Call Centers Firms in Ljusdal Jochen Tholen, University of Bremen/Germany: Knowledge and Networks of Young Self- Employed in Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine. Cultural and Social Capital as a Basis for Economic Capital Richard Harris, California State University, Monterey Bay/USA: The National and Global Effects of the California Energy Crisis and the Enron debacle Diego Coletto, Italy: An Example of Atypical Economic Activity: Door to Door Sellers in Brazil Gian Primo Cella Università degli Studi di Milano Dipartimento di Sociologia Via del Conservatorio, 7 I-20122 Milano Fax +39 02 58358840 gianprimo.cella@unimi.it 8 - 14 May 2002
Workshops 3 & 5 The Role of institutions in the process of local and regional development & Building an Early Warning Business Development Network Chairmen: Rainer Zoll & Dan Swinney That institutions matter is not the question. But how do they implement their role? The renewed interest for the praxis, structure and problems of institutions leads us to pose the question of the relationship between local and regional development and all sorts of institutions, mainly intermediate institutions and institutions which refer to labour in some way. What is the role institutions play in these processes? It is obvious that institutions can contribute in positive or in negative ways to local and regional development. The question is only the quality of the intervention. So the first step is the description of such events, of such interventions in order to discover the factors that hinder or favour development. The next step is still partly descriptive, partly analytical: who are the involved institutions, what is their character, what are their aims, their structures, even some historical hints can be helpful; to know about their strategies for action, their social composition, the role of different actors involved and so on. The third step is of course understanding. The hermeneutic task is to try to discover why and how some institutions play a positive role in development, intervene in creative and innovative ways and others not or worse, hinder development. This third step is not forcibly the task of the contributors in their papers. Of course there will be some tentative of understanding in the contributions - it is always difficult to retain oneself. But the main task of the workshop ( and perhaps of consecutive workshops ) should be just this ( and not the presentation of the papers ): A collective hermeneutic effort should try to find out what are the factors in institutions that foster innovation and creativity and what are the factors that hinder them. So what is asked for from the contributions is a thorough description of the role of institutions in processes of local and regional development. A major focus of the Center for Labor and Community Research (CLCR) has been the retention of industrial jobs. We are typically called by unions, community organizations or city government when a company has announced its plans to close. We have analyzed hundreds of manufacturing companies, and developed a variety of strategies to save companies and jobs over the last twenty years. We have found some companies that needed to close because their product or processes were antiquated. On the other hand, we found most companies fell victim to a narrow or ineffective business strategy, or a strategy that had other objectives than sustaining production in a particular site. It was not the “market”or “global competition” or some insurmountable problem that placed the company in a crisisBbut a problem that could be solved by labor, business, and government. For example, in a Chicago study of 800 small companies, we found that 40% of these companies were at risk only because of succession in ownership problemBa problem that could be solved through identifying a local entrepreneur or perhaps an employee buyout. We also found many larger companies closing or moving because of narrow, ineffective, or destructive business strategies such as “milking the cash cow” or a number of strategies that we call “Low Road”. These strategies can be effectively challenged. In Chicago, 3,000 out of 7,000 factories closed in the 1980s resulting in a loss of 150,000 basic manufacturing jobs. This dramatic “de-industrialization” happened in all major US cities and was the foundation for character of US urban poverty. Based on our experience and research, we are confident that 75% of these companies and jobs could have been saved had labor, business, and local government been more creative, determined and responsible. Early Warning Networks are an essential first step in retention. The key factor to save these companies is the availability of timely and accurate information. An Early Warning Business Development Network gathers information on companies through extensive research and from its members’ first-hand knowledge. These networks typically are a coalition involving the labor movement, local government, community-based organizations, local businesses and business organizations, civic organizations, churches and others. This Network can gather and organize information about a community’s existing businesses with sufficient lead time to identify those companies at risk of moving or 9 - 14 May 2002
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"Labour, Globalisation and The New Economy" - rldwl

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