International Labour Migration: Foreign Workers and Public Policy

by D. Bartram

Overview

Studies of international labour migration typically assume that foreign labour is a universal feature of wealthy economies. Exploitation of foreign workers can contribute significantly to employers' profits. However, some wealthy societies do not import workers on a large scale, despite employers' pressures. Using Israel and Japan as empirical cases, this comparative-historical work investigates why some governments allow employers relatively free access to foreign labour, while others require alternative responses to labour shortages. A focus on variation leads to an innovative and insightful argument to explain international labour migration.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349523863
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	01/01/2005
Edition description:	1st ed. 2005
Pages:	199
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

DAVID BARTRAM teaches in Sociology at the University of Reading. He taught previously at Haverford College and Colorado College in the USA.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures Acknowledgements INTRODUCTION Specification of the Problem The Need for a New Approach The Basic Argument Research Strategy Normative Interlude Plan of the Book LABOR MIGRATION IN THE POSTWAR PERIOD Concepts: From Intuition to Greater Precision Empirical Applications Foreign Workers in Wealthy Countries Conclusion FOREIGN WORKERS POLICY IN ISRAEL Policy Making in Israel Palestines from the Occupied Territories Israel's New Foreign Labor Force The Failure to Attract Israelis to Construction The Decision to Import Construction Labor Outcomes: Enhanced Profits for Contractors and Others Foreign Workers in Agriculture Conclusion ALTERNATIVES TO FOREIGN LABOR IN JAPAN Japan in the Labor Migration Literature Before the Oil Shock - Was Japan Different? Official and Private Perceptions of the Problem Substitutes for Foreign Labor Economic Policy and State Governance Conclusion LABOR MIGRATION, SOCIAL MEMBERSHIP, AND RACE Foreign Labor and Social Membership The Perspective of Sending Countries Appendix Notes References Index