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The ‘Thatcher revolution’ and its continuation by New Labour make Britain a kind of master model for the neo-liberalization or Americanization of European welfare states. This chapter examines Britain’s new political economy and its links with immigration and ethnic diversity. The development of the specific model of state managed race relations and multiculturalism went parallel to the growth of inequality and the restructuring of the labour force according to the criteria of race, gender, human capital, and legal status. Current debates on the alleged threat from disaffected Muslim youth and the need for social cohesion arise from this failure of British multiculturalism to overcome barriers of race and class, and indicate a search for new forms of social control: less state in economic and social issues is matched by a stronger state in matters of identity and order.

One important source of national identity lies in hierarchical and segmental cultural divisions of labour. These provide a social base for nationalism among territorially concentrated groups. Some sources of cultural divisions of labour are enumerated. Whereas it was once thought that such divisions would attenuate in the face of industrialization and efficient labour markets, this often does not happen.

Deals with some analogies between Adam Smith's and Plato's thought about the division of labour, and Adam Smith's and Aristotle's formulations concerning economic value. The two parts of the chapter survey the existing literature on the subject, and then illustrate analogies and differences between Adam Smith and the two ancient authors both from an analytical and a historical point of view.

This chapter begins by providing an overview of the basic arguments of the dual labour market approach and of previous attempts to construct a formal analytical framework, and, by drawing attention to some important but neglected points, proposes a synthesis with which to understand the working of the labour market. Section 5.1 examines various empirical criticisms of the neoclassical theory, and discusses the need for a new analytical framework as well as the features that must be incorporated into such a framework; the section also serves as an introduction to the theoretical discussion that follows. Section 5.2 considers the determinants of the division of labour and of technology that are treated as exogenous in the neoclassical theory from a historical and political‐economy viewpoint, and also briefly surveys the historical process that gave rise to the internal labour markets of firms ( the key concept in this approach). Section 5.3 discusses the content of the dual labour market hypothesis, and Sect. 5.4 constructs a model of the economy with dual labour markets and analyses the determinants of earnings distribution in the long run, also examining points of controversy with the neoclassical approach. Section 5.5 presents an analytical framework embodying the theory of incentive‐dependent exchange, derives implications on the allocation of employment opportunities and the distribution of earnings, and discusses in what respects this theory competes with the neoclassical theory.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are becoming the key mechanism for the design, production, and operation of capital goods in the UK public sector and elsewhere. This chapter focuses on the central motivations behind the movement towards PPPs, and explores the impact of these new contractual arrangements on innovation in the capital goods sector. The greatest impact of the new arrangements appears to be the emergence of a PPP industry and a new division of labour among private providers and public procurers of capital goods. In addition to its traditional role as designer and builder of systems, the private sector has taken on greater downstream responsibility for the operation and maintenance of systems previously handled in-house by public sector organizations.

The ’new familists’ argue that sociological evidence on the relation between traditional two‐parent nuclear family and positive outcomes for their children justifies public‐policy measures aimed at promoting this type of family. But the success of such families is due to the fact that many other institutional arrangements advantage this type of family. Such a family typically involves a sexist division of domestic labour. A ’critical theory of family structure’ identifies the developmental needs of children and examines the ways in which various family structures can function to meet these needs.

This chapter charts the timing and geographical spread of Japanese foreign direct investment. It discusses different interpretations of the distinctive characteristics of Japanese manufacturing multinationals and the evolution of their internationalization strategies, focusing on the rapid growth of such investment from the mid-1980s and their goals in establishing overseas subsidiaries. It argues that many earlier analyses were too optimistic in their expectations of upgrading, especially in the light of the ebb, flow, and international repositioning of investment as Japanese companies respond to changing economic conditions at home and the wider international division of labour, with its regional rivalries and new centres of low-cost production. Thus, some subsidiaries will remain routine manufacturing plants, some may move up the value chain and others may face contraction or closure. These different trajectories will help shape the production regimes and employment relations of specific subsidiaries, mediating any process of global localization.

Smith's theorem—that the division of labour is limited by the extent of the market—is explained. But there exists another limitation to the division of labour that relates to the nature of the task. Further, the division of labour can be coordinated alternatively by markets or by the coordination mechanisms available within firms that rely heavily on custom. It is argued that coordination within firms entails productivity advantages at the expense of inflexibility in certain dimensions, whereas the market requires standardization of some sort, but is more flexible in other ways.

This chapter examines the meaning of globalization and the debates surrounding the concept. The effects of globalization on the international division of labour and the integration of strategy and management within multinationals are explored. The implications of globalization for national governments and for innovation are considered. The evidence regarding the globalization of innovative activity is assessed.

This chapter describes the actual evolution of the division of professional and family labour in EU countries and some other OECD countries. The evolution from the ‘old combination model’ or ‘survival model’ in the period 1750–1900 to the ‘new’ breadwinner model in the 20th century is summarized. By means of some basic indicators or empirical models that were developed for Flanders/Belgium before, the general development from the strong male breadwinner model in the period 1950–70 to a moderate asymmetric combination model in the period 1985–2005, is discussed. These historical models are briefly compared with other largely similar models. Graphical indicators are presented, each showing a specific aspect or side of the division of labour: the labour situation of the male and female population; the general division of the main activities; professional activity rates of men and women (by age group); the number of hours of professional labour, family labour, leisure time and personal care; and some aspects of the temporal quality of the jobs of men and women.

This chapter discusses two cases where, in cell and insect societies, there is a small reversal, and randomness is brought back to the fore to play a key role in their respective developments. During the course of evolution, the division of labor has arisen a number of times and it is determined in different ways. First there is the conventional method associated with organisms that develop from a single cell, such as an egg that undergoes repeated cleavages with the increase in size. Then, there are those cases where the division of labor arises in separate units, be they cells, as in cellular slime molds, or whole organisms, as in insect societies. What will be novel here is that in these latter cases there can be specially engineered periods of nongenetic or phenotypic variation that play a key role in determining the division of labor. It is a return to randomness—where randomness is put to good use.

This chapter recounts the justifications for the institutional approach, arguing in particular that an institutional focus allows for a way of balancing the demands of justice and the legitimate demands of personal life. The argument is not simply that institutions affect persons’ life prospects profoundly and pervasively from the start. More importantly, it stresses that an exclusive focus on institutions preserves space for individuals to engage in meaningful and valuable personal pursuits. On the reasonable presumption of value pluralism, the institutional approach provides the most plausible demarcation of the site of equality.

Reviews the thesis outlined in the book. Concept formation and learning are tied up with clarity requirements. Clarification shapes preferences and underlies the behavioural, motivational, and cognitive tendencies that give rise to property, the law, and the firm as a social institution and account for the way in which the division of labour is organized in society. There is a pervasive mutual interdependency between many features of society that is brought by the tendency towards clarity that underlies the formation and motivational force of custom.

This chapter argues that there are reasons to try to codify the moral landscape, and that these reasons are recognizably moral. A proper understanding of the nature of historical moral progress bolsters this argument. The task of codifying morality is best understood as a collective one. Like many collective tasks, it is most efficiently pursued with a suitable division of labor. The chapter defends some of the traditional notions of moral theory as aiming for deeper and more unifying explanations where they can plausibly be found.