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“A bridge too far?” Ideas, employment relations and policy‐making about the future of work

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  • Susan Ainsworth
  • Angela Knox

Abstract

Drawing on ideational perspectives, we examine how ideas about the future of work and the discursive forms they take contribute to policy‐making about employment relations and labor markets. Analyzing data from an Australian government Inquiry reporting on the future impact of technological and other work changes, we find that rather than being about these topics, the Inquiry focuses more on actors’ ideas regarding the present state of employment relations and education. Moreover, the incomplete nature of actors’ narratives, particularly about the temporally distant future, may account for government’s unwillingness and/or lack of preparedness to make more radical changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan Ainsworth & Angela Knox, 2022. "“A bridge too far?” Ideas, employment relations and policy‐making about the future of work," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 68-89, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indres:v:61:y:2022:i:1:p:68-89
    DOI: 10.1111/irel.12295
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Glenn Morgan & Marco Hauptmeier, 2021. "The Social Organization of Ideas in Employment Relations," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 773-797, May.
    2. Dani Rodrik, 2014. "When Ideas Trump Interests: Preferences, Worldviews, and Policy Innovations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(1), pages 189-208, Winter.
    3. Balliester, Thereza. & Elsheikhi, Adam., 2018. "The future of work a literature review," ILO Working Papers 994987493402676, International Labour Organization.
    4. David H. Autor, 2015. "Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 3-30, Summer.
    5. Joel Mokyr & Chris Vickers & Nicolas L. Ziebarth, 2015. "The History of Technological Anxiety and the Future of Economic Growth: Is This Time Different?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 31-50, Summer.
    6. Colm McLaughlin & Chris F. Wright, 2018. "The Role of Ideas in Understanding Industrial Relations Policy Change in Liberal Market Economies," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 568-610, October.
    7. Schmidt, Vivien A., 2002. "The Futures of European Capitalism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199253685, Decembrie.
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin B. Carstensen & Christian Lyhne Ibsen & Vivien A. Schmidt, 2022. "Ideas and power in employment relations studies," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 3-21, January.
    2. Julie M É Garneau & Sara Pérez-Lauzon & Christian Lévesque, 2023. "Digitalisation of work in aerospace manufacturing: expanding union frames and repertoires of action in Belgium, Canada and Denmark," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(1), pages 139-154, February.

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