Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-First Century.

• Position: Bureau Books - Book Review

Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Richard B. Freeman, Joni Hersch, and Lawrence Mishel, is available from the University of Chicago Press for $65.00

Private-sector unionism, which historically has represented and advocated on behalf of workers in capitalist economies, is in decline in the United States. As a result, labor advocates, community groups, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals concerned with the well-being of workers have sought to develop alternative ways to represent workers' interests. And, unions have undertaken new campaigns and initiatives to arrest the decline in their organizations and to strengthen their ability to help workers. This NBER Conference Volume provides the first in-depth assessment of how effectively labor market institutions are responding to this drastically altered landscape.

The contributors to this volume provide case studies of new labor market institutions and new directions for existing institutions. The...