The Course of Research into the Economic Consequences of German Works Councils

In her recent survey, Carola Frege concludes that economic analysis of the works council has reached a 'dead end'. The present paper offers a very different assessment. The evolving economic literature is shown to follow three distinct phases, the last of which contains some of the most positive evaluations to date of works council impact on establishment performance. Although these estimates are exaggerated, and the effects of works councils are likely to be small on average, the new literature redirects our research focus towards factors producing swings around this average, including differences in works council types and their workplace environments. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2004.

Finance, corporate governance, and the management of Labour: a conceptual and comparative analysis

This article explores links between the firm's financial structure, corporate governance, and the management of labour. It reviews various literatures, in particular drawing from financial economics and political economy, and combines these with industrial relations, and human resource management. We develop a model that identifies how financial institutions and pressures impact upon labour management. Managerial discretion is at the centre of the model, and six key influences and constraints upon management are identified. We present evidence from comparative analysis of labour management which illustrates how management decisions and practices are affected. A benefit of this approach is that it can take account of within-country variations