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John R. Commons and the Wisconsin School on Industrial Relations Strategy and Policy

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  • Bruce E. Kaufman

Abstract

The field of industrial relations in the United States is largely rooted in the early twentieth-century writings of John R. Commons and the Wisconsin School. The author documents and describes their strategy and recommended policy approach for improved industrial relations. The three core components of their strategy were stabilization of markets, equalization of bargaining power, and constitutional government in industrial enterprise. The author also shows that the thinking of Commons and his associates on the best way to achieve these three goals—and, in particular, their view of the appropriate mix of trade unionism, labor law, personnel management, and macroeconomic monetary/fiscal policy—evolved through four distinct phases, starting about 1900 and ending in the late 1930s.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruce E. Kaufman, 2003. "John R. Commons and the Wisconsin School on Industrial Relations Strategy and Policy," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(1), pages 3-30, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:57:y:2003:i:1:p:3-30
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390305700101
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Commons, John R., 1913. "Labor and Administration," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number commons1913.
    2. Charles J. Whalen, 1993. "Saving Capitalism by Making It Good: The Monetary Economics of John R. Commons," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 1155-1179, December.
    3. J. Dennis Chasse, 1994. "The American Association for Labor Legislation and the Institutionalist Tradition in National Health Insurance," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 1063-1090, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Janice Fine & Michael Piore, 2021. "Introduction to a Special Issue on the New Labor Federalism," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(5), pages 1085-1102, October.
    2. Bruce E. Kaufman, 2009. "Promoting Labour Market Efficiency and Fairness through a Legal Minimum Wage: The Webbs and the Social Cost of Labour," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(2), pages 306-326, June.
    3. Susan HAYTER, 2015. "Introduction: What future for industrial relations?," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 154(1), pages 1-4, March.
    4. Bruce E. Kaufman, 2010. "Institutional Economics and the Minimum Wage: Broadening the Theoretical and Policy Debate," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(3), pages 427-453, April.
    5. Drakopoulos, Stavros A. & Katselidis, Ioannis, 2021. "The Old Institutional School and Labour Market Functions and Policies," MPRA Paper 110794, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Ioannis A. Katselidis, 2019. "Institutions, Policy and the Labour Market: The Contribution of the Old Institutional Economics," Economic Thought, World Economics Association, vol. 8, pages 13-30, December.
    7. Korkut Alp Erturk, 2019. "Class Agency Under Conditions of Self-Enforcement: Marx on Capitalists' Common's Problem," Working Paper Series, Department of Economics, University of Utah 2019_01, University of Utah, Department of Economics.
    8. Bruce E. Kaufman, 2016. "Experience with Company Unions and their Treatment under the Wagner Act: A Four Frames of Reference Analysis," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 3-39, January.

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