Three windows on decent work: theories of labour relations

Alternative theories of labour relations frame the central questions regarding the actors and forces shaping work and propose answers to those questions, thus offering divergent definitions of decent work and explanations of where and how it arises. The three main families of such theories are neoclassical, critical, and institutionalist. Neoclassical theories centre rational optimization by individual workers and employers, as regulated by markets. Critical theories, including Marxian, feminist, critical race, and Foucauldian frameworks, centre systemic inequality and oppression falling along categorical lines, linking economic, social, and political power imbalances. Institutionalist perspectives centre the changeable institutions regulating labour relations, institutions that vary extensively across time, space, and even sections of the labour market. This essay considers each theory’s approach to power, skill and productivity; each’s application to regulation and informality, and to categorical inequality; each perspective’s main normative views; and finally each framework’s way of thinking about decent work.