ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the impact of the post-Fordist mode of capitalist accumulation on the labor force participation of a subordinate group in comparison with the dominant one. It investigates the changing patterns of labor force participation of Jewish and Arab men following the increasing trend of economic liberalization in Israel. The Israeli state has always treated joblessness and unemployment with special care, since high unemployment could deter potential Jewish migrants from arriving to Israel, thus causing the failure of one prime objective of the state, namely the ingathering of Jews. The period of 1975–1996 witnessed a gradual decline in the labor force participation of men in Israel. The participation rate among Arab men has been, through out this period, higher than among Jewish men. The chapter investigates the causes that lead to withdrawal from the labor market by focusing on the individual-level factors that render certain individuals more susceptible than others to labor force dropout.
