ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book demonstrates the continuing vibrancy and relevance of the institutionalist approach to labor economics. It discusses John R. Commons, probably the most famous institutionalist labor economist and certainly the most influential. Institutionalist labor economics was the dominant approach to labor in the United States until the 1960s, when mathematical and abstract approaches to economics became more influential. Many researchers are especially interested in issues of corporate power, income inequality, and labor market policy and are often active in pursuing reform of public policy in the best tradition of John R. Commons and his students. The book considers theoretical critiques of the ubiquitous neoclassical labor market in which labor demand is derived from marginal productivity theory and labor supply is the outcome of an individual worker's utility choices on the allocation of time. It is designed to demonstrate the institutionalist approach in practice.
