The Work Goes On
An Oral History of Industrial Relations and Labor Economics
In this podcast series of conversations with leading thinkers and practitioners, we are creating an oral history of an entire generation of industrial relations experts and labor economists whose contributions to their fields have been absolutely extraordinary. Hosted by Orley Ashenfelter, the Joseph Douglas Green 1895 Professor of Economics, Emeritus at Princeton University.
Samuel Bowles on his deep interest in the causes of inequality & his work to transform economics
Samuel Bowles, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts and Research Professor and Director of the Behavioral Sciences Program at the Santa Fe Institute, discusses his deep interest in economic inequality and how his work has challenged many of the conventional assumptions of modern economic theory.
Marjorie McElroy on a long academic career and navigating the economics profession as a woman
Marjorie McElroy, Professor of Economics at Duke University, joins the podcast to discuss her long and varied academic career, her research on the economics of marriage and the family, and, especially, the challenges and gender discrimination she faced as, at the time, one of the few female economists pursuing a traditionally male-dominated profession.
Orley Ashenfelter on the “irresistible” pull of policy evaluation & why the IR Section is so special
For the 30th episode of The Work Goes On, we flipped the script and asked our long-time host Orley Ashenfelter, the Joseph Douglas Green 1895 Professor of Economics, Emeritus at Princeton University and former director of Princeton’s Industrial Relations Section (IR Section), to start answering questions instead of asking them. Janet Currie, the Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton and one of Orley’s former students, joins us in this episode as a special guest host.
Ernst Stromsdorfer on studying vocational training in academia, government, and the private sector
Ernst Stromsdorfer, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Washington State University, joins the podcast to discuss his impressive body of research on the impact of labor market programs on different groups of people, and his wide-ranging career across academia, the private sector, and state and federal governments.
David Lewin on employee voice in a capitalist economy and the re-emergence of unionization
David Lewin, the Neil Jacoby Emeritus Professor of Management and Human Resources at UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management. joins the podcast to discuss what sparked his interest in unions and grievance procedures, the Federal Trade Commission's new plan to ban noncompete agreements, and why unionization will re-emerge in the U.S. south and elsewhere.