Industrial and Labor Relations Review

Industrial and Labor Relations Review is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published in association with the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and Wiley-Blackwell. The journal has served as a venue for scholarship that intersects with labor movements, collective bargaining, employment law, and industrial organization, attracting contributions from scholars connected to institutions such as Harvard University, University of Chicago, Columbia University, University of Michigan, and London School of Economics. It has been cited alongside work from think tanks like the Brookings Institution, policy bodies such as the U.S. Congress, and international organizations including the International Labour Organization.

History

The journal was established in 1947 at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations during the post-World War II era that included events like the Taft–Hartley Act debates and the restructuring following the Second World War. Early editorial leadership drew on scholars affiliated with Columbia University, Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania, and engaged with studies of unions such as the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Throughout the Cold War, its pages featured analyses framed by occurrences like the Marshall Plan, discussions influenced by figures tied to the New Deal, and comparative work referencing labor regimes in the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. In the 1970s and 1980s the journal published work addressing deindustrialization in regions exemplified by the Rust Belt and policy shifts associated with administrations like those of Richard Nixon and Margaret Thatcher. More recent decades have seen contributions responding to globalization and trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and events like the 2008 financial crisis.

Scope and Content

The Review covers research on collective bargaining, employment law, labor markets, and organizational behavior, attracting submissions that employ methods from scholars at institutions like Stanford University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Wisconsin–Madison. Articles often analyze legislation including the National Labor Relations Act, case law from the Supreme Court of the United States, and policy reports by bodies like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Commission. Comparative studies reference countries such as Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, China, India, and Brazil, while historical inquiries engage archival material tied to events like the Pullman Strike and the Haymarket affair. Interdisciplinary pieces connect to fields represented at centers like the Brookings Institution, the Urban Institute, and the Russell Sage Foundation.

Editorial Structure and Publication Details

The journal operates under an editorial board drawn from universities including Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, University of Toronto, and University of Oxford. It follows peer-review practices similar to those at journals published by Wiley-Blackwell, Cambridge University Press, and Oxford University Press, and is issued on a quarterly schedule aligned with periodicals such as the American Economic Review and the Journal of Labor Economics. Special issues have been guest-edited by scholars from Indiana University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the London School of Economics, focusing on themes like labor law reform tied to cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, technological change exemplified by firms like Amazon (company), and migration flows illustrated by events surrounding the European migrant crisis. Indexing and abstracting services including those maintained by JSTOR, ProQuest, and EBSCO include the journal among other titles in social science collections.

Impact and Reception

The Review has been cited in scholarship alongside landmark works published by authors affiliated with Princeton University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Harvard University Press. Its influence extends to policy debates referenced in hearings before the United States Senate and in reports by the International Labour Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Reviews and citations appear in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and academic venues including the American Journal of Sociology and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. The journal’s standing has been assessed in bibliometric studies that compare citation metrics with journals like the Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society and the British Journal of Industrial Relations.

Notable Articles and Contributions

Notable contributions have included empirical analyses drawing on data sources used by researchers at University of Chicago and Stanford University, theoretical work informed by scholars associated with Yale University and Columbia University, and historical essays referencing episodes like the Homestead Strike and the Coal Wars. Articles in the Review have engaged with labor policy debates surrounding the Fair Labor Standards Act, collective bargaining episodes involving corporations such as General Motors and United Auto Workers, and reform discussions connected to entities like the National Labor Relations Board. The journal has published influential pieces on topics ranging from union decline documented in studies from University of Michigan to gig economy analyses that reference platforms such as Uber (company) and regulatory responses in jurisdictions including California and United Kingdom.

Category:Academic journals Category:Labor studies journals