Job insecurity in China, France and Japan during their periods of rapid growth: a comparison across time and space

Speakers: Bernard Thomann (IFRAE) and Gilles Guiheux (CESSMA)
Discussant: Florence Weber (Centre Maurice Halbwachs)

A collectively authored book will be presented, the result of in-depth fieldwork in history and sociology carried out in China, Japan and France. It explores the evolution of working and living conditions in industrialised societies that have attained a certain level of wealth within the space of a few decades, with the aim of offering a more nuanced view of the changes experienced by the working population in their daily lives. Whilst economic growth is generally associated with an improvement in workers’ living standards, China’s trajectory over the last thirty years has not put an end to precariousness amongst the working class. By examining changes in working and living conditions, as well as how stakeholders in labour relations and experts perceive precariousness, the book challenges the assumption that rapid growth automatically leads to widespread security for the working population.

Organiser: Justine Rochot (Ifrae/CNRS) View e-mail