Abstract

Regulatory reform in the late 1970s and early 1980s vastly transformed the labor market for transportation workers. Most research in this area focuses on the effect of deregulation on the earnings of nonmanagement company workers in airline, trucking and rail. Deregulation of transportation industries, though, has had a broader effect on workers. For instance, deregulation also influences workers’ hours worked per week, working conditions, worker safety, and a host of other labor issues. Deregulation might also influence the earnings of managers and self-employed workers in transportation industries. Examining these issues is valuable because such analysis provides a more complete assessment of labor market changes following the shift to a more market oriented business environment.

Transportation Labor Issues and Regulatory Reform adds to the debate on deregulation’s influence on transportation labor markets by presenting empirical evidence on an array of labor market outcomes in transportation industries. Contributions to this volume are categorized by their analysis on worker safety, working conditions and employment opportunities, and by their analysis on managerial and self-employed earnings
"a pleasant surprise...covers the topic well and in a logical order...refreshingly concise introduction...the book is worthwhile...analyzes a range of issues that have continuing importance...a rich case study...of value to researchers and practitioners in transportation, human resources management, safety, and industrial organization. [Rich's article is] an excellent treatment of an extremely worthwhile, but complex, topic. I recommend it to you and will insist on it for my students."
Richard Beilock, University of Florida, Journal of Transportation and Statistics, Vol.7/2-3, 2004.