Christopher Kollmeyer | University of Aberdeen (original) (raw)

Papers by Christopher Kollmeyer

Sociology of Development

This study draws on world-systems theory to generate new explanations for the uneven patterns of ... more This study draws on world-systems theory to generate new explanations for the uneven patterns of civil violence found in the world today. A large and well-developed literature shows that low-income countries with stagnant economies and undemocratic political systems are the most susceptible to outbreaks of civil violence. This literature, however, fails to consider how countries are positioned relative to the structures of global capitalism. By contrast, world-systems theory has long emphasized that a country’s position within the international division of labor shapes many of its domestic outcomes, including those related to development and democratization. Combining these two literatures suggests that “world-system position” has direct and indirect effects on civil violence, with the indirect effects being mediated by development, democratization, and related factors. Drawing on a sample of 152 countries observed from 1970 to 2018 and using high-quality data on major incidences of...

Contemporary Sociology, Aug 26, 2014

... were presented. Finally, we would like to thank Michael Edwards and particularlyEvgeniya Plot... more ... were presented. Finally, we would like to thank Michael Edwards and particularlyEvgeniya Plotnikova for excellent research assistance. Jochen Clasen and Daniel Clegg Page 8. This page intentionally left blank Page 9. Table ...

Critical Sociology, 2003

The social science literature contains competing theories on the relationship between economic gl... more The social science literature contains competing theories on the relationship between economic globalization and class compromise. According to supporters of the “strong globalization thesis,” over the last few decades many important national-level economic processes have been subsumed into a worldwide “borderless” economy in which global market forces, rather than electorates, now dictate national economic policy. This argument implies that globalization has significantly eroded the ability of democratic governance to create a genuine class compromise. Conversely, supporters of the “weak globalization thesis” maintain that the strong version of globalization is largely a “myth,” and that as a result national economic policy geared towards egalitarianism is still possible. After analyzing changes in four social and political indicators associated with class compromise — for 16 advanced capitalist countries over the period of 1960 to 1999 — I find qualified support for the weak globa...

International Journal of Comparative Sociology

This study examines trade union decline in light of concurrent changes in the demographic and sec... more This study examines trade union decline in light of concurrent changes in the demographic and sectoral composition of labor markets. Drawing on classical sociology and contemporary scholarship on work and employment, the author theorizes that the emergence of post-industrial work settings coupled with more socially diverse workforces make labor organizing more difficult than prior research recognizes. Operating through various mechanisms, these factors are thought to hinder the development of solidarity among workers and direct employment growth toward previously unorganized parts of the economy. Using panel data on 18 countries from 1960 to 2015, these ideas are tested with regression models that capture labor market changes indicative of post-industrial capitalism—measured by changes in deindustrialization, foreign-born population, and female share of employment. The results support the theoretical argument, with counterfactual estimates suggesting that labor market changes occurr...

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2012

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2020

Work, Employment and Society, 2007

This article examines the labor control processes being implemented in Italy's recently devel... more This article examines the labor control processes being implemented in Italy's recently developed temporary help industry. The social science literature generally predicts that voluntary forms of labor control require genuine compromises between management and its workforce. Based on interviews, observational field-work, and analysis of industry documents, the authors compare this expectation against the details of the Italian case. Overall, they find that management is attempting to build consensus not by granting temporary workers meaningful concessions, as the literature would generally suggest, but rather by reframing temporary work as a viable opportunity for upward social mobility, and reinforcing these ideological messages with coercion when needed.These findings suggest that ideological power may play a larger role in the labor control process than previously recognized, and that Gramsci's theory of ideological hegemony deserves greater attention from scholars studyi...

Social Problems, 2004

This study examines contradictory claims about the news media's coverage of the economy. After di... more This study examines contradictory claims about the news media's coverage of the economy. After discussing various sociological perspectives on news media, I compare the objective performance of California's economy, as measured by statistical indicators, to accounts of the economy found in the state's largest newspaper-the Los Angeles Times. The data reveal that, despite growth patterns that overwhelmingly favored economic elites, the negative news about the economy disproportionately depicted events and problems affecting corporations and investors instead of the general workforce. When the Times did discuss problems affecting workers, the articles were relatively short, most often placed in the back sections of the newspaper, and rarely discussed policy alternatives to the status quo. Moreover, unlike the viewpoints of business leaders and government officials, the viewpoints of workers or their spokespersons were rarely used as sources of information. These findings provide qualified support for existing scholarship purporting that the news media, when reporting on the economy, privilege the interests of corporations and investors over the interests of the general workforce.

International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 2012

Sociologists have paid scant attention to the possibility that the structure of the macro-economy... more Sociologists have paid scant attention to the possibility that the structure of the macro-economy is an important determinant of income inequality. Although prior research finds negative links between the size of the public sector and income inequality, no study to date considers whether the size of consumer markets has distributional consequences as well. To investigate this possibility, the present study measures the size of national consumer markets with the System of National Accounts used by governments to calculate gross domestic product (GDP). Based on data from 18 advanced capitalist countries over nearly a 40-year period, two-way random effects regression models reveal a strong and positive link between the size of consumer markets and income inequality. This finding is robust to the inclusion of numerous control variables, and to the consideration of endogeneity within the causal relationship. The proposed theoretical explanation centers on ideas developed by Polanyi, and ...

European Sociological Review, 2012

This study assesses whether recent changes in family structure and female employment patterns hav... more This study assesses whether recent changes in family structure and female employment patterns have altered the distribution of income in some countries. Extant literature on this topic reaches inconsistent conclusions and overwhelmingly focuses on the United States. To address these shortcomings, the author draws on internationally comparable data for 16 Western countries to assess whether these social changes have distributional consequences. Specifically, the hypothesis is that increased female employment reduces income inequality, but that increased prevalence of single-mother families heightens income inequality. Results from two-way random effects regression models provide considerable support for this hypothesis. These effects are robust after controlling for variations in labour market institutions, social welfare provisions, and relevant social and economic structures. Limited evidence also suggests that educational homogamy between spouses and partners explains some of the differences in income inequality among countries. The study ends by discussing some of the implications of these findings.

Research in Political Sociology, Jul 29, 2010

Abstract: This chapter seeks to reconcile divergent views about how globalization affects democra... more Abstract: This chapter seeks to reconcile divergent views about how globalization affects democratic governance at the national level. Despite numerous studies on this subject, the resulting literature has not reached an overarching consensus. Some scholars conclude that globalization usually promotes democracy by fragmenting the political power of entrenched elites, by creating powerful demands for the rule of law, and by making democracy the global norm for governance. Other scholars, however, draw very different conclusions. ...

American Journal of Sociology, 2009

This study analyzes why the world's most economically advanced countries have deindustrialized ov... more This study analyzes why the world's most economically advanced countries have deindustrialized over the last few decades. Previous research focuses on three causal factors: (1) rising consumer affluence and its propensity to increase demand for services more than for manufactured goods, (2) faster productivity growth in the manufacturing sector relative to other sectors, and (3) expanding trade linkages between the North and the South of the global economy. The relative importance of these factors, however, is not fully understood, because previous research has not tested all of these explanations simultaneously nor considered the indirect channels through which global trade may cause deindustrialization. This study tests the three factors with two-way fixed-effects regression models and panel data on 18 OECD countries from 1970 to 2003. The results indicate that each factor makes significant contributions to deindustrialization, and that global trade exerts both direct and indirect effects on employment patterns in economically advanced countries, but that the single greatest factor comes from the steadily rising affluence of consumers in these countries. 1 I am grateful for helpful comments and insightful suggestions that I received from Bill Bielby and several AJS referees. Earlier versions of this article were presented at the meetings of the

abdn.ac.uk

This study analyzes the relationship between global trade patterns and socioeconomic changes rece... more This study analyzes the relationship between global trade patterns and socioeconomic changes recently occurring in the world's most affluent countries. Extending the concept of “unequal exchange” from the sociology of development, the study begins by demonstrating that ...

Social Forces, 2013

Abstract This study assesses the possibility that deindustrialization has been contributing to th... more Abstract This study assesses the possibility that deindustrialization has been contributing to the persistently high unemployment rates experienced by most affluent countries since the mid-1970s. Combining insights from Lilien's (1982)“sectoral shift” thesis and the literature on deindustrialization, the authors assert that the decades-long contraction of the manufacturing sector has been a significant source of high unemployment in affluent countries. This assertion is tested against the literature's existing explanations for ...

Social Forces

Is financialization contributing to the slow decline of union density that is occurring across mo... more Is financialization contributing to the slow decline of union density that is occurring across most advanced capitalist countries? Combining insights from literatures on financialization, corporate governance, and comparative political economy, we argue that the growing dominance of finance within advanced capitalism weakens unions through several channels, and plays an important but underappreciated role in the deunionization of national workforces. Using data from 18 advanced capitalist countries over several decades, this assertion is tested against the literature’s existing explanations for declining union density. Results from panel regression models suggest that financialization is an important cause of union decline, but that its particular effects vary between different types of advanced capitalism. The study concludes by arguing that financialization creates new interconnections between firms and finance capital, resulting in business practices that ultimately put downward ...

International Journal of Comparative Sociology

Sociologists rarely study the determinants of real wage growth, even though it affects core socio... more Sociologists rarely study the determinants of real wage growth, even though it affects core sociological concerns such as social stratification and income inequality. Using data from 14 countries over a 38-year period, this study assesses the multifaceted determinants of real wage growth in the manufacturing sectors of advanced capitalist societies. On this topic, neoclassical economics suggests that wages should track labor productivity, but sociological theories of class conflict suggest that both firms and workers use ‘power resources’ to shape distributional outcomes in their favor. Drawing on these ideas and others, the author argues that real wage growth is loosely related to productivity growth but strongly related to the power resources of workers. This argument is tested with panel regression techniques. The results provide strong support for a power resource theory of wage determination. The study ends by considering possible reasons for the weak effect of labor productivi...

Orfalea Center For Global International Studies, Jun 7, 2005

eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California ... more eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide.

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09692290802665662, Dec 1, 2009

ABSTRACT Using a novel extension of unequal exchange theory, this study analyzes how internationa... more ABSTRACT Using a novel extension of unequal exchange theory, this study analyzes how international trade affects per-capita incomes and employment pat-terns in affluent countries. The study begins by demonstrating that work-ers in less-developed countries are significantly underpaid ...

Sociology of Development

This study draws on world-systems theory to generate new explanations for the uneven patterns of ... more This study draws on world-systems theory to generate new explanations for the uneven patterns of civil violence found in the world today. A large and well-developed literature shows that low-income countries with stagnant economies and undemocratic political systems are the most susceptible to outbreaks of civil violence. This literature, however, fails to consider how countries are positioned relative to the structures of global capitalism. By contrast, world-systems theory has long emphasized that a country’s position within the international division of labor shapes many of its domestic outcomes, including those related to development and democratization. Combining these two literatures suggests that “world-system position” has direct and indirect effects on civil violence, with the indirect effects being mediated by development, democratization, and related factors. Drawing on a sample of 152 countries observed from 1970 to 2018 and using high-quality data on major incidences of...

Contemporary Sociology, Aug 26, 2014

... were presented. Finally, we would like to thank Michael Edwards and particularlyEvgeniya Plot... more ... were presented. Finally, we would like to thank Michael Edwards and particularlyEvgeniya Plotnikova for excellent research assistance. Jochen Clasen and Daniel Clegg Page 8. This page intentionally left blank Page 9. Table ...

Critical Sociology, 2003

The social science literature contains competing theories on the relationship between economic gl... more The social science literature contains competing theories on the relationship between economic globalization and class compromise. According to supporters of the “strong globalization thesis,” over the last few decades many important national-level economic processes have been subsumed into a worldwide “borderless” economy in which global market forces, rather than electorates, now dictate national economic policy. This argument implies that globalization has significantly eroded the ability of democratic governance to create a genuine class compromise. Conversely, supporters of the “weak globalization thesis” maintain that the strong version of globalization is largely a “myth,” and that as a result national economic policy geared towards egalitarianism is still possible. After analyzing changes in four social and political indicators associated with class compromise — for 16 advanced capitalist countries over the period of 1960 to 1999 — I find qualified support for the weak globa...

International Journal of Comparative Sociology

This study examines trade union decline in light of concurrent changes in the demographic and sec... more This study examines trade union decline in light of concurrent changes in the demographic and sectoral composition of labor markets. Drawing on classical sociology and contemporary scholarship on work and employment, the author theorizes that the emergence of post-industrial work settings coupled with more socially diverse workforces make labor organizing more difficult than prior research recognizes. Operating through various mechanisms, these factors are thought to hinder the development of solidarity among workers and direct employment growth toward previously unorganized parts of the economy. Using panel data on 18 countries from 1960 to 2015, these ideas are tested with regression models that capture labor market changes indicative of post-industrial capitalism—measured by changes in deindustrialization, foreign-born population, and female share of employment. The results support the theoretical argument, with counterfactual estimates suggesting that labor market changes occurr...

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2012

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2020

Work, Employment and Society, 2007

This article examines the labor control processes being implemented in Italy's recently devel... more This article examines the labor control processes being implemented in Italy's recently developed temporary help industry. The social science literature generally predicts that voluntary forms of labor control require genuine compromises between management and its workforce. Based on interviews, observational field-work, and analysis of industry documents, the authors compare this expectation against the details of the Italian case. Overall, they find that management is attempting to build consensus not by granting temporary workers meaningful concessions, as the literature would generally suggest, but rather by reframing temporary work as a viable opportunity for upward social mobility, and reinforcing these ideological messages with coercion when needed.These findings suggest that ideological power may play a larger role in the labor control process than previously recognized, and that Gramsci's theory of ideological hegemony deserves greater attention from scholars studyi...

Social Problems, 2004

This study examines contradictory claims about the news media's coverage of the economy. After di... more This study examines contradictory claims about the news media's coverage of the economy. After discussing various sociological perspectives on news media, I compare the objective performance of California's economy, as measured by statistical indicators, to accounts of the economy found in the state's largest newspaper-the Los Angeles Times. The data reveal that, despite growth patterns that overwhelmingly favored economic elites, the negative news about the economy disproportionately depicted events and problems affecting corporations and investors instead of the general workforce. When the Times did discuss problems affecting workers, the articles were relatively short, most often placed in the back sections of the newspaper, and rarely discussed policy alternatives to the status quo. Moreover, unlike the viewpoints of business leaders and government officials, the viewpoints of workers or their spokespersons were rarely used as sources of information. These findings provide qualified support for existing scholarship purporting that the news media, when reporting on the economy, privilege the interests of corporations and investors over the interests of the general workforce.

International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 2012

Sociologists have paid scant attention to the possibility that the structure of the macro-economy... more Sociologists have paid scant attention to the possibility that the structure of the macro-economy is an important determinant of income inequality. Although prior research finds negative links between the size of the public sector and income inequality, no study to date considers whether the size of consumer markets has distributional consequences as well. To investigate this possibility, the present study measures the size of national consumer markets with the System of National Accounts used by governments to calculate gross domestic product (GDP). Based on data from 18 advanced capitalist countries over nearly a 40-year period, two-way random effects regression models reveal a strong and positive link between the size of consumer markets and income inequality. This finding is robust to the inclusion of numerous control variables, and to the consideration of endogeneity within the causal relationship. The proposed theoretical explanation centers on ideas developed by Polanyi, and ...

European Sociological Review, 2012

This study assesses whether recent changes in family structure and female employment patterns hav... more This study assesses whether recent changes in family structure and female employment patterns have altered the distribution of income in some countries. Extant literature on this topic reaches inconsistent conclusions and overwhelmingly focuses on the United States. To address these shortcomings, the author draws on internationally comparable data for 16 Western countries to assess whether these social changes have distributional consequences. Specifically, the hypothesis is that increased female employment reduces income inequality, but that increased prevalence of single-mother families heightens income inequality. Results from two-way random effects regression models provide considerable support for this hypothesis. These effects are robust after controlling for variations in labour market institutions, social welfare provisions, and relevant social and economic structures. Limited evidence also suggests that educational homogamy between spouses and partners explains some of the differences in income inequality among countries. The study ends by discussing some of the implications of these findings.

Research in Political Sociology, Jul 29, 2010

Abstract: This chapter seeks to reconcile divergent views about how globalization affects democra... more Abstract: This chapter seeks to reconcile divergent views about how globalization affects democratic governance at the national level. Despite numerous studies on this subject, the resulting literature has not reached an overarching consensus. Some scholars conclude that globalization usually promotes democracy by fragmenting the political power of entrenched elites, by creating powerful demands for the rule of law, and by making democracy the global norm for governance. Other scholars, however, draw very different conclusions. ...

American Journal of Sociology, 2009

This study analyzes why the world's most economically advanced countries have deindustrialized ov... more This study analyzes why the world's most economically advanced countries have deindustrialized over the last few decades. Previous research focuses on three causal factors: (1) rising consumer affluence and its propensity to increase demand for services more than for manufactured goods, (2) faster productivity growth in the manufacturing sector relative to other sectors, and (3) expanding trade linkages between the North and the South of the global economy. The relative importance of these factors, however, is not fully understood, because previous research has not tested all of these explanations simultaneously nor considered the indirect channels through which global trade may cause deindustrialization. This study tests the three factors with two-way fixed-effects regression models and panel data on 18 OECD countries from 1970 to 2003. The results indicate that each factor makes significant contributions to deindustrialization, and that global trade exerts both direct and indirect effects on employment patterns in economically advanced countries, but that the single greatest factor comes from the steadily rising affluence of consumers in these countries. 1 I am grateful for helpful comments and insightful suggestions that I received from Bill Bielby and several AJS referees. Earlier versions of this article were presented at the meetings of the

abdn.ac.uk

This study analyzes the relationship between global trade patterns and socioeconomic changes rece... more This study analyzes the relationship between global trade patterns and socioeconomic changes recently occurring in the world's most affluent countries. Extending the concept of “unequal exchange” from the sociology of development, the study begins by demonstrating that ...

Social Forces, 2013

Abstract This study assesses the possibility that deindustrialization has been contributing to th... more Abstract This study assesses the possibility that deindustrialization has been contributing to the persistently high unemployment rates experienced by most affluent countries since the mid-1970s. Combining insights from Lilien's (1982)“sectoral shift” thesis and the literature on deindustrialization, the authors assert that the decades-long contraction of the manufacturing sector has been a significant source of high unemployment in affluent countries. This assertion is tested against the literature's existing explanations for ...

Social Forces

Is financialization contributing to the slow decline of union density that is occurring across mo... more Is financialization contributing to the slow decline of union density that is occurring across most advanced capitalist countries? Combining insights from literatures on financialization, corporate governance, and comparative political economy, we argue that the growing dominance of finance within advanced capitalism weakens unions through several channels, and plays an important but underappreciated role in the deunionization of national workforces. Using data from 18 advanced capitalist countries over several decades, this assertion is tested against the literature’s existing explanations for declining union density. Results from panel regression models suggest that financialization is an important cause of union decline, but that its particular effects vary between different types of advanced capitalism. The study concludes by arguing that financialization creates new interconnections between firms and finance capital, resulting in business practices that ultimately put downward ...

International Journal of Comparative Sociology

Sociologists rarely study the determinants of real wage growth, even though it affects core socio... more Sociologists rarely study the determinants of real wage growth, even though it affects core sociological concerns such as social stratification and income inequality. Using data from 14 countries over a 38-year period, this study assesses the multifaceted determinants of real wage growth in the manufacturing sectors of advanced capitalist societies. On this topic, neoclassical economics suggests that wages should track labor productivity, but sociological theories of class conflict suggest that both firms and workers use ‘power resources’ to shape distributional outcomes in their favor. Drawing on these ideas and others, the author argues that real wage growth is loosely related to productivity growth but strongly related to the power resources of workers. This argument is tested with panel regression techniques. The results provide strong support for a power resource theory of wage determination. The study ends by considering possible reasons for the weak effect of labor productivi...

Orfalea Center For Global International Studies, Jun 7, 2005

eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California ... more eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide.

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09692290802665662, Dec 1, 2009

ABSTRACT Using a novel extension of unequal exchange theory, this study analyzes how internationa... more ABSTRACT Using a novel extension of unequal exchange theory, this study analyzes how international trade affects per-capita incomes and employment pat-terns in affluent countries. The study begins by demonstrating that work-ers in less-developed countries are significantly underpaid ...