01 / Reading Guide
Reading Guide
Who this book is for
For students wanting a grounded labour-market case alongside formal economic models. The authors examine workers whose everyday services sustain a global city but often remain socially invisible. The book supports analysis of employment institutions and inequality; it is not a complete public economics textbook or a representative survey of every migrant population.
Prerequisites
An introductory labour economics, urban geography or sociology course is useful. Be able to compare a wage statistic with interview evidence and distinguish a claim about institutions from one about individual preferences.
What it covers
Eight chapters link deregulation, subcontracting and migration to London’s low-paid labour market. Testimony from more than 800 foreign-born workers informs discussions of gendered and ethnic divisions, survival strategies, transnational relations and collective organising. The research connects employment with housing, family obligations and local politics, showing why workers’ choices cannot be interpreted independently of their institutional setting.
How to use it
Pick one occupation and draw the chain from client organisation through contractor to worker. Record where wages, risk and bargaining power are determined. Compare the explanation with a simple competitive labour-market model and state which assumptions become questionable. Use one interview alongside the relevant aggregate evidence, keeping the role of each clear. Develop two possible interventions and explain their likely beneficiaries, implementation constraints and unintended effects. Check whether the sampling and historical setting support the generalisation you want to make.
Edition and sources
The publisher dates paperback release to December 2009, while the book and authorised JSTOR edition carry copyright 2010; both dates are retained distinctly. The selected ISBN identifies the paperback, not the electronic file. All chapters are freely available through the publisher’s open-access programme; JSTOR’s chapter licence is CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The evidence concerns an earlier London labour market and needs updating before present policy application. Official complete reading route.
