ncept: "For instance, during 1995 and 1996m AT&T, IBM, and General Motors, each laid off more than 50,000 workers" (p. 243, second sentence, footnoted to an article from the "popular press."
Refute that Concept: "While the public may have formed an exaggerated view of overall trends based on such highly publicized and dramatic layoffs" (p. 243, third sentence, first clause)
Agree with the Concept: "the economywide evidence does indicate that layoffs have increased. Table 8.5 gives data on the job displacement rate, that is, the number of workers who left a firm due to a shift or position being abolished, slack work conditions, or a plant closing as a percentage of the total employed." (p. 243, conclusion of argument.)
To be fair, the authors are probably attempting to keep a finely tuned balance to their conceptual work, constantly maintaining a strong distance from their material.
In this approach, the authors seem to be slipping into the "anthropological" rather than the "economic" point of view, adopting a policy throughout the book of cultural relativism. (The anthropological conceit that any statement is made from a particular perspective, which must be taken into account when considering its meaning).
This same rhetorical device is used throughout the book and each chapter, including Chapter Eight. For the remainder of this paper, therefore, there will be five subheadings that follow the structure of the chapter. Each of these sections will begin with a short "translation" of the section's main concepts into standard English (or at least, what it is assumed that the authors are attempting to communicate). This translation will be followed by glimpses into the "real world" with references to both the "popular" press and the academic press.
The gap between male and female pay is narrowing, but it is still there. Although reduced, there is still some evidence of job and pay discrimination. A second kin...