There have been numerous accounts exploring the relationship between institutions and firm practices. However, much of this literature tends to be located into distinct theoretical-traditional 'silos', such as national business systems, social systems of production, regulation theory, or varieties of capitalism, with limited dialogue between different approaches to enhance understanding of institutional effects. Again, evaluations of the relationship betweeninstitutions and employment relations have tended to be of the broad-brushstroke nature, often founded on macro-data, and with only limited attention being accorded to internal diversity and details of actual practice. The Handbook aims to fill this gap by bringing together an assembly of comprehensive andhigh quality chapters to enable understanding of changes in employment relations since the early 1970s. Theoretically-based chapters attempt to link varieties of capitalism, business systems, and different modes of regulation to the specific practice of employment relations, and offer a truly comparative treatment of the subject, providing frameworks and empirical evidence for understanding trends in employment relations in different parts of the world.Most notably, the Handbook seeks to incorporate at a theoretical level regulationist accounts and recent work that link bounded internal systemic diversity with change, and, at an applied level, a greater emphasis on recent applied evidence, specifically dealing with the employment contract, its implementation, and related questions of work organization. It will be useful to academics and students of industrial relations, political economy, and management.

1 Adrian Wilkinson, Geoffrey Wood and Richard Deeg NB: Introduction: Comparative Employment Systems; Section I: Defining the Field; 2 Geoffrey Wood and Adrian Wilkinson: Institutions and Employment Relations; 3 Harry Katz and Nick Wailes: Convergence and Divergence in Employment Relations; Section II: Institutions and Employment Relations Alternative Accounts, New Insights; 4 Cathie Jo Martin: Getting down to business: Varieties of Capitalism and Employment Relations; 5 Matt Allen: Business Systems Theory and Employment Relations; 6 Robert Boyer: Developments and Extensions of Regulation Theory and Employment Relations; 7 Christel Lane and Geoffrey Wood: Capitalist Diversity, Work and Employment Relations; 8 Chris Brewster, Marc Goergen and Geoffrey WoodNBNB: Ownership Rights and Employment Relations.; 9 Glenn Morgan and Marco Hauptmeier: Varrieties of Institutional Theory in Comparative Employment Relations; 10 Niall Cullinane: Institutions and the Industrial Relations Tradition; 11 Franco Barchiesi: Conflict, Order and Change; Section III: Comparative Evidence; 12 Gregory Jackson and Anja Kirsch: Liberal Markets; 13 Kristine Nergaard: Social Democratic Capitalism; 14 Bob Hancke: Employment Regimes , Wage Setting and Monetary Union in Continental Europe; 15 Harald Conrad: Continuity and Change in Asian Employment Systems: A Comparison of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan; 16 Martin Myant: Economies Undergoing Long Transition: Employment Relations in Central and Eastern Europe; 17 Johann Maree: Employment relations in Africa; 18 Jose Aleman: The Left Turn in Latin America: Consequences for Employment Relations; 19 Michele Ford: Developing Societies: Asia; 20 Frank Horwitz: Employment Relations in the BRICs Countries; Section IV: Substantive Themes; 21 Michel Goyer, Juliane Reinecke, and Jimmy Donaghey: Globalization and Labour Market Governance; 22 Barbara Pocock: Work, Bodies, Care: Gender and Employment in a Global World; 23 Michael Barry, Adrian Wilkinson, Paul J Gollan and Senia Kalfa: Where Are the Voices? New Directions in Voice and Engagement Across the Globe; 24 Heidi Gottfried: Insecure Employment: Diversity and Change; 25 Samanthi J Gunawardana and Lindah Mhando: The Migration-Development Nexus, Women Workers and Transnational Employment Relations; 26 Colin Crouch: The Neo-liberal Turn and the Implications for Labour; Section V: Reflections; 27 Guglielmo G Meardi: The State and Employment Relations; 28 Peter Fairbrother: Unions; 29 Gilton Klerck: Institutions, Management Strategies and HRM; 30 Fang Lee Cook and Geoffrey Wood: New Actors in Employment Relations; 31 Sabina Avdagic and Lucio Baccaro: The Future of Employment Relations in Advanced Capitalism: Inexorable Decline?