In this issue, Vol 147 (2008), No. 2-3:

• Improving the quality of low-wage work: The current American experience, by P. OSTERMAN
• The state of worker protections in the United States: Unregulated work in New York City, by A. BERNHARDT, S. McGRATH and J. DeFILIPPIS
• Monitoring quality in work: European Employment Strategy indicators and beyond, by L. DAVOINE, C. ERHEL and M. GUERGOAT-LARIVIERE
• Promoting sustainable compliance: Styles of labour inspection and compliance outcomes in Brazil, by R. PIRES
• Tripartite consultation in China: A first step towards collective bargaining?, by J SHEN and J. BENSON
• Offshore employment parctices: An empirical analysis of routines, wages and labour turnover, by K. LOESS, V. V. MILLER and D. YOSKOWITZ
• Notes, debates and communications
• Book reviews

Editorial

The International Labour Review has long been an important resource for scholars and policy- makers. And today, at a time when concerns about the need for decent work are greater than ever, a better knowledge base is essential for the design of labour and social policy to meet this need. With this in mind, the International Labour Review , the ILO’s flagship journal since 1921, has been reorganized: this is the first issue produced under the new structure.

First, a new editorial team has been put in place. For the first time, an Editorial Board composed of independent scholars has been created. The Board will have the task of defining the policy of the journal and managing its content.

Second, the ILR will be associated with the ILO’s International Institute for Labour Studies (IILS), whose Director chairs the new Editorial Board. The editorial policy of the ILR will be independent, but it will benefit from exchange with the research and educational environment provided by the IILS.

Third, the Board of Advisers is being reinforced and restructured.

Fourth, a partnership has been established with Wiley-Blackwell, which will henceforth distribute the journal and, from 2008, publish it. The premier publisher of social science journals, Blackwell will assure as wide a distribution as possible of the journal in both academic and practitioner communities.

As a global multidisciplinary journal of labour and social policies and relationships, the new ILR is open to articles which meet scholarly standards but which are written in a way that is accessible to a wider readership. They may cover any of the fields of interest of the ILO – employment and labour markets, training and skills development, social security and social protection, labour law and labour institutions, rights at work and social dialogue. The pages of the journal are also open to all relevant disciplines – economics, law, sociology, political science – and articles taking an interdisciplinary perspective are particularly welcome. Articles may report on the results of empirical work at national level or drawing on international comparisons; they may offer new conceptual frameworks or review the state of knowledge on key issues. The intention is to attract contributions from all parts of the world, and to inform policy debates on key labour and social issues.

In addition to the main articles, a separate section will contain a small number of reviews of major books, and a new “Notes, debates and communications” section will report on recent and upcoming events of interest to the readership, analyse important recent developments in the world of work, and provide summaries and access to important documents with major policy implications for labour and development.

As one of the few journals to come out in English, French and Spanish, with a worldwide readership, the ILR aims to become the obvious first choice for publication of high-quality research by all those concerned with labour and employment.

We hope you will enjoy the ILR, and look forward to receiving your comments and views.

The International Labour Review is a member of the International Association of Labour Law Journals