Working in Silicon Valley: Economic and Legal Analysis of a High-velocity Labor Market [Paperback]

This work examines the relationship between the rapid technological and economic growth characteristic of high technology districts and their distinct labor market institutions - short job tenures, rapid turnover, flat firm hierarchies, weak internal labor markets, high use of temporary labor, unusual uses of independent contracting, little unionization, unusual employee organization (e.g., chat groups, and ethnic organization), unequal income, minimal employment discrimination litigation, flexible compensation (especially stock options), and heavy use of immigrants on short-term visas. The author suggests that while these distinctive labor market institutions are somewhat unorthodox and may present legal problems, they play essential roles in high growth.This work examines the relationship between the rapid technological and economic growth characteristic of high-technology districts and their distinct labour market institutions. The author suggests that while these institutions are unorthodox, they play essential roles in high growth.Chapter 1 The Development of Silicon Valleys High-Velocity Labor Market; Part I The Information Story; Chapter 2 Mobile Employees, Information Spillover, and Trade Secrets; Chapter 3 A New Economic Analysis of Trade Secrets Law From an Economics of Information Perspective; Chapter 4 Information Ownership and Transmission by Mobile Employees: Alternative Economic Approaches; Part II The Flexibility Story; Chapter 5 How Flexible Labor is Hired I: Temporary Help Employees Who Work at One Client (Permatemps); Chapter 6 How Flexible Labor is Hired II: Independent Contractors; Chapter 7 H-1B Visas; Part III Labor Market Intermediaries: Information and Flexibility; Chapter 8 Labor Market Intermediaries: Matching Workers to Jobs; Chapter 9 Employee Organization: Networks, Ethnic Organization, New Unions; Part IV Flexible (and Informational) Compensation; Chapter 10 Stock Options: Their Law and Economics; Chapter 11 Market Failure in RetirelS'