This volume presents original theory and research on precarious work in various parts of the world, identifying its social, political and economic origins, its manifestations in the USA, Europe, Asia, and the Global South, and its consequences for personal and family life.

Arne L. Kalleberg is Kenan Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. He has written extensively on work, stratification and inequality, in particular on the emergence of nonstandard work arrangements such as temporary, contract, and part-time work in the US, Asia and Europe. His most recent publication is Precarious Lives: Job Insecurity and Well-Being in Rich Democracies and he is also Editor of Social Forces: An International Sociological Journal. Steven P. Vallas is Professor of Sociology at Northeastern University, USA. He has written numerous books and articles on work and authority systems in various industries including, most recently, Work: A Critique and The Sage Handbook of Resistance (co-edited with David Courpasson).