Rafael Gomez
Areas of interest
- The wage and pay structure impacts of unions on CEO and executive pay
- Union and non-union voice at work
- Demographic issues related to the workplace and cross country growth
- Local employment and economic development
Biography
Rafael Gomez is an associate professor of employment relations at the University of Toronto. He served as the Director of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources from 2015-2020, and returned as Director July 1, 2021. He received a BA in economics and political science from Glendon College (York University) and an MA in economics and a PhD in industrial relations from the University of Toronto. His previous appointments include the London School of Economics as a senior lecturer in management and industrial relations. He has been invited to conduct research and lecture at universities around the world, including Madrid, Moscow, Munich, Beijing and Zurich. In 2005 he was awarded the Labor and Employment Relations Association’s John T. Dunlop Outstanding Scholar Award for exceptional contributions to international and comparative labour and employment research. In 2013-14 his book The Little Black Book for Managers was a UK business book business bestseller and in 2015 his book Small Business and the City was published by U of T/Rotman press. His current research examines the role of unions and other labour market institutions in the provision of employee voice and what this means for workers and broader democratic engagement.
Select publications
Refereed Journal Publications
(Articles published with authors in alphabetical order unless otherwise indicated)
"Is it ‘you’ or ‘your workplace’? Predictors of job‐related training in the Anglo‐American world.” International Journal of Training and Development. (2020). Barry, M., Gomez, R., Kaufman, B.E., Wilkinson, A. and Zhang, T., DOI:10.1111/ijtd.12192
“Unions and Non-Standard Work: Union Representation and Wage Premiums across Non-Standard Work Arrangements in Canada, 1997-2014” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Volume 72, Number 4, August (2019), pp. 1009-1035. Rafael Gomez and Danilelle Lamb. DOI: 10.1177/0019793919852926
“The “Good Workplace”: The Role of Joint Consultative Committees, Unions and HR policies in Employee Ratings of Workplaces in Britain” Journal of Participation and Employee Ownership, Vol. 2 No. 1, (2019), pp. 60-90. Bryson, A; Gomez, R.; Kaufman, B.;Berry, M.; Wilkinson, A. and Lomas, G. DOI: 10.1108/JPEO-09-2018-0024
“Evaluating the State of the Employment Relationship: A Balanced Scorecard Approach Built on Mackenzie King’s Model of an Industrial Relations System”, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations. 73- 4 (2019) pp.664-701. Gomez, R.; Kaufman, B; Berry, M; and Wilkinson, A. DOI: 10.7202/1056973ar
“Taking the pulse at work: An employment relations scorecard for Australia”, Journal of Industrial Relations. Vol 60, Issue 2 (2018) pp. 145 – 175. Adrian Wilkinson, Michael Barry, Rafael Gomez and Bruce E. Kaufman. DOI: 10.1177/0022185617748990
“Unions and Traditionally Disadvantaged Workers: Evidence from Union Wage Premiums in Canada 2000 to 2012”, Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies. Volume 5, No. 3 September- October (2016). Rafael Gomez and Danielle Lamb. DOI: N/A
"Do Immigrants Gain or Lose by Occupational Licensing?" Canadian Public Policy 41(1) (2015) S80- S97. Rafael Gomez, Morley Gunderson, Xiaoyu Huang and Tingting Zhang. DOI: 10.3138/cpp.2014-028
“What Accounts for the Union Member Advantage in Voter Turnout? Evidence from the European Union, 2002-2008” (2014) Relations industrielles / Industrial Relations, Volume 69, Number 4, pp. 732-765. Bryson, Gomez, Willman and Kretschmer. DOI: 10.7202/1028110ar
“Relative income, absolute income and the life satisfaction of older adults: do retirees differ from the non-retired?” (2014) Industrial Relations Journal, 45 (2): 281–299. doi: 10.1111/irj.12052. Boodoo, U. M.; Gomez, R. and Gunderson, M. DOI: 10.1111/irj.12052
“Demographic Origins of the Great Recession: Implications for China” (2013) China & World Economy. Volume 21, Issue 2, pp. 97–118. Rafael Gomez and Danielle Lamb. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-124X.2013.12017.x.
“Managerial Hostility and Attitudes Towards Unions: A Canada-US Comparison” (2013) Journal of Labor Research. Volume 34, Issue 1, March 2013, pp.99-119. M. Campolieti, R. Gomez and M. Gunderson. DOI: 10.1007/s12122-012-9150-0.
"Does Non-Union Employee Representation Act as a Complement or Substitute to Union Voice? Evidence from Canada and the United States" (2013). Industrial Relations (Berkeley). Volume 52, s1, pp. 378–396. Michele Campolieti, Rafael Gomez and Morley Gunderson. DOI: 10.1111/irel.12007.
“The Comparative Advantage of Non-Union Voice in Britain, 1980-2004” (2013). Industrial Relations (Berkeley). Volume 52, s1, pp. 194–220. Alex Bryson, Rafael Gomez, Paul Willman, and Toby Kretschmer. DOI: 10.1111/irel.12001.
“Labour Adjustment Implications of Service Offshoring: Evidence from Canada” (2013), British Journal of Industrial Relations. Volume 51, Issue 1, pp. 148–173. R. Gomez, M. Gunderson & R. Morissette. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2012.00898.x
“For Whom the ‘Retirement’ Bell Tolls: Inter-temporal Comparisons Using the 1994 and 2002 Canadian GSS.” (2011) Canadian Public Policy. 37(4), pp. 513-539. Rafael Gomez and Morley Gunderson. DOI: 10.3138/cpp.37.4.513
“What Accounts for the Representation Gap? Decomposing Canada—US Differences in the Desire for Collective Voice.” (2011) Journal of Industrial Relations 53(3), pp. 425-449. Michele Campolieti, Rafael Gomez and Morley Gunderson. DOI: 10.1177/0022185611409111
“Heterogeneous Worker Ability and Team–Based Production: Evidence from Major League Baseball, 1920-2009.” (2011) Labour Economics. Vol.18 (3), pp. 310-319. Alex Bryson, Rafael Gomez Kerry Papps. DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2010.11.005
“When Public Salaries Become Public Knowledge: Academic Salaries and Ontario’s Public Salary Disclosure Act” (2010): Canadian Public Administration Journal. 53 (1), pp. 107-126. Rafael Gomez and Steven Wald. DOI: 10.1111/j.1754-7121.2010.00114.x
“Online Social Networking and Trade Union Membership: What the Facebook Phenomenon Truly Means For Labour Organizers” (2010) Labor History. 51(1), pp. 41-53. A. Bryson, R. Gomez and P. Willman. DOI: 10.1080/00236561003654719
“Volunteering, Income Support Programs and Persons with Disabilities” Industrial Relations/Relations Industrielles. Vol. 64, No. 2 (2009), pp. 189-208. M. Campolieti, Rafael Gomez and M. Gunderson. DOI: 10.7202/037917ar
“The Importance of Being Mature: The Effect of Demographic Maturation on Global Per-Capita GDP.” Journal of Population Economics, Vol. 21 No.3 (2008), pp. 589–608. Pablo Hernandez de Cos and Rafael Gomez. DOI: 10.1007/s00148-006-0107-6
“Does Population Ageing Promote Faster Economic Growth?” Review of Income and Wealth, Vol. 54, No.3 (2008), pp. 350-372. Pablo Hernandez de Cos and Rafael Gomez. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4991.2008.00279.x
“The Diffusion of Workplace Voice and High-Commitment Human Resource Management Practices in Britain, 1984-1998.” Industrial and Corporate Change, Vol. 16, No.3 (Fall, 2007), pp. 395-426. Alex Bryson, Rafael Gomez, Tobias Kretschmer and Paul Willman. DOI: 10.1093/icc/dtm009
“The Long Goodbye: The Rise and Fall of Representative Voice in Britain.” International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 18, No.7 (2007), pp. 1318-1334. Alex Bryson, Rafael Gomez and Paul Willman. DOI: 10.1080/09585190701393863
“The Sound of Silence: Why Do Some Employers Fail to Offer Employee Voice?” Socio-Economic Review, Vol. 4, No. 2 (2006), pp. 8-24. Alex Bryson, Rafael Gomez and Paul Willman. DOI: 10.1093/ser/mwl012
“Voice at Work…What Do Employers Want?” Socio-Economic Review, Vol.4, No.2 (2006), pp. 1-7. Alex Bryson, Rafael Gomez and Paul Willman. DOI: 10.1093/ser/mwl013
“Why Have Workers Stopped Joining Unions? The Rise in Never-Membership in Britain” British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol.43, No. 1 (2005), pp. 67-92. Alex Bryson and Rafael Gomez. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2005.00345.x
“Youth-Adult Differences in the Demand for Unionisation: Are American, British and Canadian Workers All That Different?” Journal of Labor Research, Vol 26, No.1 (Winter, 2005), pp. 155-167. Alex Bryson, Rafael Gomez, Noah Meltz and Morley Gunderson. DOI: 10.1007/BF02812227
“The Two-Way Interaction Between Globalization and Labour Market Polices.” Oxford Development Studies, Vol.32, No.1 (2004), pp.135-152. Andrew Downes, Rafael Gomez and Morley Gunderson. DOI: 10.1080/1360081042000184165
“Age Structure, Income Distribution and Economic Growth.” Canadian Public Policy, Vol. 29 (January 2003), pp. S142-S161. Rafael Gomez and David K. Foot. DOI: 10.2307/3552280
“Volunteer Activity and the Demands of Work and Family.” Industrial Relations/Relations Industrielles. Vol. 58, No. 4 (December 2003), pp. 1-12. Rafael Gomez Morley Gunderson. DOI: 10.7202/007817ar
“Comparing Youth and Adult Desire for Unionization in Canada.” British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 40, No.3 (2002), pp. 521-542. Rafael Gomez Morley Gunderson and Noah Meltz. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8543.00245.
“Mandatory Retirement Legislation: A Constraint on Transitions to Retirement?” Employee Relations, Vol. 24, No.4 (2002), pp. 403-422. Rafael Gomez Morley Gunderson and Andrew Luchak. DOI: 10.1108/01425450210435545
"Salary Compression and Team Performance: Evidence from the National Hockey League." Zeitschrift Fur Betriebswirtschaft, Vol.4, No.4 (January 2002), pp. 203-220. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-663-07711-4_11
“Membership Has Its Privileges: The Effects of Social Capital and Neighbourhood Characteristics on the Earnings of Micro-finance Borrowers” The Canadian Journal of Economics, Vol.34, No.4 (November, 2001), pp. 943- 966. Rafael Gomez and Eric Santor. DOI: 10.1111/0008-4085.00107