The fi rst studies on labour and industrial relations in newly industrialising economies appeared in the1950s. From the earliest stage, industrial relations experts were concerned with how to organize and regulate the relationship between workers and employers in such a way as to promote rapid but durable
economic development. The critical questions, both then and now, are (a) the extent to which policy frameworks in developing countries should be tailored to promoting collective rather than individual industrial relations (IR); and (b) if the former, what kind of collective industrial relations system there
should be. This paper explains the difference between collective and individual industrial relations and the advantages of collective IR. It then discusses what kind of industrial relations policy measures are likely to be most effective in emerging economies.
