Labour in Transition (1992) examines the massive transformations undertaken by state socialist regimes at the end of the 1980s. It traces developments in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China, in particular the impact of changes in the labour process and broader political economy.

Part 1. Introduction 1. Socialism and the Labour Process in Theory and Practice Paul Thompson and Chris Smith Part 2. Comparing Capitalism and State Socialism 2. Bending the Bars of the Iron Cage: Bureaucratization and Informalization in Capitalism and Socialism David Stark 3. Innovation and the Division of Labour in State Socialist and Capitalist Enterprises Otfried Mickler Part 3. Labour Process Reform in Eastern Europe 4. Economic Reform and Production Relations in Soviet Industry, 1986–90 Don Filtzer 5. A View from Within: Interview with a Soviet Auto Worker David Mandel 6. A View from Production: The Hungarian Transition from Socialism to Capitalism Michael Burawoy Part 4. China 7. The Myth of Autonomy: The Foreign Enterprise in China Jude Howell 8. Disorganized Socialism: State and Enterprise in Modern China Paul Thompson