In Reforming Asian Labor Systems, Frederic C. Deyo examines the implications of post-1980s market-oriented economic reform for labor systems in China, South Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. Adopting a critical institutionalist perspective, he explores the impact of elite economic interests and strategies, labor politics, institutional path dependencies, and changing economic circumstances on regimes of labor and social regulation in these four countries. Of particular importance are reform-driven socioeconomic and political tensions that, especially following the regional financial crisis of the late 1990s, have encouraged increased efforts to integrate social and developmental agendas with those of market reform.

Through his analysis of the social economy of East and Southeast Asia, Deyo suggests that several Asian countries may now be positioned to repeat what they achieved in earlier decades: a prominent role in defining new international models of development and market reform that adapt to the pressures and constraints of the evolving world economy.

Professor Deyo's research has focused on economy and society in Asia, including labor systems, labor movements, employment structures, and social policy. His theoretical approach is rooted in critical institutionalism, as most prominently developed in the writings of Karl Polanyi, social structures of accumulation theory, and regulation theory. His most recent book dealt with the implications of economic reform for the employment and social livelihood of workers in Thailand, China, the Philippines, and South Korea. He is currently researching the impact of institutional and political transformations of American and world capitalism for American workers.