The issue of labour research in the field of socio-economic geography in Poland and in the Anglophone countries

Abstract

The labour market perceived as the mechanisms of its functioning, has been and still is an important part of research devoted to structural changes in various scales of spatial systems. The scale and range of current changes taking place on the local, regional and global labour market is so large that industry and service studies have to take them into consideration. Research in this field, which would not add labour market problems, seems to preclude a proper scientific analysis and formulating conclusions. Geographers have understood this need and it can be seen in several papers. The purpose of the article is to review the scientific papers in the field of socio-economic geography published in the years 1945–2013 which were devoted to labour market problems. The analysis focuses on the evolution of main research streams (as the consequences of political, economic and social changes in Poland) and the change in the paradigm of labour research in geography in Anglophone world (from a geography of labour to a labour geography).