Derek Jones, the Irma M. and Robert D. Morris Professor of Economics emeritus, participated in two conferences earlier this year. In August, he presented “The productivity effects of employee ownership, profit sharing and worker representation on boards” during the third annual Rutgers–Oxford Employee Ownership Research Conference at Oxford University. The paper was co-authored by Associate Professor of Economics Jeffrey Pliskin.
In May, Jones participated in the Worker Ownership Conference at Harvard Business School. The inaugural workshop was part of The Ownership Project and the Institute for Business in Global Society at Harvard Business School.
Jones also continues to publish his research. His paper, “The nature and scope of support organizations for employee ownership in the USA: an assessment,” was published in the Journal of Participation and Employee Ownership in October.
The paper explores whether there are preferred support organizations for employee owned firms (EOFs), and, if so, whether preferred set-ups differ for different kinds of EOFs – for example, for firms with employee stock ownership plans compared to worker/producer. He said “the paper contributes to a neglected research area – the nature, role and effects of organizations that support employee ownership.”
In addition, “The Productivity Effects of Worker Representation on the Board,” a paper co-authored by Jones and Pliskin, was reprinted as a chapter in Routledge’s Employee Share Ownership and Profit Sharing: A Global Phenomenon. The article was originally published in the International Review of Applied Economics in 2024. Edited by Jonathan Michie and Joseph Blasi, Employee Share Ownership and Profit Sharing is expected to be released in late December.
Posted December 23, 2025
