Robert F. Hoxie

Robert Franklin Hoxie (April 29, 1868 – June 22, 1916) was an American economist, known for his work on labor history and industrial relations.

[2] Hoxie concluded that there are legitimate claims regarding the role of scientific management in reducing waste and improving business efficiency, but little evidence of it inherently providing greater protection or democracy for workers and thus the continued need for trade unions to counter management power.

Hoxie's study has been criticized as having a pro-labor bias and having led to multiple misunderstandings and misconceptions with regard to scientific management practice versus theory.

[6] However, Hoxie is recognized as a dedicated empirical researcher that went beyond mere description to clearly state problems, gather data, and apply rigorous analysis to test theory by reference to facts.

[5] A posthumous book, Trade Unionism in the United States (1919) provides an edited collection of his lectures at the University of Chicago.