International Labor Standards and International Trade
April 1, 1997
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Summary
This paper reviews controversies regarding linkage of international trade and labor standards. Pressures for international harmonization of labor standards arise in the context of increased trade between countries with large disparities in wages, and also reflect the history of labor standards. A critical distinction is made between standards related to fundamental human rights and those related to employment conditions. The main conclusion is that trade sanctions to enforce labor standards should not be an option, but that international agreements on core labor standards, with voluntary compliance, may, apart from being worthwhile on ethical grounds, defuse calls for protection.
Subject: Labor, Labor costs, Labor markets, Minimum wages, Wages
Keywords: a number of country, child labor, core labor standards, country standard, East Asia, growth prospect, import penetration, Labor costs, Labor markets, labor standard variable, labor standards, Minimum wages, North America, North-South trade, OECD list, productivity level, social clause, trade pattern, trade sanction, Wages, World Trade Organization, WP
Pages:
37
Volume:
1997
DOI:
Issue:
037
Series:
Working Paper No. 1997/037
Stock No:
WPIEA0371997
ISBN:
9781451845532
ISSN:
1018-5941
