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Labor Standards and Trade Agreements

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  • Robert M. Stern

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

There is a wide disparity of views on issues of international labor standards. Labor and social activists are concerned about the increased imports from countries in which labor standards are ostensibly not enforced at a sufficiently high level. They fear that these imports will be detrimental to wages and employment conditions in the industrialized importing countries and that workers in the developing countries will be exploited, their wages suppressed, and that they will be subjected to abusive work conditions. This paper explores these different views and the available options for addressing the issues involved. The paper begins with the definition and scope of labor standards and then turns to theoretical aspects of the economic effects of labor standards and a summarizes the empirical evidence on the effects on wages, trade, and foreign direct investment, and the role of interest groups. Global, regional, national/unilateral, and other arrangements for the monitoring and enforcement of labor standards are discussed and implications for policy presented

Suggested Citation

  • Robert M. Stern, 2003. "Labor Standards and Trade Agreements," Working Papers 496, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan.
    • Handle: RePEc:mie:wpaper:496
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    File URL: http://fordschool.umich.edu/rsie/workingpapers/Papers476-500/r496.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kimberly Ann Elliott & Richard B. Freeman, 2003. "Can Labor Standards Improve under Globalization?," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 338, April.
    2. Drusilla K. Brown, 2001. "Labor Standards: Where Do They Belong on the International Trade Agenda?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 89-112, Summer.
    3. Paul Brenton & Miriam Manchin, 2014. "Making EU Trade Agreements Work: The Role of Rules of Origin," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: INTERNATIONAL TRADE, DISTRIBUTION AND DEVELOPMENT Empirical Studies of Trade Policies, chapter 14, pages 299-313, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Drusilla Brown & Alan Deardorff & Robert Stern, 1998. "Trade and Labor Standards," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 171-194, April.
    5. André Sapir, 1996. "The harmonization of social policies: lessons from European integration," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/8164, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    6. Drusilla K. Brown & Alan V. Deardorff & Robert M. Stern, 2009. "The Effects of Multinational Production on Wages and Working Conditions in Developing Countries," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization And International Trade Policies, chapter 17, pages 623-687, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Drusilla K. Brown, 2000. "International Trade and Core Labor Standards: A Survey of the Recent Literature," Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University 0005, Department of Economics, Tufts University.
    8. Brown, D.K. & Dearorff, A.V. & Stern, R.M., 1993. "International Labor Standards and Trade: A Theoretical Analysis," Working Papers 333, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Justina A.V. Fischer & Frank Somogyi, 2009. "Globalization and Protection of Employment," KOF Working papers 09-238, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    2. Andrew Schrank, 2013. "From disguised protectionism to rewarding regulation: The impact of trade‐related labor standards in the Dominican Republic," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(3), pages 299-320, September.
    3. Carlos Felipe Jaramillo & Daniel Lederman & Maurizio Bussolo & David Gould & Andrew Mason, 2006. "Challenges of CAFTA : Maximizing the Benefits for Central America," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7127.
    4. Hurtado Inmaculada & Argerey Patricia, 2008. "Social Dumping: The Debate on a Multilateral Social Clause," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Jacopo Timini & Nicola Cortinovis & Fernando López Vicente, 2020. "The heterogeneous effects of trade agreements with labor provisions (Updated March 2021)," Working Papers 2017, Banco de España, revised Mar 2021.
    6. Drusilla K Brown & Alan V Deardorff & Robert M Stern, 2013. "Labor Standards and Human Rights: Implications for International Trade and Investment," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Zdenek Drabek & Petros Mavroidis (ed.), Regulation of Foreign Investment Challenges to International Harmonization, chapter 5, pages 153-195, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Isao Kamatai, 2014. "Regional Trade Agreements with Labor Clauses: Effects on Labor Standards and Trade," Discussion papers e-13-007, Graduate School of Economics Project Center, Kyoto University.
    8. KAMATA Isao, 2014. "Regional Trade Agreements with Labor Clauses: Effects on labor standards and trade," Discussion papers 14012, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).

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