Labour Standards And The “Race To The Bottom”: Rethinking Globalisation And Workers Rights From Developmental And Solidaristic Perspectives

Ajit Singh

Working Papers from Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge

Abstract: There is a protracted stalemate between rich (the North) and poor (the South) countries over the question of minimum labour standards in developing economies. This paper is a sequel to Singh and Zammit (2000). It considers afresh key issues in the controversy. While fully recognizing the moral, political and philosophical dimension of this complex issue, the paper concentrates on the central economic question of the “race to the bottom”. It emphasizes the difficulties of establishing labour standards in the vast informal sectors in developing countries and suggests that the ILO conventions 87 and 98 should be amended to properly reflect these concerns. It also argues that ILO core conventions should be broadened to include the right to decent living. The overall conclusion is that labour standards are important indicators of economic development but their promotion is best achieved in a non-coercive and supportive international environment such as that provided by the ILO.

Keywords: Labour standards; Globalisation; Informal sector; Economic Development. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F10 J80 J83 O10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
Note: PRO-2
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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Journal Article: Labour Standards and the 'Race to the Bottom': Rethinking Globalization and Workers' Rights from Developmental and Solidaristic Perspectives (2004)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp279

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