How Bad is Globalization for Labour Standards in the North?

Alejandro Donado and Klaus Wälde

No 2010028, LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES from Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

Abstract: We analyse a world consisting of "the North" and "the South" where labour standards in the North are set by trade unions. Standards set by unions tend to increase output and welfare. There are no unions in the South and work standards are suboptimal. Trade between these two countries can imply a reduction in work standards in the North. Moreover, when trade unions are established in the South, the North, including northern unions, tend to lose. Quantitatively, these effects are small and overcompensated by gains in the South. The existing empirical literature tends to support our findings.

Keywords: occupational health and safety; trade unions; international trade; welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F16 F21 J51 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27
Date: 2010-08-30
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: How Bad is Globalization for Labour Standards in the North? (2010)
Working Paper: How bad is globalization for labour standards in the north? (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvir:2010028

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