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Workers' Rights and Economic Development
In the 2000-01 biennium, a research programme was designed to address the relationship between workers' rights and a range of economic, developmental and social outcomes. Among these outcomes were economic and employment growth, international capital flows, trade competitiveness, the extent of formal and informal employment, labour costs and labour productivity, poverty and social stability. This research focused on the effects of the four fundamental rights at work: freedom of association/collective bargaining (FACB) rights, discrimination in employment, forced labour and child labour. The attention has been on the direction of causality running from workers' rights to economic development. The research methods used to date are literature surveys, the construction of cross-country indicators of fundamental rights at work, and the application of these indicators in cross-country statistical models. Research will continue on this same set of issues in the 2004-05 biennium; research methods will be expanded and the direction of causality from economic development to workers' rights will be explored more comprehensively.
In-depth studies are carried out, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, at the micro, meso and country levels. The need for such studies arises because current research has shown that dynamic causal relationships between workers' rights and economic development outcomes can be difficult to identify from cross-country statistical analysis. This type of analysis can highlight what needs to be explained but does not itself provide that explanation. For this reason case studies are envisaged as a natural continuation of the current research project.
In-depth case studies taking a historical perspective are necessary to clarify the process leading to a positive relationship between workers' rights and formal employment and to demonstrate whether this relationship is causal. The case studies will be designed to address such questions, linking particular workers' rights with particular economic development outcomes. The case studies will also explore causal relationships running in both directions between workers' rights and economic development.
An important initial stage will be to determine the criteria for selecting the countries for an in-depth study. A comprehensive survey will be made of workers' rights and economic development outcomes, based on existing indicators. In addition, discussions will be held with ILO colleagues experienced in these issues. Countries will also be selected on criteria of representativeness, in the hope that lessons can be learned from the countries chosen and applied to other countries.
A case study is scheduled as an extension of current work on the relationship between child labour and technology. The study is designed to show whether and in what circumstances technological change can reduce demand for child labour, and whether and in what circumstances the supply of cheap child labour can restrain entrepreneurs from investing in labour-saving technologies. Related studies will be undertaken in collaboration with well-known experts in this field, and will involve field research conducting firm-level surveys.
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