1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910808301203321

Autore

Barry Christian

Titolo

International trade and labor standards : a proposal for linkage / / Christian Barry and Sanjay G. Reddy

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : Columbia University Press, c2008

ISBN

0-231-51296-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (229 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

ReddySanjay

Disciplina

331.202/18

Soggetti

International trade

Labor laws and legislation, International

Labor laws and legislation

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

What is linkage? Two propositions -- Three types of linkage, and what linkage proponents must show -- What linkage opponents must show -- Arguments against linkage -- Ruling out linkage proposals -- A constructive procedure : identifying linkage proposals that meet the standard objections -- Sketch of one possible linkage system -- Conclusion.

Sommario/riassunto

Progressive governments in poor countries fear that if they undertake measures to enhance real wages and working conditions, rising labor costs would cause wealthier countries to import from and invest elsewhere. Yet if the world trading system were designed to facilitate or even reward measures to promote labor standards, poor countries could undertake them without fear.In this book, Christian Barry and Sanjay G. Reddy propose ways in which the international trading system can support poor countries in promoting the well-being of their peoples. Reforms to the trading system can lessen the collective-action problem among poor countries, increasing their freedom to pursue policy that better serves the interests of their people. Incorporating the right kind of linkage between trading opportunities and the promotion of labor standards could empower countries, allowing them greater effective sovereignty and enabling them to improve the circumstances of the less advantaged. Barry and Reddy demonstrate how linkage can be made acceptable to all players, and they carefully defend these ideas



against those who might initially disagree. Their volume is accessible to general readers but draws on sophisticated economic and philosophical arguments and includes responses from leading labor activists, economists, and philosophers, including Kyle Bagwell, Robert Goodin, Rohini Hensman, and Roberto Mangabeira Unger.