International Labour Standards -
A Conference Report
A Summary of the Discussions at the
Conference on International Labour
Standards: Issues, Theories & Policy Options

Edited By Gote Hansson
December 2003
Lund University
ISBN: 91-7496-321-X
63 pages, Illustrated, 6 ½" x 9 ½"
$25.00 Paper Original


The concern for upholding international minimum labour standards can be traced back at least as far back as to the eighteenth century. Ever since, the debate on this issue has been going on in various international organizations, although with little ostensible success in practical international policy so far. The debate has emphasized various aspects of working life such as night work for women, child labor, hours of work, wages, safety and health aspects of the working environment, and basic trade union rights.

Demands for linking labor standards to trade policy and international trade agreements have also been advanced. This report presents a summary of the discussion on those issues at the "Conference on International Labour Standards: Issues, Theories and Policy Options" arranged by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Expert Group on Development Issues (EGDI) in Stockholm in August 2001.

Contents include: The History of Political Economy of International Labour Standards, The Impact of International Labour Standards: A Survey of Economic Theory, Child Labour: Theory, Evidence and Policy, The International Organization and Enforcement of Labour Standards, International Labour Standards - What have we learnt?

Economics

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