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136 Int'l Lab. Rev. 173 (1997)
Globalization and Labour Standards: A Review of Issues

handle is hein.journals/intlr136 and id is 183 raw text is: International Labour Review, Vol. 136 (1997), No. 2 (Summer) Globalization and labour standards: A review of issues Eddy LEE * G lobalization has given rise to a number of interrelated concerns with respect to its social repercussions. These include its impact on employment, the distribution of income, and the role of labour standards. An extensive literature has emerged on these issues. The aim of this article is to review the issues relating to the impact of globalization on labour standards, with a particular emphasis on the international public policy issues that have been raised in the literature. It begins with a brief review of the background to the current discussions, including the recent shifts that have occurred in the thinking in policy and academic circles on the subject of labour standards. It then goes on to discuss the recent debate in international political fora on the relationship between trade liberalization and international standards. This is followed by a review of recent economic analyses of the subject. The article concludes with an assessment of the current state of the debate on the issue and discusses possible ways of narrowing the current wide gap between opposing positions. Background The issue of trade and international labour standards is not new and, in fact, predates the establishment of the ILO in 1919. It would thus be useful to briefly recall a few salient features of the historical developments to set the background for the review of current issues. The objective behind the establishment of the ILO was to undertake joint international action to improve labour conditions world wide. There were several interrelated motives, as reflected in the Preamble to the Constitution of the ILO (ILO, 1919), which begins: Whereas universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice; and whereas conditions of labour exist involving such injustice, hardship and privation to large numbers of people as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the world are imperilled ...; Whereas also the * ILO, Geneva. Copyright © International Labour Organization 1997

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