Publication

Globalization and freedom of association and collective bargaining rights

Chapter 2 in the Handbook on Globalisation and Labour Standards

The new publication Handbook on Globalisation and Labour Standards, released by Edward Elgar Publishing on 18 March 2022, explores the complex and volatile debate over globalisation and labour standards. It offers key insights into the impact of globalisation on workers, the obligations of corporations and international legal bodies in protecting workers’ rights and maximising the opportunities offered by international trade and investment.

This comprehensive Handbook includes a chapter on Globalization and freedom of association and collective bargaining rights by David Kucera, a senior economist with the Development and Investment Branch (DEVINVEST), and Dora Sari, Specialist on Industrial Relations Indicators, Statistics Department. The first section of this chapter summarizes theories (and selected evidence) concerning the relationships between freedom of association and collective bargaining (FACB) rights and various facets of globalisation. It is followed by an overview of existing FACB rights indicators constructed to measure these rights. The next section provides a critical survey of empirical studies addressing the relationship between trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) on one hand and FACB rights on the other (in both causal directions) together with empirical evidence on the interdependence of FACB rights among countries and the impact of labour provisions in trade agreements and private and multilateral initiatives.

The Handbook can be purchased from the publisher's website, at this link.