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WP 20: International Labour Standards and Micro-finance - (pdf 169 Kb)
A Review, 1998, ILO

International Labour Standards are major instruments of the ILO. The paper explores to what extent International Labour Standards deal with first, the financial market and its links to the labour market, second, financial institutions, especially those catering to the poor, third, financial instruments like micro-credit that can alleviate poverty. International Labour Standards also touch on government policies that address the financial market’s functioning, and entail substantial social effects (for example financial sector reform). The result is a structured overview of Conventions and Recommendations and a compilation of the key passages. The paper does not provide any policy guidance on what to do with this raw material, other than inspiring and guiding ILO staff in the field and in technical programmes on how to ensure a better fit between technical cooperation projects and ILS. The paper is a step in a longer process to define ILO policy on the social dimension of finance.