Power Politics and International Labor Standards

26 Pages Posted: 10 Sep 2003

See all articles by Stephen B. DeLoach

Stephen B. DeLoach

Elon University

Jayoti Das

Elon University - Martha and Spencer Love School of Business

Lindsey Conley

Greensboro Vet Center

Abstract

This paper analyzes how a country's commitment to labor standards is affected by the relative international political power they possess. Powerful countries may be less committed to actual enforcement of certain labor standards since they are unlikely to face significant threats of international sanctions regardless of their actions. The paper introduces an index of international power for 116 countries that is used to examine how power affects the extent to which countries enforce standards relating to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The evidence strongly suggests that, even after controlling for differences in wealth, productivity and market freedom, powerful countries are significantly less committed to the protection of labor standards than less powerful countries.

Keywords: International Labor Standards, ILO Conventions, Sanctions, Power

JEL Classification: F16, J58

Suggested Citation

DeLoach, Stephen B. and Das, Jayoti and Conley, Lindsey, Power Politics and International Labor Standards. International Advances in Economic Research, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=427724 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.427724

Stephen B. DeLoach (Contact Author)

Elon University ( email )

Department of Economics
Campus Box 2075
Elon, NC 27244
United States
336-278-5943 (Phone)
336-278-5952 (Fax)

Jayoti Das

Elon University - Martha and Spencer Love School of Business ( email )

Department of Economics
Campus Box 2075
Elon, NC 27244
United States
336-278-5941 (Phone)
336-278-5952 (Fax)

Lindsey Conley

Greensboro Vet Center

2009 Elm-Eugene Street
Greensboro, NC 27406
United States

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