Comment on Alan Hyde: The Perils of Economic Justifications for International Labor Standards
Law & Ethics of Human Rights, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 180-188, 2009
11 Pages Posted: 8 Feb 2010
Date Written: 2009
Abstract
This comment questions the relevance of the Stag Hunt model, employed by Alan Hyde in his contribution to this volume, to the context of international labor standards. Despite Hyde’s insistence to the contrary, it is argued that in some cases child labor could create a comparative advantage to developing countries. This shows the difficulty with Hyde’s reliance solely on market failures to justify international labor standards. The exclusion of other (non-economic) justifications results in an extremely diluted international labor law.
Keywords: game theory, labor rights, Stag Hunt model, Alan Hyde, economic justifications, employment law, labor law
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