The World Bank and core labour standards: Between flexibility and regulation

Murphy, Hannah

doi:10.1080/09692290.2013.779591

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The World Bank is an informative example of how ideas and discourse may evolve within IOs (Béland and Orenstein 2013). Having followed a neoliberal agenda from the 1980s, demanding structural adjustments in return for much of its lending, the World Bank refused to promote labor standards for a long time (Murphy 2014). From the late 1990s onward, however, the institution entered into dialogue with the ILO and with unions as well as civil society organizations (Hagen 2003;Murphy 2014).…”

Section: The World Bank: the Advocate For Neoliberalism In Labor Standards As A Development Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Organizations and Global Labor Standards

Römer

Henninger

2021

International Organizations in Global Social Governance

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This chapter compares how three International and two regional Organizations, namely the ILO, the WTO, and the World Bank, as well as ASEAN and Mercosur, approach the global governance of labor standards. Defining ‘labor standards’ is notoriously difficult. We therefore use Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining (FACB) rights as a benchmark to assess the positions taken by the five regional organizations. We argue that two main discourses have been pursued in the global debate, a ‘social’ discourse, and a ‘neoliberal’ discourse. We find that organizations whose intrinsic features allow for an institutionalized representation of workers’ interests pursue variations of the social discourse, whereas a neoliberal position predominates in organizations where this representation is lacking. This is true both at the international and regional level. Moreover, we show that the coexistence of these two conflicting discourses has led to contestation, but also to exchange and cooperation. We furthermore outline to what extent the two discourses have changed over time. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of future challenges for the global governance of labor standards.

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Section: The World Bank: the Advocate For Neoliberalism In Labor Standards As A Development Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Organizations and Global Labor Standards

Römer

Henninger

2021

International Organizations in Global Social Governance

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“…77 Some also suggest that the arrangement concerning freedom of association and collective bargaining should 72 Maupain (2013), p. 78. 73 It used to be the mainstream opinion of the World Bank, see Murphy (2014), pp. 405 and 417.…”

Section: Institutional Politics Of Labour Standardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…See ILO (2016). 81 For the ongoing controversy regarding the publication, see Murphy (2014). 82 See World Bank (2003), p. 29.…”

Section: Institutional Politics Of Labour Standardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proliferation of Transnational Labour Standards: The Role of the ILO

Chen

2020

International Labour Organization and Global Social Governance

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The article examines the institutional history of the ILO in the aftermath of the Cold War, and in particular how the ILO has transformed itself into a global actor in terms of labour governance through coining the normative concept of fundamental labour rights in the 1990s, as well as the ongoing struggle in which the ILO has engaged to promote greater coherence of labour standards in the post-national era. The proliferation of transnational labour standards and decentralized standard-setting is a recognizable trend in international labour protection today. International regulation of labour has become a crowded field, as labour standards are increasingly set and enforced outside the ILO framework. The mushrooming of transnational labour standards also leads to fragmentation, conflicts and competition between norms, values and visions. In the face of proliferating labour standards, the ILO has to endeavour to reinstate itself as the central institution for innovative economic and social theories as well as for labour standards. The ILO needs to exercise its leadership not just in defending normative coherence but also in advancing a humanitarian vision of the economy and society.

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“…But the Bank also tended toward a more liberal, market-oriented interpretation of core standards (Caraway 2008; see also Abouharb & Cingranelli 2007). More recently, the Bank has moved further in the direction of embracing core labor standards and the regulatory tools they require (Murphy 2014). As part of its advocacy of neoliberal reform, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has often included labor-related conditions in its lending agreements, most of which focus on deregulating labor markets or on reducing public employment, wages, or social benefits.…”

Section: Labor and The Global Economy: What Don't We Know?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration, Labor, and the International Political Economy

Mosley

Singer

2015

Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci.

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In the field of international political economy, workers are commonly analyzed as objects of global economic forces whose fate is determined by the profit-seeking behaviors of firms and governments. Workers, however, can also assert themselves to protect their rights, and they can emigrate to other countries to find employment. We analyze the literature on the nexus between the international economy and labor with a focus on workers on both the receiving and originating ends of global finance. Beginning with workers as inputs in multinational production, we explore the roles of economic openness, factor endowments, government policy, and unionization as drivers of workers' rights. We then shift to workers as migrant labor and explore the impact of migrants' own cross-border financial transfers-also known as remittances-on political outcomes in their home countries. Our overview not only highlights tremendous progress in explaining the agency and vulnerability of labor in the global economy but also reveals significant weaknesses in recent research, especially a mismatch between micro-level theorizing and macro-level data analysis.

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The World Bank and core labour standards: Between flexibility and regulation

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

International Organizations and Global Labor Standards

International Organizations and Global Labor Standards

Proliferation of Transnational Labour Standards: The Role of the ILO

Migration, Labor, and the International Political Economy

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