Positive Economic Freedom: An Enabling Role for International Labor Standards in Developing Countries?

Authors

Tonia WarneckeFollow
Alex De Ruyter

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2010

Abstract

Approaches to economic development have overemphasized negative economic freedom for multinational corporations at the expense of a majority of the population in developing countries. An inevitable outcome has been the growth of informal sector and “vulnerable” employment in developing countries and entrenchment of existing inequalities. We argue that rather than an emphasis on negative freedom, an emphasis on using labor standards to facilitate positive economic freedom must occur. Labor standards do this not only through the “core” rights of union membership and collective bargaining, but also in addressing substantive (“non-core”) rights at work (wages, working-time, etc.), thereby facilitating positive freedom.

Comments

©2010, Journal of Economic Issues / Association for Evolutionary Economics

Published In

Warnecke, Tonia, and Alex DeRuyter. Positive Economic Freedom: An Enabling Role for International Labor Standards in Developing Countries? Journal of Economic Issues 44, issue 2 (2010) 385-392.

Publication Title

Journal of Economic Issues

ISSN

0021-3624

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/JEI0021-3624440210