Les normes fondamentales du travail contribuent-elles à réduire les inégalités ?

This article proposes an empirical investigation concerning the links between labour standards and income inequalities. In a first time, we build an index of core labour standards (child labour, forced labour, discrimination, freedom of association and ILO conventions). No links is found a priori with inequalities. This can be explained by the difference between ILO ratifications and effective enforcement of these standards. That is why, in a second time, we take into consideration the endogeneity of these norms thanks to instrumental variables. A new index of effective labour standards is obtained as an output of the political and juridical system. There is a high probability that countries with better institutions are more able to effectively put in place labour standards. We then find a Kuznet curb between standards and income inequalities for 90 countries between 1990 and 2001. Labour standards can be seem as an intermediate explicative factor to explain Kuznet curb.