This paper studies the impact of foreign barriers to goods and services trade on domestic jobs that are directly or indirectly related to trade flows. Using the ILO’s recently published estimates of the number of jobs in global supply chains, the empirical analysis in this paper largely...

Global supply chains (GSCs) have become an integral part of the global economy, changing the patterns of trade, investment, and production in global industries. While the rise of GSCs poses new opportunities and challenges to workers, its impacts have yet to be fully understood. Building on a...

This paper examines how the emergence and change of the fragmented cross-national production system affects social upgrading in developing countries, focusing on the impact of private governance on labour conditions and workers’ rights. It also discusses the role of private voluntary standards...

This paper looks at the notion of work historically and how new meanings have enriched this notion over centuries. It then analyses the importance Europeans give to the concept of work, and presents the ongoing discourse on technological revolution and its impact on work and employment. The...

In its recent World Employment and Social Outlook, the ILO published estimates of the number of jobs related to global supply chains (GSCs) for 40 countries in 1995–2013. This paper provides a detailed description of the methodology that was used for the estimation and documents the links...

Income inequality has been rising in a number of countries in recent years and has been a growing concern. The total income of high-income households has increased faster than that of low-income households in a number of countries. Similarly, the wage gap between the top 10 per cent and bottom...

In its recent World Employment and Social Outlook, the ILO published estimates of the number of jobs related to global supply chains (GSCs) for 40 countries in 1995–2013. This paper provides a detailed description of the methodology that was used for the estimation and documents the links...

This paper assesses the reference to CSR commitments in trade and investment agreements and finds that CSR language is relatively weak in terms of obligation, precision and delegation. Emphasising the potential to use the mechanisms that are provided in these agreements to activate and follow-up...