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Is Globalization Good for Workers? Definitions and Evidence from Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2007

Gerhard Reinecke
Affiliation:
International Labor Organization, Chile

Abstract

Is globalization good for workers? Many scholars have surprisingly clear-cut answers. “Globalization is good for workers,” say most economists. “Globalization is bad for workers,” say most sociologists, anthropologists, and historians. This article takes a more cautious approach, defining first the different dimensions of employment quality which can be measured in order to track changes (Section 2). In a second step, it reviews some of the mechanisms through which globalization could either benefit or harm workers, both through changes in labor demand and new patterns of work organization in response to globalization (Section 3). Thirdly, the paper presents summaries of statistical data and existing studies of Latin-American countries (Section 4). Finally, in order to understand some of the more qualitative aspects of the impact of globalization on labor, Section 5 presents evidence from sectoral case studies for one Latin-American country, Chile. Section 6 concludes.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2006 The International Labor and Working-Class History Society

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