International Trade and Labor Standards

Barry and Reddy have made a contribution to the alliance of reason with hope. They exemplify a principle that should be rendered radical and universal: the reinvention of the institutional forms of the market and an open world economy. The method in this book is to turn the tables on the abusers of economics, impaling them on their own weapons. -- Roberto Mangabeira Unger, minister for strategic affairs in the government of Brazil, and Roscoe Pound Professor of Law at Harvard Law School International Trade and Labor Standards makes a cogent, interdisciplinary case for a fair system of norms and rules that link labor standards worldwide to trade policy. The volume provides an excellent basis for serious discussions concerning the use of multilateral institutions to improve the conditions of many of the world's least-advantaged people. -- Robert O. Keohane, professor of international affairs, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University Written by a numerate philosopher and a morally reflective economist, this work brings much illumination to the previously cloudy dispute about linkage. Focusing on the practical task of reforming the international trade regime to improve conditions for the poor, this book is also a substantial contribution to the current debates about global justice. -- Thomas Pogge, professor of philosophy, Yale University, and professorial fellow, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, The Australian National University

Governments in poor countries fear that if they undertake measures that enhance real wages and working conditions, rising labor costs will cause richer countries to import from and invest elsewhere. This work examines how the trading system can be reformed to better support efforts by poor countries to promote the well-being of their peoples.Progressive governments in poor countries fear that if they undertake measures to enhance real wages and working conditions, rising labor costs would cause wealthier countries to import from and invest elsewhere. Yet if the world trading system were designed to facilitate or even reward measures to promote labor standards, poor countries could undertake them without fear. In this book, Christian Barry and Sanjay G. Reddy propose ways in which the international trading system can support poor countries in promoting the well-being of their peoples. Reforms to the trading system can lessen the collective-action problem among poor countries, increasing their freedom to pursue policy that better serves the interests of their people. Incorporating the right kind of linkage between trading opportunities and the promotion of labor standards could empower countries, allowing them greater effective sovereignty and enabling them to improve the circumstances of the less advantaged. Barry and Reddy demonstrate how linkage can be made acceptable to all players, and they carefully defend these ideas against those who might initially disagree. Their volume is accessible to general readers but draws on sophisticated economic and philosophical arguments and includes responses from leading labor activists, economists, and philosophers, including Kyle Bagwell, Robert Goodin, Rohini Hensman, and Roberto Mangabeira Unger.