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Integrating Trade and Decent Work: 2 Volumes

28 November 2023

International trade is widely viewed as an engine of growth and carries implications for the hundreds of millions of workers whose livelihoods rely on trade-oriented industries. Undoubtedly, it has generated job opportunities, including for young people and women, helping to lift millions out of poverty. At the same time, the benefits of trade have not been distributed evenly, across countries, sectors, firms or workers.

These two volumes advance knowledge on how to better align trade and labour market policies to achieve decent work outcomes.

The first volume develops and executes a comprehensive framework for assessing the impact of trade on the labour market, using a set of decent work indicators applied to commonly used methodologies. It also highlights the role of labour market policies and programmes, including ILO interventions, to ensure that trade contributes to – rather than hampers – decent work.

The second volume focuses on how labour issues are currently reflected in trade and investment agreements and explores their implementation in practice. It also looks at the manner in which structural labour market issues can be addressed through trade governance instruments at different levels, including the multilateral trading system.

This publication was produced as part of the project “Supportive domestic policies for better social, labour market and sustainable enterprise outcomes” (SUPPORT), funded by the Government of Flanders.
 


 

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Volume I: Has trade led to better jobs? Findings based on ILO’s Decent Work Indicators

Foreword Richard Samans
Introduction Marva Corley-Coulibaly, Pelin Sekerler Richiardi and Franz Christian Ebert


Part 1: Indicators and methodological frameworks at the macro, meso and micro level
 

  1. Marva Corley-Coulibaly and Sajid Ghani, Trade policy and labour markets: Indicators and evidence - Snapshot
  2. Monica Hernandez, Impacts of international trade on the labour market: Common methodological approaches for macro- and meso-level assessments - Snapshot
  3. Benjamin Aleman-Castilla and José Carlos Rodríguez-Pueblita, Trade and labour market outcomes: A summary of the main theories and evidence at the firm and worker levels - Snapshot

Part 2: Understanding the Labour Market Impact of Trade: Country case studies 
 

  1. Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid, Rosa Gómez Tovar, Lizzeth Gómez Rodríguez and Joaquín Sánchez Gómez, Trade and decent work in Mexico’s automobile sector: The road travelled and the uncharted territory ahead - Snapshot
  2. Benjamin Aleman-Castilla, Trade and decent work in Mexico’s manufacturing sector - Snapshot
  3. Pelin Sekerler Richiardi, Sajid Ghani and Pham Ngoc Toan, Trade and decent work in Viet Nam: Insights from small and medium-sized enterprises - Snapshot
  4. Henry Kankwamba, Gendered effects of trade restrictions on labour market outcomes in Malawi - Snapshot

Part 3: Addressing labour market impacts of trade: Role of the ILO
 

  1. Takaaki Kizu and Bolormaa Tumurchudur Klok, Skills, employment and trade: The role of skills and employment policies in making trade more inclusive and resilient - Snapshot
  2. Christoph Ernst and Vicky Leung, Trade and informality: Transition to formality and decent work - Snapshot
  3. Karen Curtis and Elizabeth Echeverría Manrique, The ILO’s support for labour commitments in trade agreements - Snapshot



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Volume II. The potential of trade and investment policies to address labour market issues in supply chains

Foreword Adelle Blackett
Introduction Marva Corley-Coulibaly, Franz Christian Ebert and Pelin Sekerler Richiardi

Part 1: Trade and investment policy as a tool for promoting labour rights:
 

  1. Marva Corley-Coulibaly, Gaia Grasselli and Ira Postolachi, Implementation of labour provisions under Canadian, European Union and United States trade agreements - Snapshot
  2. Axel Marx and Pietro Mattioli, Labour rights protection in international investment agreements: Evidence, trends and impact - Snapshot
  3. Franz Christian Ebert, Francesca Francavilla and Lorenzo Guarcello, Tackling forced labour in supply chains: The potential of trade and investment instruments - Snapshot

Part 2: The labour-trade/investment link in practice: Country-level experiences from three regions
 

  1. Graciela Bensusán, Labour reforms in Mexico and international trade negotiations: From the North American Free Trade Agreement to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement - Snapshot
  2. Kristoffer Marslev and Cornelia Staritz, The EU–Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement: A catalyst of labour reform in Viet Nam? - Snapshot
  3. Jamie MacLeod, Can the African Continental Free Trade Area promote the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 8? Decent work and economic growth - Snapshot

Part 3: Integrating decent work in multilateral trade frameworks

  1. Anoush der Boghossian, Trade and gender: Addressing barriers to women's decent work through trade policy - Snapshot
  2. Fatma Gül Unal and Diana Vivienne Barrowclough, Agriculture, trade and employment: A Global Green New Deal to address structural challenges - Snapshot



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