The WTO and Labor and Employment

The steady progress of global economic integration and trade-policy liberalization facilitated by the GATT and WTO over the past half-century has been accompanied by persistent warnings of the consequences for wages, employment and working conditions. Indeed, over the last decade, labor interests in the west have sought to slow the pace of international trade negotiations, seeking some protections in the WTO Charter itself and in individual trade agreements.

The central focus of this collection is to provide the reader access to the seminal papers analyzing the accommodation of labor interests within the WTO. This comprehensive volume establishes an understanding of the interaction between global goods, capital and labor markets and the national government institutions that regulate their function. In selecting papers for this volume, the editors have identified the most important contributions to the debate.