Do Trade Partners’ Labour Standards Affect ASEAN’s Labour Standards?
Main Article Content
Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of foreign labour standards on domestic labour standards in ASEAN countries. The study employs a set of cross-sectional time series data that covers the period from 1995-2008 for its empirical analysis. Three different labour standards indicators, namely numbers of strikes and lockouts, cases of occupational injuries, and trade union density rates–are used as a proxy for labour standards. The results evince a race to the bottom for labour standards, represented by cases of injuries. In contrast, the effect of trade partners’ trade union density rate is negative and significant; however, the number of strikes and lockouts has an insignificant effect. The findings of the study suggest that there may be a race to the bottom in terms of working conditions among ASEAN countries, but not on the standards that measure the rights of workers.
Downloads
Article Details
Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described is original, has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities at the institution where the work was carried out. Transfer of copyright to the University of Malaya becomes effective if and when the article is accepted for publication. The copyright covers the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline and online) or other reproductions of similar nature.
An author may self-archive the English language version of his/her article on his/her own website and his/her institutions repository; however he/she may not use the publishers PDF version which is posted on www.ijie.um.edu.my. Furthermore, the author may only post his/her version, provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link must be accompanied by the following text: The original publication is available at www.ijie.um.edu.my.
All articles published in this journal are protected by copyright, which covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and redistribute the article (e.g. as offprint), as well as all translation rights. No material published in this journal may be reproduced photographically or stored on microfilm, in electronic database, video disks, etc., without first obtaining written permission from the publishers. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations.
The copyright owners consent does not include copying for general distribution, promotion, new works, or resale. In these cases, specific written permission must first be obtained from the publishers.