노동기준과 무역의 연계

• 영문명: Labor Standard and Trade : possible Links and Implications
• 발행기관: 건국대학교 경제경영연구소
• 저자명: 유재원(Jai Won Ryou)
• 간행물 정보: 『상경연구』제24권 제2호, 11~31쪽, 전체 21쪽
• 주제분류: 경제경영 > 경제학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2000.03.30

영문 초록

Since the end of the Uruguay Round, the issue of labour standards and trade has come to the forefront of the policy agenda. Some insist that the protracted rise in unemployment and wage inequality in advanced enconomies is owing to the unfair trade practices of developing countries backed up by their low labour standards. Others emphasize that such a claim is groundless, and the issue should be handled on the purely humanitarian basis by the International Labour Organization (ILO). While the possibility of introducing new international promotion mechanisms such as a trade sanction is uncertain, the world-wide efforts to improve labor standards will continue to be intensified. In this context, it is important for Korea, who does not meet many core labor standards, to assess the possible links between labor standards and trade. This paper tries to determine whether labour standards have an significant effect on international trade and foreign investment. In particular, it is tested whether Korea’s trade and outward direct investment is affected by the trading partner’s implementation of core labour standards. The main findings may be summarized as follow. Firstly, the correlation coefficient analysis reveals that the ratification of ILO’s core labour standards has little to do with key labour indicators such as the weekly working hours, the minimum wages, and the unit labour costs. This fact may imply that the actual labour condition is determined mainly by the market, not by the legal institution. Secondly, when a generalized gravity model is applied to Korea’s trade and investment, the coefficients of the labour standards used as explanatory variables turn out to be statistically insignificant. The case of Japan shows a very similar result. The empirical evidence of this study implies that Korea has no reason to be concerned about the issue of labour standards and trade. Thus, the Korean government should take a flexible stance toward it in WTO’s new round. On the other hand, whether or not a country has the high labour standards may matter for a national image, thus affect the international competitiveness indirectly. Also, it needs to be remembered that many developing countries have already agreed to abide by core labour standards. As for Korea, nation-wide efforts to ratify the core labour standards are required.

목차

Ⅰ. 서론

Ⅱ. 노동기준과 무역의 연계논의

Ⅲ. 노동기준과 경제성과

Ⅳ. 한국의 무역ㆍ투자와 국제노동기준

Ⅴ. 요약 및 결론

참고문헌

Abstract