Abstract
We use leximetric data coding techniques and panel data econometrics to test for the economic effects of laws governing worker representation and industrial action in the large middle-income countries of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. We find that more worker-protective laws on employee representation tend to be correlated with higher scores on the Human Development Index. By contrast, in the case of laws on industrial action, some negative effects on human development indicators are reported. Our findings imply that laws supporting employee voice and collective bargaining may have beneficial social effects in middle-income countries. We find very little evidence of disemployment effects due to more protective labour laws.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Badigannavar V, Kelly J (2012) Do labour laws protect labour in India? Union experiences of workplace employment regulations in Maharashtra, India. Ind Law J 41:439–470
Benjamin P (2013) Assessing South Africa’s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). ILO, Industrial and Employment Relations Department Working Paper No. 47, April 2013
Bhorat H, Cheadle H (2009) Labour reform in South Africa: measuring regulation and a synthesis of policy suggestions. DPRU Working Paper 09/2009, Development Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, September 2009
Botero J, Djankov S, La Porta R, Lopez-de-Silanes F, Shleifer A (2004) The regulation of labor. Q J Econ 119:1339–1382
Bronstein A (2005) The new labour law of the Russian Federation. Int Labour Rev 144:291–318
Brown R (2006) China’s collective contract provisions: can collective negotiations embody collective bargaining? Duke J Comp Int Law 16:35–77
Buchanan J, Chai D, Deakin S (2013) Empirical analysis of legal institutions and institutional change: multiple methods approaches and their application to corporate governance research. J Inst Econ 10:1–20
Budlender D (2009) Industrial relations and collective bargaining: trends and developments in South Africa. ILO, Industrial and Employment Relations Department Working Paper No. 2, May 2009
Clarke S, Lee C-H, Li Q (2004) Collective consultation and industrial relations in China. Br J Ind Relations 42:235–254
Cook M (2002) Labor reform and dual transitions in Brazil and the Southern Cone. Latin Am Polit Soc 44:1–34
Cook M (2007) The politics of labor reform in Latin America – between flexibility and rights. Pennsylvania State University Press, Philadelphia
Cooney S, Biddulph S, Zhu Y (2013) Law and fair work in China. Routledge, London
Davies R, Thurlow J (2010) Formal – informal economy linkages and unemployment in South Africa. S Afr J Econ 78:437–459
Deakin S, Pistor K (eds) (2011) Legal origin theory. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham
Deakin S, Sarkar P (2011) Indian labour law and its impact on unemployment, 1970–2006: a leximetric study. Ind J Labour Econ 53:607–629
Deakin S, Lele P, Siems M (2007) The evolution of labour law: calibrating and comparing regulatory regimes. Int Labour Rev 146:133–162
Deakin S, Malmberg J, Sarkar P (2014) How do labour laws affect unemployment and the labour share of income? The experience of six OECD countries, 1970–2010. Int Labour Rev 153:1–26. Also published as CBR Working Paper No. 442, June 2013. http://ssrn.com/abstract=2345821
Du Toit D, Woolfrey D, Bosch D, Godfrey S, Christie S, Cooer C, Giles G, Bosch C (2006) Labour relations law: a comprehensive guide, 5th edn. Lexis-Nexis Butterworths, Cape Town
Freeman R (2005) Labor market institutions without blinders: the debate over flexibility and labour market performance. NBER Working Paper No. 11286
Gacek S (1994–1995) Revisiting the corporatist and contractualist models of labor law regimes: a review of the Brazilian and American Systems. Cardozo Law Rev 16: 21–110
Gomes A, Prado M (2011) Flawed freedom of association in Brazil: how unions can become an obstacle to meaningful reforms in the labor law system. Comp Labor Law Policy J 32:843–889
Gopalakrishnan R (2010) Enforcing labour rights through human rights norms: the approach of the Supreme Court of India. In: Fenwick C, Novitz T (eds) Human rights at work: legal and regulatory perspectives. Hart, Oxford, pp 195–228
Leibbrandt M, Woolard I, McEwen H, Koep C (2010) Employment and inequality outcomes in South Africa. South Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) and School of Economics, University of Cape Town, mimeo
Lyutov N (2009) The evolution and some problems of workers’ representation law in Russia. Issues Bus Law 1:1029–1094
Lyutov N (2011) Freedom of association: the case of Russia. Comp Labor Law Policy J 32:933
Lyutov N, Petrylaite D (2009) Trade unions’ law evaluation in post-Soviet countries: the experiences of Lithuania and Russia. Comp Labor Law Policy J 30:779
Mitchell R, Mahy P, Gahan P (2012) The evolution of labour law in India: an overview and commentary on regulatory objectives and development. Workplace and Corporate Law Research Group Working Paper No. 18, Department of Business Law and Taxation, Monash University, July 2012
Olimpieva I (2012) Labor unions in contemporary Russia: an assessment of contrasting forms of organization and representation. Working USA: J Labor Soc 15:267–283
Rymkevitch O (2003) The codification of Russian labour law: issues and perspectives. Int J Comp Labour Law Ind Relations 19:143–162
Sarkar P (2013) Does an employment protection law lead to unemployment? A panel data analysis of OECD countries, 1990–2008. Cambridge Journal of Economics 37:1335–1348
Shen J (2006) An analysis of changing industrial relations in China. Int J Comp Labour Law Ind Relations 22:347–368
Theron J (2011) Non-standard workers, collective bargaining and social dialogue: the case of South Africa. ILO, Industrial and Employment Relations Department Working Paper No. 28, September 2011
Zhu Y, Warner M, Feng T (2011) Employment relations ‘with Chinese characteristics’: the role of trade unions in China. Int Labour Rev 150:127–143
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Deakin, S., Fenwick, C., Sarkar, P. (2014). Labour Law and Inclusive Development: The Economic Effects of Industrial Relations Laws in Middle-Income Countries. In: Schmiegelow, M., Schmiegelow, H. (eds) Institutional Competition between Common Law and Civil Law. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54660-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54660-0_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-54659-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-54660-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawLaw and Criminology (R0)