In Defence of Labour Market Institutions

JOSE LUIS DAZA PEREZ International Labour Office, SwitzerlandFRANÇOIS EYRAUD International Labour Office, SwitzerlandJESUS FELIPE Asian Development Bank, PhilippinesROSANNA GALLI University of Lugano, SwitzerlandSANGHEON LEE International Labour Office, SwitzerlandDEIRDRE MCCANN International Labour Office, SwitzerlandJ.S.L. MCCOMBIE University of Cambridge, UKIRMGARD NÜBLER International Labour Office, SwitzerlandCATHERINE SAGET International Labour Office, SwitzerlandMATTHEW SALERNO International Labour Office, SwitzerlandZAFIRIS TZANNATOS World Bank Institute, USAMARÍA LUZ VEGA RUÍZ International Labour Office, Switzerland

'This is a timely volume on a critically important topic. Berg and Kucera and their contributors challenge the conventional wisdom that excessive labor market regulation retards growth and development, and that developing countries in particular can ill afford the level of such regulation that they have taken on. Taken as a whole, the papers make a compelling case for skepticism about this conventional wisdom. The volume provides a vital survey of the state of regulatory institutions in the developing world and the main empirical, theoretical, and normative arguments about the alleged regulation/growth tradeoff.' - Professor Chris Tilly, Department of Regional Economic and Social Development and Center for Industrial Competitiveness, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Introduction; J.Berg & D.Kucera Labour Institutions in Developing Countries: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives; J.Berg & D.Kucera Measuring Labour Market Institutions: Conceptual and methodological questions on 'working hours rigidity'; S.Lee & D.McCann Training Institutions and the Finance of General Skills Training: Evidence from Africa; I.Nübler The Origins of Unemployment Insurance: Lessons for Developing Countries; J.Berg & M.Salerno The Revival of Minimum Wage-Setting Institutions; F.Eyraud & C.Saget What Can Labour Demand Functions tell us about Employment? The Case of the Philippines; J.Felipe & J.S.L.McCombie The Impact of Trade Unions: What do Economists Say?; Z.Tzannatos Labour Standards and Informal Employment in Latin America; R.Galli & D.Kucera Legal Determinants of Labour Informality; J.L.Daza Pérez New Trends in Labour Law Reform in Latin America: The Law, its Reform and its Impact in Practice; M.L.Vega Ruíz